Caramel

I’ve had other kusmi teas and they were too perfumey for me so I wasn’t too sure about this one until I opened the pouch. Not perfumey at all, just a nice caramel aroma! And a tasty cup as well! Yum!

Thanks Shmiracles!

Thanks to Shmiracles for this treat!

As it’s steeping it smells like a toasty caramel amidst the black tea. I’m finding Kusmi black teas seem to have a distinct scent to them.

This one is lovely. A nice strong black with a hint of caramel. I’m really enjoying it straight. I may add some brown sugar once I get down to half a cup or so to see what happens.

Okay I couldn’t wait to add the brown sugar and I’m glad I didn’t. Just delicious!

I have an insatiable sweet tooth. In fact, I probably have a mouth full of sweet teeth. If you put sugar on asparagus, I’m interested and there! I was very excited when I read about Kusmi’s Caramel Tea. This blend sounded like it would combine two of my favorite indulgences, sweets and tea.

I brewed this tea for four minutes at 195 degrees. A broth with an amber color emerged.

I expected (or was hoping for) an aroma that would be similar to a caramel apple on a stick. This was not the case, though. The faint smell was more like pipe tobacco. It was sweet but unlike my recollection of caramel.

When the first sip hit my tastebuds, I found myself asking, “Where’s the caramel?” There was a pleasing tea taste but I didn’t experience the presence of the advertised confection. However, with each sip, more sweetness and a slight caramel taste began to emerge and linger. Maybe I don’t detect a major caramel attendance because I’ve bombarded my senses with candy, cookies, cakes, pies, and ice cream for my entire life. If you partake of the sweeter things in life with more self-control than I, perhaps you will find a stronger and more luscious caramel occupation.

Either way, this is a nice pleasant tea with no bitter aftertaste. I’m not sure that I will drink this tea in the morning. Its attempt to be a “dessert tea” may make it more suitable for the afternoon.

Another sampling from TeaEqualsBliss – thank you!

This is one that I’ve been most interested to try. I’ve read a few very positive reviews on Steepster for it and it peaked my curiosity.

The aroma is delicious – I do love caramel! A sweet, browned sugar scent.

The tea base is strong and I’m getting a little bitterness from it, but not so much that it’s unpleasant. Not as sweet tasting as the aroma lead me to believe but it is tasty (although, I must admit that I do prefer my own caramel blend)

Another one from TastyBrew! Thank you! Thank you! This blend doesn’t seem to have anything that actually is caramel.. just an “essence”. I wouldn’t say the flavor is caramel exactly, but it is good! Adds a sweetness to the stronger black tea base after a steep time of 3-4 minutes right after boiling. I’ve tried a couple other Kusmi blends that haven’t seemed to be this strong! I like it. The black base is a tough flavor to describe. It isn’t really like a Ceylon, Assam, Yunnan. I’m not sure! But I do know it went very well with my pancakes covered in Stonyfield’s chocolate yogurt this morning!

I have completely forgotten about my swap samples…. So… I’m going to drink this one I got from the lovely Shmiracles.
The aroma of the dry leaf is sweet and full of caramel goodness. The flavor is nice. It’s not too heavy on the caramel and you can taste the black base. It’s a very smooth black tea. Nice combination :] Thanks again!

Oh gee, look at all the fancy ratings for this one!! There must be something wrong with mine. What’d you do to it Shmiracles?! lol j/k (^^)

This tastes like a cheap bagged tea with artificial funky caramel flavor. Yuck!

It’s drinkable, but definitely not to my standards.

I enjoy this tea very much, it’s really reliable and tasty. I don’t really think it tastes extremely caramelly, but I can detect it. And I adore the tin <3

THIS TEA IS SO GLORIOUS.

I feel like a millionaire drinking this tea. So refined, and it’s a flavored tea!

The thing that I really love about it is that the flavor of the tea itself is not obscured. The caramel flavor is subtle, adding a smooth, creamy sweetness that lightly flavors a solid, malty black tea. It’s really fabulous, and quite forgiving. I’ve only had it for a week now but I’ve brewed it about 6 times (addict addict addict). It tastes best at about 4 to 4 1/2 minutes—it takes a little longer than other flavored blacks, in my opinion, and I’m not sure why—but if you go under or over, it doesn’t make that much of a difference.

Everything. The tin, the tea, the smell of steeping leaves. This is a great tea. Thanks MUCH to Angrboda for bringing this one to my attention!

YAAAY! So I decided to splurge and buy myself a tin while ordering my boyfriend’s mum’s Christmas present online. (shhh ;) and I got this in the mail today! SO EXCITED to try it and SO glad I decided to buy it online and not go to the Champs Elysee!

So not only do I get to try a new tea… it’s snowing in Paris and all the snow is resting on my now-dead flowers on my balcony and oh man, it’s so beautiful and I am so happy. Now let’s get this kettle boiling…

… mmm! So nice! Exactly what I needed. It’s very sweet and the caramel almost gives off a honey like taste. Even texture really! I’m not going to write too much about this because I’m getting over a pretty wicked cold and can’t taste or smell as one is supposed to. But if it tastes this nice under these conditions… can’t wait to try it when I’m feeling up to par!

So big ups to Kusmi. This tea is wonderful!