Troika

I had a sample tin of this two years ago, in that Russian Blends sample sets, and back then I rather liked this one. But I finished the sample and didn’t pay any further attention to it.

Untill recently when it suddenly got inside my head that I wanted it again. I mean I wanted it! So after going around for a while with that want in the back of my head, just to see if it would stick around or go away or what, I finally decided that it was staying and not just a passing thought.

So I bought me a tin.

Drinking this now is like meeting up with a friend I haven’t seen in a long time. Everything I said in those posts of a few years ago still stands.

I think I will try another of these Kusmi teas. They have been the victims of changing tastebuds, because there are several Kusmi teas that I used to love (or at least enjoy), and now they are not tasty at all to me. All the Russian blends apparently have the same base (a blend of Chinese, Ceylon and Indian teas), and one of the components doesn’t sit well with me. It’s not any sort of bitterness or astringency but a flavor I just don’t care for.

Yeah, no. This one is the same way. It’s pretty frustrating really, to have a quality tea that you just don’t like anymore. The one good thing is that I still like the teas cold brewed, so I guess I’ll be drinking a lot of iced Kusmi this summer.

Edited: Actually I ended up enjoying this one enough to drink the whole cup. Maybe it was the combination of citrus fruits but even though I didn’t love it, I liked it enough. It did get a bit astringent when it got really cool, though.

Thank you Will Work For Tea for this Sample!

I know for sure that God is watching over me! I am a dumb woman who almost got herself killed tonight!

After the monsoon thunder and lightning storm this afternoon had finished (I thought), I decided to head 20 miles South go to Vespers at St. Spyridons Greek Orthodox Church.
As I drove closer to Loveland, the sky look ominous. Dark clouds were thickening but nothing was happening. Maybe they would scurry past to the Prairie, I thought.

Somewhere towards the end of the service when the Chanters (and those present) were singing “Lord Have Mercy” in English, Greek, Arabic and Russian…BANG! ALL…you know what…broke loose! We kept singing and at the end scurried to our cars (which were now becoming flooded with a Noah-esque like downpour of rain). I had to wade in ankle deep water to my car.

The lightening and thunder was banging overhead. Somewhat like having my picture taken by the sky…bang…flash…over and over and then…I hit a pocket of water on a 4 lane busy main road and hydroplaned!
The water covered my car and I was blind! I came out of the tunnel of water to a bang flash. I was scared but my brakes were ok. I kept going..inching home.
I had a funny intuitive girl feeling that something else wasn’t right.
My car is a titanium silver Rav4 and not that easy to see at dusk in a rainstorm.
I DROVE 15 MILES WITHOUT MY HEADLIGHTS ON! Freaked me out!
As soon as the bang boom fear, watery feet and hydroplaning terror kicked in…I was a white knuckle, all hands on the steering wheel mess. I am never going out in the rain like that again ever, ever!

I chose this tea for it’s great Russian name Troika! The horse drawn sleigh. Visions of some of my favorite old Russian movies came to mind. The Brothers Karamazov with Yul Brynner and We Live Again from 1935. Wintry days with hot smoky tea. Even though this is Summer, the cool stormy weather seemed right for it.
I used only 6 oz. water to make a strong cup and 1 tsp tea. Brew time was 3.5 minutes.
The flavor was smoky and citrus fruity. Somewhere between an Assam and Orange Pekoe with more smoke though. At first I notice a light bergamot creaminess then as it cools there is astringency.
I wouldn’t call the flavor weak. It’s a pretty hefty brew.
I added sweetening eventually which was good, then cream which was also acceptable (and the cream cut the tannin).

My advice is not to walk away from this cup and let it cool down. It gets way to astringent. Drink it hot and it’s pretty tasty. A good blaster for handwarming while riding in your Troika!

The Lord really did have Mercy on me tonight! http://youtu.be/vyFkPd6fEuI Tchaikovsky (Song of the Cherubim which is a song sung at every Liturgy but not always this particular version by Tchaikovsky)

Thank you for this one, Will Work For Tea!

This is the kind of Earl Grey I could drink plenty of. It’s not in your face but it still definitely has the flavor of bergamot. There’s additional orange flavor to it too, and I quite like it.

I didn’t even know Kusmi existed when I was in Paris and I wish I did because I love the tins. I think if I get the job tomorrow I will buy at least one…I’ve been window shopping on their site for ages but I didn’t want to without trying one first.

This kind of take on an EG is right up my alley and some of the other ones sound very intriguing too. I only steeped it for two minutes, just because I wasn’t entirely sure how strong it would be, and I could definitely up it to three the next time. I don’t get any smoky notes and I would like to, seems intriguing with orange!

With the shorter steep it hasn’t gotten astringent as it cools, in fact, the flavor has hardly changed the entire time. Just a nice smooth black base with what tastes like mandarin oranges and bergamot.

Remember those chocolate oranges they had in the 90s? This smells just like them.
This tastes lightly sweet with a lingering floral or orange aftertaste. Not positive that I love this, but I was craving a nice black tea. I like this with milk – it brings out the orange floral notes.

This is NICE! The Earl Grey is mellowed down by the orange and mandarin believe it or not. If you aren’t fond of Earl Greys give this a try…you might like it! The orange and mandarin both pair nicely and are not overly citrusy and do not have an overpowering aftertaste.

To me, Troïka is a mild black tea. The head note on dry leaf is clearly bergamot but orange is really present, but behind.

This is the same after steeping : a mild Earl Grey perfumed with orange.
I am very sorry but I wasn’t able to pick up mandarin.

It is a subtle tea, very smooth : the kind of tea a lot of people should appreciate and I am not an exception, I appreciate it.

But I clearly prefer Anastasia which is stronger and much original to be.

Anyway, thanks for the travel in Troïka, magnificent steppe …

I always find it so amazing how my tea tastes change over time. I never used to like Bergamot, but now (so long as it’s not soapy, perfumey, or super duper overwhelming) I find myself really kind of enjoying it. This opens up a whole new world of EGs I never thought I’d enjoy. I need to put away my twitchy purchase finger on it though.

The base blend Kusmi uses is bold, but not bitter, and just a little malty. There’s a mild but of astringency, but not in an offputting way (Unless you let the cup cool all the way down. Then it’s quite intense). This one triggers my EG radar because of the use of the Bergamot. It’s the first flavor (other than the tea) that hits the tongue. It’s not as potent as a lot of EG blends, but it’s present enough that it makes the illusion of. There’s a subtle sweet orange flavor that follows closely behind. I think the mandarin and ornage merge together to create that one flavor.

Overall, the cup is bright, but subtle and enjoyable.

Thank you very much Nicole!

Thank you so much Nicole! I get to try three of Kusmi’s teas! I’ve been reading tasting notes and ifjuly said many of the things I would have said as I’m drinking this one. It’s a nice base for a nice bergamot. I didn’t really taste mandarins and oranges but if you think about it, bergamot is citrus. The black tea base doesn’t overpower the bergamot at all and the bergamot is a stronger one… and the stronger the better for me. Very nice!

This was part of a Kusmi Russian tea sampler we got. My boyfriend loves Earl Grey/bergamot blends so he likes them a little bit better than I do, I find them to be a bit perfume-y. The orange is very nice in this blend though. Might be better with a scone. ;-)