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“This is another one from Auggy and I have to admit that when I unwrapped this tin, my immediate thought was ‘Russian gout?’ O.o So that’s what it’s called in my head now. Russian gout. It probably...” Read full tasting note
“sipown! thank you *hallieod for sending this along for me to try. I didn’t think i’d enjoy this much as there is a strong bergamot flavour to this. However, I’m open to trying things just in...” Read full tasting note
“I love citrus, particularly those in the sweet orange category, though I have a fondness for all citrus types. Thus I simply had to try this tea out. Seven types of citrus! Whee! The smell of...” Read full tasting note
“I had a coworker who was in France not too long ago, and she brought back some different blends from PDT as a gift – this being one of them. It’s hard to describe the flavour of this blend as...” Read full tasting note
A Russian blend with added extracts known as a Slavic specialty. This superb blend of black teas with lemon, lime, sweet orange, bitter orange, grapefruit, bergamot and mandarin, was created by Palais des Thés during its earliest years.
Since then, the 7-citrus cocktail has been added to different base teas.
Different from the tea that grows in Georgia, Russian blends have been enjoyed in Russia since the 17th century. Although they were originally blends of black Chinese teas, they became more diverse in the late 19th century when the Russian court was introduced to Indian teas, most notably Darjeeling. Since then, the term “Russian blends” has been adopted to refer to any blend of Darjeeling and Chinese black teas, with or without natural citrus extracts added.
This is another one from Auggy and I have to admit that when I unwrapped this tin, my immediate thought was ‘Russian gout?’ O.o So that’s what it’s called in my head now. Russian gout. It probably has rather a lot to do with the fact that I don’t speak French.
Anyway, it’s a black base flavoured with seven types of citrus fruits, first and foremost among which appears to be bergamot, when going by the aroma. Both the leaves and the steeped cup is heavy on the aroma and then with the other fruits slightly more in the background and just strong enough to make it not a variation on the Earl Grey theme.
When it comes to the flavour it’s evened out a bit more, but I can’t say I can pick out the different fruits individually. It’s all just a mixture of generic citrusness on a black base.
It’s quite pleasant actually, and it reminds me of the Kusmi Russian blend sampler I had once; a combination of Anastasia and Troika I think would produce something quite similar to this. That makes it a rather heavy sort of flavour, where those two Kusmis I remember as being fairly light on the feet. I think I preferred those two respectively over this more lumbering beast. I would have liked to have seen a little more ‘lift’ in this, if you understand what I mean by that. It feels a little to me like there might have been just one ingredient too many in this combination.
Still, though, if what you’re looking for is just something citrus-y without requiring anything more specific than that, then this is a good choice.
sipown! thank you *hallieod for sending this along for me to try. I didn’t think i’d enjoy this much as there is a strong bergamot flavour to this. However, I’m open to trying things just in case! Overall? I wouldn’t ever order this myself but it’s not as iscky to me as i thought it would be. The base is rather smooth and the bergamot is softened by the other citrus fruits in the blend. My only wish? that this was a bit sweeter. There’s a bitterness from the fruits that makes this less pleasant than it could be. Still though…not too shabby :) Thanks Hallieod!
I love citrus, particularly those in the sweet orange category, though I have a fondness for all citrus types. Thus I simply had to try this tea out. Seven types of citrus! Whee!
The smell of bergamot is the strongest scent in the dry leaf, but there is a note of lighter sweetness too – the sweet orange, I believe. Post-steeping, it’s a heady mix of citrus. Nothing distinctly stands out; instead it is a sweet, fragrant, dark, silky, exotic scent that smells slightly different on each sniff. Sweetness here, tangy there, a dash of spice. It all kind of swirls together and I’m finding it rather sensual and dizzying. Or maybe the dizziness is coming from the constant sniffing.
The taste doesn’t seem as sparkly as the smell, but it’s nice. I get bergamot on the front end, a flash of bitter orange on the back, a nice clean aftertaste with a bit of… lime peel? and a general citrus flavor (slightly sweet) throughout. It becomes a little sweeter and more floral (from the bergamot, I suspect, though perhaps the grapefruit) as it cools, but it still doesn’t sparkle as much as the scent.
I think the strength of the bergamot in this makes me think Earl Grey-thoughts and I was personally hoping for a bit more sweet orange out of it. But looking at it from an EG perspective, I quite like it.
I had a coworker who was in France not too long ago, and she brought back some different blends from PDT as a gift – this being one of them.
It’s hard to describe the flavour of this blend as anything other than citrus. I mean, there is a whole seven different types of citrus flavouring and oils used within the blend so it makes sense this it just evokes this strong and aromatic generally citrus kind of vibe. I will say that the bergamot comes through the most though; it’s just so potent and has a distinct floral undertone that the rest of the medley don’t. The black base is really brisk and full bodied, and it works as a solid canvas for the different flavourings.
I’m not totally sure how I feel about the blend overall; it’s such a highly European blending style and the different flavourings are quite potent in aroma that they come close to veering more on the perfume-y chemical side than being as “fresh” as I’d expect/like to be tasting. Like, this isn’t a light blend of zesty bright citrus. It feels heavy. Not in a bad way, but just in a way that is less typical for citrus teas in general.
PDT ´s citrusy blends are indeed not for the faint-hearted, but I kind of like them. And although I haven´t tried this exact blend, I´m quite certain the aroma´s will still be natural.
To be honest, that´s the reason why I rarely buy citrusy blends, as they easily seem artifical to me. I need to add that I´m fond of citrus fruits, but that I prefer to eat the fruit, not to have them “processed” in something else (I have a similir thing with chocolate : I love a chocolate tablet, but am not too keen on a chocolate cake or icecream, for instance).
I´m fascinated by your remark about this “highly European blending style” however…could you tell me what you mean by that? Is American blending more subtly done, or how should I imagine this difference?
This was a present from a friend, and a very propitious one – I had just finished a tin of one of my staples, Lady Grey, and finding surprisingly difficult to buy more locally. And this Gout Russe to me smelled a lot like Lady Grey – an earl grey tea with lots of orange.
Supposedly there are 7 citrus on this tea. Obviously the bergamot rules and orange is also very important. The other citrus I am less certain of. It´s somewhat delicate, somewhat astringent. I think I prefer my old staple, but this tin will be finished with pleasure.
Flavors: Bergamot, Orange
I think maybe Cameron sent this to me – thanks Cam! I actually really like it.
I am making myself go through my sample basket and get rid of some of the stuff that is just hanging around, so that’s my theme this week. I packed this up to bring on campus. When I smelled the leaf it didn’t smell like much (actually didn’t smell like anything), so to be honest I wasn’t very excited about it. I figured it was old and wouldn’t taste good. Surprise! I could smell it while it was brewing and I got definite citrus notes from it.
As I drink it, it’s making me happy. I would reorder this. It’s a bit of bergamot and a bit of lemon. Just citrus-y but not overly so, and very nice and satisfying.
Sounded awesome, opened the tin expecting a blast of citrus aromas aaaaand……. nope. Their Thes des Lords EG has more citrus smell than this blend. Once brewed, the leaves oooze all sorts of bright citrus aromas, like a truck carrying lemons and grapefruits crashed into a lemon-zest factory, but the tea.. well.. not so much. Not much at all, really.
Funny thing, along with my order I got a few sample tea bags and one of the bags was this very tea. Opened it, and it had a bit stronger scent than the loose leaf in the tin did, but the brewed liquor was pretty much the same.
The saving grace of this tea, and main reason it doesn’t get 21-40 range score, is that YES there is a bit of citrus in there, but the russian blend of blacks is actually quite nice and smooth, and makes an excellent pairing with other teas in blends, especially where a touch of citrus won’t hurt.
Completely misses one target but scores enough points on a completely different one accidentally. Enough so that I might consider ordering a refill pouch eventually if I don’t find better partners for a few blends I’m trying to perfect.
I, with my love of citrus, was hoping for so much more out of this one. Ah well. At least it isn’t a bad tea.
Yes, it’s a little over-done, isn’t it? I’ve been thinking Kusmi Troika thoughts on and off since having this one though. I may have to see about whether I can get me some of that again…
Mmm, I do enjoy Troika. That, I think, is more in line with what I was hoping for with this tea.
I’ve actually put buying more of Troika on my to-do list. Along with the apple flavoured one, which grew on me unexpectedly. Especially when taken half and half with the caramel. Gosh…! :9