90

1 sachet for 250mL water 90C steeped 4 minutes, drunk bare.

So I had one lone little sachet of Tsarevna as a free sample in a recent Kusmi order. Ho hum, I thought, another spiced black tea, probably just some stale cinnamon. Another spiced black tea with orange — Stash is hard to beat there. Another chai wannabe that just fails. Another …

Then I opened the sachet.

Somehow, Tsarevna smells like no other orange spiced black tea I’ve ever had.

The licorice is really good here, subtle (for liquorice) and playing support for the other flavours: sweet, sweet oranges with no bitter pith, really warm cinnamon, and some cardamom.

It’s not a chai. It’s not an orange spiced tea. It’s entirely itself.

The tea base is light and not at all tannic, light-bodied, no bitterness or astringency, so I’m gonna guess it’s a China black tea. And that’s just fine, because the tea plays well with the orange and spices, and, most amazingly, neither dominates the other.

Impressed.

ashmanra

Sounds nice!

Michelle Butler Hallett

I promptly ordered myself a tin of it.

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ashmanra

Sounds nice!

Michelle Butler Hallett

I promptly ordered myself a tin of it.

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Writer and tea fiend. Author of CONSTANT NOBODY, THIS MARLOWE, DELUDED YOUR SAILORS, SKY WAVES, DOUBLE-BLIND, and THE SHADOW SIDE OF GRACE.

I prefer straight teas but will try almost anything … so long as it’s not tainted with hibiscus. I loathe hibiscus.

Floral oolong and complex black teas are my favourites.

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St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

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https://michellebutlerhallett...

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