Kusmi Tea

Bought this at Fox & Obel in Chicago on vacation. It was $12 for a box of 20 teabags, but I figured “what the heck” since I’d never tried this brand before. I need to give it another chance, but it certainly wasn’t worth $12, based on my first try. The teabags are muslin and look pretty fancy, but they’re not as full as UK teabags usually are. The caramel flavour was pretty weak, and the scent was pleasant but not amazing. Overall an okay cup of tea but definitely not anything to spend that much money on. I’ll see if the second try will change my mind (some point down the road)!

First time I had this I found it completely vile. Too perfume-y. Too flower-y. Too dust-y in flavour and all together too grandmother-y.

Morgana had it recently though, and didn’t find it nearly as unpleasant as me. That would be difficult as out of all the people who have posted about it, I liked it the least.

So I decided that I ought to give it a second chance.

I still think it smells like a flower-scented soap, though.

It’s still pretty flower-y too. eyes it And it’s still a bit like drinking soap water.

I dunno…

If I can make it through the cup without going blergh! and dumping it, I’ll lift the rating a bit and possibly manage to somehow finish off the sample tin. If I can’t I’ll call it a loss and will either foist it upon give it away to someone else or get rid of the rest of the leaves.

Either way, I already have something FAR BETTER lined up to wash it out with.

ETA: I think I’ve worked it out. I admit it, I’m eating sweets while drinking this. Foam sweets, which apparently seems to be my preferred sort at the moment (normally I’m a licorice girl), so my tongue is more or less comatose with sugar. And taking a sip right after the sweets really removed a lot of the flower-y unpleasantness! AHA! So I added some cane sugar to the cup, and while it’s not a fix-all solution, it helps some.

I wish my postman would fill out the ‘from’ field when he gives me that little notice about a package to pick up on the post office. There’s one there now, waiting for me to pick it up on saturday. It’s either my Series 3 from Andrews & Dunham or it’s a package from JacquelineM, and I’d quite like to know which. Sorry, JacquelineM, but I’m hoping for the former here, because if it’s yours, then I’ll have to start getting concerned about the A&D.

In the meantime, another Kusmi sample. I’m a little concerned about this one. The leaves… They smell of soap. And lavender. I like lavender. As, you know, a flower. Or as an essential oil to help me sleep if I’m having trouble in that department. I don’t have that good experiences with drinking it. I think I’ve had an Earl Grey with lavender in it once which I sort of liked, but that one didn’t smell of soap!

After steeping, the aroma is less soap-y and more citrus-y, but still very very very grandmother-y. Yes, that it. Grandma perfumes and cleaning agents.

Earl Grey gone girly. There is definitely bergamot-y dusty notes here underneath all the grandma-ness. There is sooooo much perfume-y flower-y badness here. It’s so bad I can’t even come up with another way of describing it. It’s so bad I’ve become like record with a scratch in it. Perfume! Grandma! Perfume! Grandma! Perfume! Grandma! Perfume! Grandma!

Ew. I’m dumping this.

I had this on the train home from my parents’ last night and once more came to the conclusion that Kusmi is indeed drinkable but otherwise overrated. This one isn’t as perfumed as other teas of the brand that I’ve tried, but it’s not particularly memorable either.
This review however must be taken with the understanding that making tea on the train involved hot water from a thermos rather than freshly boiled, so the steeping process was far from ideal. I think I might just stick to coffee on the train from now on.

I had this on the train home from my parents’. I had a 1st class ticket which means access to free coffee and tea. I’ve had a sampler of Kusmi teabags before and found the brand largely overrated. I haven’t changed my mind. It’s better than your average cheap teabags, but it doesn’t really live up to what people have said of it. Even this one, that is merely a blend of Darjeeling and Assam has a synthetic sort of hint to it. Could be from being stored right next to some bags with a jasmine tea in it, but with each bag sealed in an air tight foil satchel I kind of doubt it.
I don’t know whether to give it a thumbs up or thumbs down. I don’t hate it, but I wouldn’t buy it for myself.

I loved this tea. I drank the version in teabags, but the tea pieces were big so it had full flavor. The teabags are muslin and very roomy. I could taste the tea and the liquorish and other spices. It was all very balanced and smooth.

one of my favourites

Prince Vladimir makes a nice cup of tea.
It’s very light, sweet and refreshing.
The vanilla in the tea makes it smooth and easy to drink, very relaxing.
I had it black but I imagine it would be just as nice with milk and something to sweeten it (honey, sugar, etc.), though it would make the tea more heavy and I would assume you would have steep it a little long so the flavour of tea is not lost to the milk.

My long-time favorite

This tea has a nice caramel smell once brewed and a light, refreshing taste.
Still not strong enough flavour to suit my taste though.

I was in need of a cup of decent black caffeinated tea and since my cupboard is and has been for sometime,
barren of my usual Earl Grey, I was in a bit of a bind.
So in my desperation I went through my collection of tea and found a small tin of St Petersburg, which did smell quiet appealing (slight hint of Earl Grey from the bergamot).
The taste was light, refreshing and quelled my need for black tea but it was not amazing like Troika and Anastasia (Kusmi Tea Russian Earl Grey blends), though this could be because I’m just addicted to Earl Grey.
If you like a warm and light Earl grey taste to your tea this would be the blend for you, though I prefer the tea to standout a bit more from the other ingredients and the overall taste to be a little more bold, full bodied.
A nice cup of tea overall.

this tea is quite tasty and should not be steeped too long or it’s harsh

First tried this tea in 2006 in Quebec City at the Chateau Frontenac. It then took me almost two years to track down a supplier for it that didn’t cost and arm and a leg to ship. Dearly love this tea with just a hint of sugar.

good russian blend, but not my favorite from Kusmi