Caramel

goddamn it i can’t believe i just steeped this for 9 min :(

am i right that it would be kinda respectable to dump some out and add water until it’s not bitter? that’s a thing that people do?

…. WAIT WAIT wait. how is it possible that this tea isn’t horribly bitter?!?!?!
i didn’t add water or anything and sure it may not be the best steep of this tea but i swear i am amazed that i can drink it and it’s only slightly more potent than i would like. after 9 minutes!!! how is that even possible?!

this accidental power steep has kinda given me a whole new level of appreciation for this tea. grace under pressure. i’m gonna drink much more of you caramel! cuz now that i’ve seen your inner beauty, i understand you much more.

Steepsters are right; this is by far the best flavored Kusmi I’ve had. The only one I’ve tried so far I’d consider buying again. Still, it’s not blow-my-socks-off great; I’ve a feeling there are other caramel teas I could find I’d like better. But it has a better flavor than most, one that integrates well with the usual gentle tea base. It hit the spot nicely for afternoon tea on this bitterly cold day.

My first Kusmi tea thanks to Shmiracles!! The dry leaf aroma is caramel but not in an overly sweet, sugary manner. The brewed tea aroma is much more tea heavy than I would have thought. The taste is more tea and less caramel as well. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But if you’re in the mood for a dessert tea, this may not hit the spot.

The caramel flavor is light and tastes almost syrup-y. Yes, that’s it. It tastes like caramel syrup. The base tea flavor dominates the sip. The aftertaste is where the caramel shines. With sweetener added, there’s much more caramel flavor noticeable in the sip rather than exclusively in the aftertaste. Now this is more to my liking!

I can understand the caramel chew similarity now. This does have an interesting mouthfeel. The base is really a lovely complement to the added flavoring. There’s just the tiniest hint of malt, which I’m really digging. This is a wonderful tea and one that grows on you the more you sip it. Thanks Shmiracles for sending a sample my way!

Angrboda was kind enough to send me some of this tea! It was quite a surprise too! I’m still feeling amazed and so grateful!! :) It was sure a delicious surprise. I l-o-o-o-o-v-e caramel and I love Kusmi, so I did not waste a second and hurried to the kitchen to make a pot of this for my husband and I. It smelled so. good. in the package!!

The first thing that struck me was how multidimensional the caramel was. It was smooth, chewy, that under layer of burnt richness yet somehow sweet. The second thing that struck me was how wonderfully it interacted with the tea base. Again, smooth kept coming to mind. Even my husband said “Gosh this tea is good!”

Totally my favorite caramel I’ve tried so far. Kusmi nailed this one. I wouldn’t change a thing.

I’ve been wanting to try this one for a while now and today seemed like the day. This is also my first Kusmi, so I’m excited.

The dry leaves smell wonderful, but surprisingly it’s not just any old caramel I’m smelling. It’s buttery and nutty and… just yum. It must be that French thing. They can make anything elegant. That’s what this smell is: elegant. This isn’t your Halloween candy caramel. It’s a caramel from a very high end box of candies, indeed.

The tea’s aroma is mostly that same, very buttery and nutty caramel with a vanilla note. It steeps to a lighter color than I’d thought it would, but a pretty one. A sort of rosy amber.

I’m tasting a sweet, smooth, caramel-laced tea, with an extra caramel boost at the tail of the sip and it is terrifically comforting.

Now. How does this compare to Caramel-Toffee by Dammann Freres? Gosh, I might have to try them next to each other to say for sure. They’re both really delicious. I suspect the Dammann Freres may be creamier and that it may ultimately win out, but it may be one of those things where they’re similar but just different enough so that you can’t really choose one over the other and it’s really about what mood you’re in (like Florence and The Du Loup).

This is my very first Kusmi tea! I have just about ordered from this company a couple of times, only to decide I would wait. So big thank you to whatshesaid for a sample of this! The dry leaves smell lightly of black tea and sweet caramel, and the tea aroma is of warm caramel. I’m probably still half asleep right now and the first sip took me by surprise, it’s pretty sweet on it’s own with a authentic caramel flavor and there’s a nice maltiness from the black tea. There’s a rich caramel aftertaste that is just like biting into a piece of caramel candy. I added a little milk and sweetener and it became a smooth cup, but this is one of those rare teas that I could actually drink without either one and be perfectly content. It doesn’t seem to oversteep, either. When I poured the rest from my teapot (where the leaves were still steeping) into my cup, the rich caramel flavor had only intensified, with no bitterness. This may be my first tea that it just caramel flavored, so I probably don’t have much to compare it to, but I am pretty happy with this tea!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs.
-Dry leaves smell lightly of black tea and sweet caramel. Tea liquor aroma is of warm caramel.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium orange brown color.
-Malty and sweet caramel flavor and finish. Rich caramel aftertaste.
-Milk and sweetener optional.
-Very good tea. Lightly flavored. A smooth and sweet cup. Reminiscent of caramel candies.

Special thanks to Tamm for letting me try this one since I’ve been thinking about buying a tin of it…

I steeped mine for around 4 minutes and am drinking it straight up plain today… the Kusmi teas I’ve tried were all the Russian blends so the simplicity of this is a refreshing change of pace. A nice smooth, medium bodied black tea. The caramel flavor is subtle with just a hint of sweetness and doesn’t seem artificial to me. This was a great choice for after lunch with a cookie! :)

I tried adding soymilk to it but I think I preferred it plain actually…

This was enjoyable for a flavored black tea but it doesn’t need a permanent home in my ever growing stash.

The Final Sipdown: Day 6.2

It’s a slightly overcast, though otherwise no less beautiful fall day. After momentarily debating over which tea to ELIMINATE next [sorry, I write a word like ELIMINATE and feel as though it needs to be said in all caps], Auggy reminded me that she had sent over some of Kusmi’s Caramel in the last package I received from her.

No brainer.

Using the entire sample [and it was sizeable], I made a large pot in the Breville and poured about a third of it into my tumbler to take while I took the dog out for a walk. Apart from the fact that the tumbler [I keep wanting to type that as tumblr] I have keeps the tea HOTHOTHOT for a long time [great when I’m drinking throughout the day, not so much in the short term], it was a delightful companion to my afternoon excursion.

That said, drinking tea whilst walking a very curious dog does not lend itself to paying attention to nuances within a tea. So I was happy that I had a near full pot waiting me when I returned so that I could log it properly.

This tea is smoooooth. It tastes of caramel, but not in an overtly flavored way. The black tea flavor is nearly always threading in and out of the caramel flavor in a pleasant, complimentary manner. At times I get notes of dates and cocoa, but the caramel is the star here and it is delicious. As the tea cools, I tend to get more astringency from it, but the aftertaste always is silky, part-salty-part-sweet caramel.

I have spent the majority of today sipping on this whilst Little Dog sleeps nearby, I catch up on DVR’d things, and I recover from yesterday. Thoroughly enjoyable, and should I find myself at Dean & Deluca in the near future, I hope I’ll be able to snag a tin of this [though I don’t recall seeing it the last time I was there]. Part of me is now wishing I had used one of my self-alloted five saves to keep part of this sample later, but it’s just giving me another reason to push through TFS so I can justify purchasing a tin.

Little Dog | http://bit.ly/cgMywy
Foliage | http://bit.ly/cb6e5y

And just to reiterate: I ABSOLUTELY ENDORSE THIS TEA.

Teas Downed: 14

This tea comes to me this morning courtesy of… Angrboda. Thank you, my sweet overseas tea friend.

I don’t even know where to begin with this tea. I want to start out by screaming, “THIS IS AMAZING STUFF!” However, I think I’ll restrain myself and begin at the beginning…

The scent: The scent of this tea is just like caramel. It’s such a rich, toffee-like aroma that I have an urge to lick the tea. (It’s difficult to quell.) I digress.

The taste of this tea is out of this world. It’s so good. The black tea is thankfully not at all bitter, but instead smooth and perfect for the caramel “essences” as Kusmi calls them. These “essences” are the caramel of my childhood. The rich, toasted (not overly sweetened) caramel that my mom used to make for us once a year during the holidays, but which we pined for and whined for all year long. It’s not a very sweet tea, and it’s not at all a sugary tea. Instead, it’s a dessert tea that I would be proud to serve at a formal event. I can see this tea not only in my lime green mug, but also in a delicate teacup of bone china.

Wow, Kusmi, you’re amazing, yet so far away hanging out there in Europe. Add another stop to my European trip… Denmark and now France (comment tu me manques…)

Thank you, Angrboda!

Another from the ifjuly box o’ bounty! :)

This one is not impressing me much. It’s moderately sweet but it reminds me more of the bourbon vanilla than of caramel. And I’m not a huge fan of the bourbon vanilla. While this one won’t be going on the list, it’s drinkable and I’m glad to have tried it!