Bouquet of Flowers No. 108

As the first/signature tea by Kusmi, S insisted on getting a small tin of BoF. But yours truly (J) was the first to try it (2 tsp / 8 oz / 3 min).

Since it is black tea + bergamot, I was expecting an earl grey flavor. But the bergamot was quite light, resulting in potpourri and violet flavors being equally strong. So this is not close to an earl grey, and seeking out the bergamot sets the wrong expectations. Later in the cup, the taste of dehydrated berry came out. It probably wouldn’t make for a great iced tea because the flavors are relatively light.

The roof and sides of my mouth were dried out pretty quickly by its moderate astringency, while my tongue was relatively unscathed.

And when I stuck my nose into the post-steeping leaves, it smelled like… wet leaves. I’m not sure what else I was expecting. But it was definitely like a forest after a rain.

Steeping #2 (8 oz / 5 min) had less tea flavor, less bergamot, but the floral flavor was still strong. My mouth also felt like it was coated in something that I think could be interpreted as ‘soapy’.

Overall, it’s quite pleasant. Just don’t go in expecting earl grey, or a strong kick-you-in-the-face wake-me-up tea.

Classic tea. Bouquet of Flowers No. 108, created in 1880 by Pavel Kousmishoff in St. Petersburg, Russia to celebrate the birth of his daughter, Elizabeth, is Kusmi Tea’s oldest blend. It was the favorite tea of Tsar Nicholas II. Fast forward 136 years later and 7000 miles west to a Russian tea lover in Richmond, Virginia, USA. It is a sunny springtime Sunday afternoon and I am feeling a bit nostalgic today. April in Virginia is glorious! Drinking Bouquet of Flowers just seems right as I gaze thankfully into the garden at my flowers that survived last night’s frost – Hopefully our last! I think that the odd spring cold snap must have put me in the mood for something Russian.

I love all things floral and I especially love floral teas. A brazen, unapologetic floral fiend I am! That said, I honestly think that many folks with floral fears in regard to tea might just find this tea to be quite acceptable.

The dry leaf smells mostly of lavender, and there is a hauntingly pleasant woody scent that calls to my mind the smell of an old antiques shop or, perhaps, the library of an old English country estate. That kind of woody scent. There is a bit of spicey sweetness in the fragrance that lingered into the three minute steep.

Flavor wise, the tea base of Ceylonese, Chinese and Indian tea creates a very smooth base, with a pleasant bit of bread and malt, along with the woody note. The main floral note is lavender, but it is not overwhelming or perfumey. I also detected a hint of sweet violet. The citrus components from the bergamot, mandarin, lemon and lime work very well to keep the floral components in check.

This is a tea of masterful synchronicity. Everything comes together just right to produce the classic cup of Imperial Russian tea. It makes a fabulous afternoon tea – Great with sweets! The fact that Bouquet of Flowers No. 108 has been around for over 130 years says something. I am surprised that this tea is not more highly rated. As far as I’m concerned, if it was good enough for Tsar Nicholas II it is certainly good enough for little old me.

Rarely do I go for floral teas, so I surprised myself by craving one this evening. Decided to give this a go and was sorely disappointed. This tastes almost exactly like sugar coated fennel seeds which, unfortunately for me, tastes like sweet black licorice. It was so unexpected I went and double checked that I’d grabbed the right tea bag—twice! On the bright side, I have had worse teas when it comes to black licorice, but it really wasn’t what I was expecting. Towards the middle of the cup some lemon came out and the aftertaste even contained a bit of a velvety floral note. This definitely improved as it cooled. Still not a winner for me.

Sipdown! (26/330)

This came to me from KittyLovesTea – thanks, Kayleigh!

I’ve had this for quite a while now, but it didn’t excite me enough to write up a tasting note right away. I was craving earl grey this morning, and I need to get back on my sipdowns, so this was a good choice. The base is brisk and slightly astringent when drank plain, but perfect for a breakfast tea when sweetener and a splash of milk is added. I love a strong cup of tea in the morning. The scent of this tea is kinda muddled, and this was reflected in the flavours. The predominant note is bergamot, with indistinct citrus and indistinct floral notes in the background, although interestingly I think the floral notes longer longest, with something which is probably rose being the main aftertaste.

I really enjoyed this as a breakfast tea, despite the recommendation to drink it in the afternoon! Thanks again, Kitty.

There’s something there that I can’t pin down. It’s not obviously jasmine or osmanthus.

I didn’t read any descriptions of this before tasting. All I really identified from this was rose and a very mild bergamot. It’s a nicely moderate floral in a light tea. I think the weight of the tea and the floral were well paired.

Thanks again, Marzipan!

It has been a week and a half of sample cleanup for me. For a bit in August I wasn’t drinking a lot of tea and when I was I was only drinking my favorites. I was just in that funk of not wanting to try anything new. I am back to wanting to give a few new things a try and this is one that I gave a whirl today.

This isn’t my favorite kusmi tea that I have tried, but it is okay. I will say that I am pretty sure I oversteeped this puppy. A co-worker came into talk when I had just put my infuser in my cup. It had a beramont, floral taste to the tea, but for me the floral took over for me. This is one I am glad I got to try, but not one I need to buy.

Thank you Cameron B for allowing me to try quite a few of the Kusmi teas.

Picked this almost automatically the last couple of days in the afternoon…nothing special, but at the same time it´s easy going, the weather being bad outside and you want to get something hot while getting on with all the other work. And if somebody calls or you need to go to another room for a moment, the tea won´t be ruined. I´m not sure I want to buy more of this when the tin ´ll be empty…wait and see.

Backlog 11/67

I think Cameron B sent this one. This had a nice floral taste on top of a tannic tea.
I don’t think I can say I love this tea, but it wasn’t bad. It just tasted like tea and flowers. The smell was mild, but the flower taste was stronger with a bit of sugar.

Overall not bad? But not something I’d go hunting for. Thanks for the taste Cam!

Trying this tea next on a request/recommendation(?) from Boychik. This is the second I’ve tried out of my Kusmi Russian Blends pack. The dry leaves have an extremely strong bergamot scent, there might be a tiny bit of floral smell but it’s really hard for me to tell again the bergamot. I used the same brewing technique that was suggested to me for St. Petersburg, since it’s a very similar tea.

When I smell the brewed tea, I definitely get a distinct floral note in conjunction with the bergamot, which is considerably milder than in the dry leaf. I must say, I really love the taste of this tea! I can taste the black tea base, which seems mild and smooth, and I can definitely taste the bergamot, but it doesn’t overpower. There is a definite floral note, though I couldn’t say what type of floral (other reviewers have suggested lavender, but I don’t know its flavor well enough to say)). I also get a subtle note of citrus other than the bergamot – I looked up the ingredients and found this to be mandarin or orange. I also added a small amount of sugar to mine which really works to bring all the flavors together.

I was surprised to see that quite a few people hated this tea. I don’t know if maybe they’re not consistent in the formula or if they have changed it over time. Or maybe I’m crazy, woo! :D I can’t wait to try this with a splash of milk.