Kusmi Tea

I received four Kusmi samples in a swap with Cameron B and this one seemed the most breakfast-y so it was the chosen one this morning!

I think it was the perfect one of the set for it, too. It had the dark heft I like, rather than bright and brassy Ceylon taste (I do like Ceylon but not with bergamot) and a hint of smoke. The bergamot was light and the citrus lighter. All in all, I considered it a perfect accompaniment to a sweet waffle breakfast. Definitely something I would buy before most Earl Grey teas on the market, there are so few of them I like but the ones I do like, I really enjoy. It resteeped well, too.

Thank you, Cameron!

I was a bit afraid of this one, because of the cherry. Now, I don’t know. I can’t seem to find the cherry? Or really identify anything else. It’s definitely flavored, and it’s a fruity flavor, but beyond that, I have no idea.
Not sure if the flavor was lost much faster than it should have been(the box says 12/2019) or what else.

This is a delightfully robust black tea that stands up well to milk. It does get bitter fast if you over-brew it, but brewed for 3 minutes or less in just barely boiling water it comes out rich and chocolatey with just the slightest hint of smoke. Also, this shouldn’t matter to me as much as it does, but the tin is just so darn cute! One of my favorite breakfast blends.

Apparently, last time wasn’t really a sipdown, because I still had another sample tin, from another set of samples. I guess someone at Kusmi thinks that this one is the best thing ever and everyone should try it? Or maybe they just think that it’s really versatile, and that’s why they included it in two different sample sets?

Either way, I’m still not really tasting any spices, but since this tin is newer than the other one, I guess that’s because the steep was too short – another case of “should have read the reviews first!”(I’m thinking now I probably should have given it a 5 minute steep).

Sipdown! And a way overdue one – I don’t know exactly how old this is, but it’s at least a few months older than my tin of Anastasia, and the date on the bottom of that says 01/2019, so most likely this one was past its best-by date. I think most flavor had been lost, but it wasn’t outright unpleasant – I guess none of the ingredients are prone to going rancid?
(I really need to find someone to send some of the Anastasia to, I do like it but have way too much of it)