Kusmi Tea

Had some of this today for the first time in a while, and noticed that after the tea has been drunk, there’s a rather amazing chocolatey smell left in the cup. It’s much stronger than the chocolate aspect of the taste and there’s very little mint to be detected in the cup’s aromatic residue. Which is interesting because the taste is totally the reverse — lots o’ mint, very forward in the sip, with the chocolate on the back end and not nearly as strong.

In a total tea vacuum, such as I have had for several months, it’s not bad. But in rereading my original assessment from about a year ago, I see I was evaluating it in the face of some stiff chocolate mint competition that better matched my preferences in terms of the balance of mint and chocolate, and the desire for less of the famous Kusmi subtlety where chocolate is concerned.

Sadly, this is another Kusmi disappointment.

It’s better than the Kusmi Chocolate, but it isn’t as tasty as the Harney & Sons Chocolate Mint or even what I recall of the Herbal Infusions Chocolate Mint.

The mint flavor is primary, but it isn’t as sweet a mint as the Harney’s. The chocolate is very similar to the plain Kusmi Chocolate, which is to say it isn’t a very strong flavor. Which could be ok, if the tea had a strong flavor, but it doesn’t.

The overall impression I get is that this blend is “thin.” Oh well, at least that helps to narrow down my future purchase choices. I’ll be going with the H&S Chocolate Mint instead, unless I find an even better one.

Finished and decupboarded this one today. I’ve said a fair amount about it already so I’ll just add an anecdote.

Yesterday morning I made this for my first morning beverage. I asked the BF to taste it, wondering whether he’d pick up on the flavor and fairly sure he wouldn’t because he’s the sort that puts Tabasco or BBQ sauce on everything so he can taste the food. He’s not at all about subtle when it comes to flavors.

Embarrassingly, he picked up on the chocolate, immediately. Is there a word for the opposite of vindication?

In revisiting the Kusmi Chocolate, I find myself having to bump it down a few notches, mostly because I enjoyed their Spicy Chocolate and even the Chocolate Mint better.

There’s a heaviness to the flavor of this that was doing a number on my stomach this morning. It tastes full and dense, but that didn’t equate to a rich chocolate flavor. The chocolate is around the edges, but somehow the synergy between the chocolate and the tea was making this sit like a brick today. I had tried a bit more leaf than usual to see if that would bump up the chocolate flavor. Note to self: this tastes better without trying to make it stronger. I haven’t experienced the brick sensation before with this tea — usually it’s been the other way — too quiet for what I think about when I think about chocolate tea (hello Raymond Carver).

I saw the suggestion to use sugar in a comment to my previous note on this. I’ll give it a try but I really hope the richness of chocolate flavor doesn’t hinge on the addition of sugar. Then I’ll have yet another reason not to repeat this purchase since I’m back on my diet big time.

Third attempt, this time plain but at 195F for 3:30 minutes after discovering that Kusmi advocates a lower temperature for this. They go so far as to suggest 185-195 as a range, so I guess I still have more possible attempts.

It’s hard to know whether the chocolate flavor is any richer because I’m not comparing this back to back with the cup made at boiling, but I’m going to say I think it may be, slightly. Not enough to put it into an exceptionally chocolately realm, but better than before.

I’m also tasting for more flavor in the intervals between sips, as I’ve noticed that other Kusmis tend to have a little flavor kick when the sip is done. This one sort of does. It’s not a powerful kick, but it’s definitely there, and there’s a stronger, more chocolately taste in the kick.

Not enough of a difference to change my opinion significantly, but worth a few points. Next time I’ll bump the temp down even more just for laughs.

Attempt no. 2. Bumping this down a few points because, though it is improved with a bit more leaf (I used about 2.75 cups worth for 2 cups) and improved further with a bit of milk and sweetener, it just isn’t as chocolatey as some other blends. Nor is it more tea-y. It’s in some strange middle land that isn’t working for me.

With milk and sweetener it tastes a little like Swiss Miss made with water, which isn’t entirely bad, but if you’ve had it made with milk yaknowwhatImean about the difference between milk and water. And even with milk, it ain’t the cat’s meow in terms of hot chocolate, it’s just… serviceable on a cold day when there’s nothing better around.

I think I have a potential job for it though. I’m thinking it would do well as the extra black tea for chai, particularly chocolate chai. That’s my plan, anyway. I won’t buy it again as a stand alone chocolate tea.

I talked myself into a French flavored tea while I’m waiting for my chai to steep.

This smelled incredibly promising in the tin, very chocolatey. Like bakery chocolate.

However, that didn’t translate into the steeped product, unfortunately. It’s a suggestion of chocolate in the aroma, and less of one in the flavor. I wonder if I need to boost the amount of leaf? Will try that next time.

It’s hard to believe Kusmi could do such a wonderful caramel and not be able to repeat that feat with chocolate. This isn’t even approaching the Harney chocolate tea in terms of depth of chocolate flavor. Which leads me to believe it may be user error.

So far, I am the only Steepsterite to like this one. Really the grass flavor subdues the lemongrass ….so this is one that I like to drink iced and frequently. But, I am in the minority, oh well….

Looking at the other notes,,,,I am the only one so far that likes this one…..LOL! This one is slightly lemony but not overly so…W/the mate, an extra caffeine boost. So what is not to like? Also this is perfect to drink after an hour of yoga…

This is a pretty good tea! I don’t taste too much of the chocolate.. mostly the spice only. It’s pleasant without milk and I look forward to trying it with milk as well. While it’s not my favorite dessert tea, it does make a decent cup.

Today, I made this tea and mixed it with lemon grass. It was delicious, but I was sad to see the tin empty after I enjoyed this tea. I have been making this tea for my fiance, who’s currently sick with a cold. This is a great, light tea that is soothing.

Delicious! I have a viral cold or bad allergies. I usually can’t tell the difference. (sigh). I wanted to try something new, but I opted for green and something with ginger and lemon. Oh wait! I have Ginger Lemon Green Tea right here! Yummy. I can sort of taste and smell the lemon. :)

I realize how often I reach for Kusmi. Pretty darn often. Made a huge pot of this for my boyfriend and I. We are both sick now!

I think the theme for the day is FRESH. This one is so refreshing! I blended this tea (Ginger Lemon Green Tea by Kusmi) with a pinch of Adagio’s Lemon Grass and cold brewed it overnight. So good!

I got my Golden Moon Tea sampler today! I am so excited to try it! I also received my other orders like the Tipu’s Instant Chai as well as several custom blends and mate sampler from Adagio.

My sister went to Paris and came home with Kusmi’s green teas in little cute canisters! Cute! This one smells so good out of the can! Brewed, it is less intense but still delicious nontheless. Perfect! I want to try this iced as well.

This is disappointing as it smells and tastes too orange-y. It has cardamon in it, maybe that’s why people says it’s spicy. I look for “peppery” or “gingery” in a spicy tea, so it was disappointing.

Sipdown no. 10 of March 2019 (no. 45 of 2019 total, no. 533 grand total).

It has been a hard few weeks. Work has been intense. The Bar Mitzvah preparations have been intense. I have been stressed, and I think the stress has been affecting me physically, which makes me anxious about my health and that leads to more stress.

Then this week, we had to take one of our cats to the emergency room. He was having trouble breathing. He turned out to have a mass in his abdomen they thought was probably cancer, but in any case, was inoperable.

His decline after that was steep and fast, and last night we had to say goodbye. It was something of a shock. He was 16 but he didn’t seem sick at all, while his sister and litter mate has been ailing for a while now and we’ve pretty much been expecting her to take a turn for the worse any minute for months.

Anyway, I feel really drained and not in the best shape. I don’t have a lot to say that I haven’t already said about this tea, other than that I made my sipdown goal for March with it, and most of this month’s sipdowns have been large or medium sized tins. So there is that.

Sipdown no. 198. A sample tin, but I also have a full sized one. I’m glad because I wasn’t ready to see this go. Not really an Earl Grey but somewhat reminiscent of one. Mild, pleasant, and a great way to ease into the morning.

After my last cup of tea I ate dinner, and I still haven’t done the weight workout. It’s because I need a caffeine boost first. Otherwise how can I possibly be expected to “just do it”! Yeah, that’s the ticket. So I’m going to have another cup of tea.

I wanted a Kusmi for some reason, and I couldn’t decide which one so I did a little bit of a GM sampler redux here and just stuck my hand in among the black teas until I got a Kusmi. This was the one that came up.

I’ve decided I really need to read War and Peace so I’m in a sort of a Russified mood, and so it was somewhat fitting that this Russian sampler one came up. The Kusmi samplers are in itty bitty tins that look like baby versions of the bigger ones. Is it just me, or does anyone else get a Fancy Feast vibe from these itty bitty cans?

In the itty bitty can, Anastasia smells flowery and citrusy in that French perfume sort of way that many of the French teas seem to have. I definitely smell lemon, and the bergamot is there but seems like it’s sitting in the back seat. I am coming to believe that when one puts lemon with bergamot, the lemon will always come to the fore. This is, in any case, my working hypothesis.

Deep mahogany liquor. A very ceylon aroma, sweet molasses smell. There’s a fruity smell but it’s not wholly citrus. It’s more of a sort of dark berry smell I’ve smelled in Ceylons before with citrus around the edges. It’s like someone rolled a berry in a primarily lemon coating that had some orange sprinkled in.

I was expecting a strong fruit flavor but I’m really not getting that at all. It does have a sort of Earl Grey feel, but only in a tangential way. The main citrus flavor is lemon, and it adds a bright little sparkle, but it isn’t overly strong. I like the lemon in this. It’s not too tart or soapy.

But there’s more to the fruit than the citrus. I get a sort of a berry flavor to the tea as well. The tea is generally smooth with a little bit of bite right at the end every few sips. It’s not really full bodied, but it gives the impression of being that way.

It’s a really interesting tea, somewhat surprising. I wasn’t really expecting to like it, but I do. I will have to taste it against the TeaFrog Earl Grey Special just for laughs when my TeaFrog order arrives.

It seems I’m the first to review this one… how nerve-wracking.

Another from my Kusmi sampler. I love these little tins!

It’s a gunpowder tea! Since I’m easily amused, these are my favorite. Even in my small sampler the leaves smell quite strong, though I can’t place the scent—a little musky, a little cirtusy. Though not unpleasant.

The cirtus really comes out in the tea itself, and while it cools a little it tastes more fruity. The description says it’s better as an “afternoon” tea, which I obviously ignored (9:30 a.m. at the moment), but it would be a rather good choice for the midday break, when I’m mentally prepared to shut down. Though next time, I’ll consider shortening the steep time. The more I drink, the sweeter it tastes, and I don’t love fruity tea that much.