The Best Teas I ever had: Kusmi Prince Vladimir

Although I haven't talked about tea much lately my love affair for water infused with camellia sinensis has not diminished in the slightest. To that end I'm going to start a series of posts on "The Best Teas I ever had". I plan to drop a few of them here and there between other posts whenever I get the urge and each one will cover either a favorite tea of mine or a particularly memorable tea drinking experience. So to set the tone why not cover what is probably my current favorite tea of all time, Prince Vladimir by Kusmi Tea. Here's what they say about it on their website:

 "Created in 1888 in honor of Vladimir the Great, ruler of Holy Russia, Prince Vladimir tea is a blend of Earl Grey, citrus, vanilla and spices. It is one of our most unforgettable teas. We suggest to enjoy this tea during the whole day. Main flavor: Smooth citrus and spice." 

Here's a picture of the 8.8 ounce tin (or the large size which is of course what I order every time):

 

I’m a big fan of Kusmi teas, but this remains my constant favorite. Given that this is listed on their site as one of their most popular teas I am not alone in that regard. I can honestly say in all my years of tea tasting I've never experienced a tea quite like Prince Vladimir. From the initial aroma to the final brew, it is a decidedly unique tea. In fact, the first time I opened the canister in the presence of one of my friends and he had a whiff, he asked me if the contents were legal!!! Like most Kusmi teas, the final brew is very smooth with virtually no bitterness and the spices are easily discernible on the palate with or without adding sugar or milk. In my opinion it is the unique nature of this tea that is its most endearing quality (as opposed to the taste alone, which is still quite good). Its always fun keep some on-hand to expose my “non-hot-tea drinking friends” to “something different”. This is just a fun tea, period.

Tea: Hao Ya 'A' is a *fantastic* morning brew

If you are a morning coffee drinker looking to make the switch to tea then you just can't beat a good Keemun. These teas actually hail from a Chinese city called 'Keemun' and tend to produce a really intense cup with a nice amber liquor. Its these qualities that make them suitable coffee replacements for any morning routine. I've even had a friend go as far a adding half & half to a good Keemun, but I prefer mine with plain old sugar and milk. My favorite Keemun is the Hao Ya 'A' from Harney and Sons:

http://www.harney.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=3880&category=0&secondary=867

Tea: Kusmi Tea revamped their site!

Check it out:

http://us.kusmitea.com/

While I'm more of  a black tea drinker I decided to get outside my comfort zone and buy some green tea to celebrate:

http://us.kusmitea.com/our-teas/russian-tea/imperial-label.html

http://us.kusmitea.com/our-teas/flavoured-tea/green-tea-with-nana-mint.html

Also I decided to go out on another limb and try the Polish Earl Grey:

http://us.kusmitea.com/our-teas/flavoured-tea/earl-grey-polish-blend-n-18.html

Honestly I did not have high hopes for this one (as the description says its just Earl Grey with Lemon and Lime scents) but I was very surprised to discover that i loved this tea! In fact I'd venture to say that it might be my new favorite! Highly recommended!

Tea for Christmas!

Being the tea fanatic that I am means I'm always looking for an excuse to share good tea with friends and family. The approaching holidays makes it even easier. this year I'm goign to be buying some tins of Kusmi's excellent Christmas Tea:

http://www.us.kusmitea.com/en/black-tea/russian-blends/christmas-tea/c1_10/p84/product_info.html

Also since your average joe does not have a loose tea setup I'll pair each tin with a box of these excellent 9and very affordable) paper filters from Adagio:

http://www.adagio.com/teaware/paper_filters.html

YUMMY!

Tea: Kusmi Christmas tea arrived today...

Forgot to mention that with my Christmas Tea I also ordered two tins tin of "Four Red Fruits" Tea:

http://us.kusmitea.com/our-teas/flavoured-tea/4-red-fruits.html

I like these two teas in particular because they have a very smooth non-astringent taste that makes them delicious "straight up" without milk (and I'm pretty religious about adding a drop of milk to my tea). I keep these two flavors along with the Prince Vladimir, Petruska and Violet teas from Kusmi in ready supply at my office (where I usually don't have access to fresh milk). All are very smooth drinking and quite tasty. Plus they give me just the right amount of "pep" to get through the day without bringing me down later (like coffee would).

Christmas time fast approaches...

That means its time for... CHRISTMAS TEA! Just ordered mine from Kusmi:

http://us.kusmitea.com/our-teas/russian-tea/christmas-tea.html

YUM!

Lets start with Tea...

Today I had two delicious teas. All by Kusmi Tea! I started the morning with a piping hot cup of Prince Vladimir with a bit of raw sugar (one of my favorite morning "pick-me-ups"). My 3-cup ceramic Amsterdam teapot got me through the day on that. Its November and although the day was warm there's still the unmistakable hint of Winter in the air. As I left work I had a twinge of longing for a warm fireplace. So when I arrived at home I decided to round the day out with a rich and smoky Samovar from Kusmi. I took that with a dollip of milk to cut the harshness of the smoke.  Delicious!