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!
Second steep for 4 minutes was a little watery but still good.
This one is my most favourite caramel flavoured black. :D