Prince Vladimir

Thanks to both Sil and Shmiracles for sending me some of this! I’ve been waiting so long to try it out!

The initial scent is a nice strong black. These black Kusmi teas can really wake you up in the morning. I think I’m getting a hint of vanilla and citrus in there, but it’s delicious so whatever is in there is working!

ROOT BEER.

The sample was only for two cups. Just finished it off with said second cup. Nice, sweet—don’t know if I’d get it, though.

good bye prince vlad. i’ll probably buy you again someday.
maybe even in person when i go to Paris in a few months.
until then, i’ll think of you every time i re-use your tin.

Sipdown no. 5 of August 2019 (no. 91 of 2019 total, no. 579 grand total).

Given my poor sipdown showing last month, I’m trying to squeeze in a few on this very last day of August to get myself back to a respectable level. I’ve already bettered my July total with this one, but that isn’t saying a ton. I just don’t have it in me to sipdown 5 more teas in one day, so I’m calling this month a miss as well.

I remember liking this a lot more when I drank it way back when, but maybe it just hasn’t aged well. It was good cold — No. 1 really loved this one and drank it by the pitcher full. If I was looking for a Constant Comment-like tea but with a French twist, I’d buy it again.

First time tasting a Kusmi tea – and a good friend gifted me with a pot’s worth of Prince Vladdy. First impression on the dry leaf. DEFINITELY Coca Cola fragrance! Brought water to a rolling boil. Steeped a strong amount for five minutes. Added a bit of half and half with some sugar. Result? Creamy, sweet, hot coca cola! It is delightful actually, and I’m wishing I had a Russian tea set to go along with this tea. It’s on the lighter side, so a great afternoon tea. It’s really hard for me to taste the actual tea through the flavoring which I miss. This tea would go beautifully with some almond cookies or slightly sweetened butter biscuits. I wouldn’t recommend having with food. Having so many flavored teas at home, this is one I wouldn’t buy to have on hand. Grateful for the share though! :)

I lied. Whatever I said my last sample from Courtney was, actually wasn’t. I’d somehow forgotten about this one, but found it on Friday while tidying my stash.

Anyway, two cups worth of this remain. The dry leaf smells sweet, and faintly of caramel. I gave it four minutes in boiling water and added a splash of milk. Reading the description, I wasn’t sure this tea would be for me. In actuality, I find it rather pleasant. The vanilla is the first thing I can taste; sweet and creamy. This gives way to a hint of citrus (maybe orange?) and then the spices develop in the aftertaste. They leave a warming sensation on the tongue and at the back of the mouth — I can see this being a fabulous winter tea. The black base is smooth and slightly malty, with absolutely no astringency. The flavours are well defined without being overpowering, and the whole thing seems really well balanced.

A great black tea, perfect for a chilly evening! Thanks again to Courtney for another excellent sample!

This is a really interesting tea. The smell when we first opened the tin was intense and lingered well after the lid had been closed. Citrus, cinnamon and the cloves all blended together. Once I steeped it, the cinnamon and cloves became the dominant scent. Really enjoyed the tea hot..but as it cooled off the citrus notes became more dominant leading to a strange blend of flavours. Would love to see how this tastes with milk added to it.

I’m finding the flavour combinations in Kusmi teas really fascinating, and this one was no exception. Grapefruit, spice, vanilla?

I made this this morning while getting ready for work. It smelled great but to my disappointment wasn’t really doing it for me. It seemed too overpowering and like it should be saved for a cold winter’s night. My stomach was a little unsettled at the time, but I didn’t expect a reaction like that.

I’d made extra to take to work in my travel mug. I started sipping an hour or two later at work, when it had largely cooled down so it was more just kind of warm. And I really liked it! The spiciness was certainly front and centre but the vanilla and citrus danced around in the background. Very smooth, nicely sweet thanks to the vanilla. I’m not sure how I managed to get two very different impressions from the same infusion, but I’m capable of amazing things.

The second of my Kusmi splurge. :)

The first time I smelled this, I definitely got a sense of the citrus, and vanilla, and spices (the clove comes out strongly). But then I had a revelation: This tea smells like Coca-Cola! So now all I smell is Coke. :P

Brewed, it smells more like black tea with clove. Mmmm.

It kind of tastes like Coke, too, but spicier (not overly spicy, though). It’s smooth and warm. Mmm. It has a little bit of sweetness to it too, but it’s not anything overpowering. It’s not overly anything, and the flavors just work really well together. I like! :)

Since my St. Petersburg turned out a bit strong this morning with a steep time of 3 mins, I thought I’d try this at 2 to see how that would be, and it works! Yay!

I am generally not very fond of Kusmi teas (I often find the taste disappointing vs the fantastic promise of the smell – the promises were too much beautiful regarding what I finally get in my cup of tea)

2 main exceptions : Anastasia and Prince Wladimir (in French the Prince is named with a W not a V – weird…)

Prince Wladimir delivers all his promises : a huge flavour of citrus fruits combined with a soft but very present Vanilla and overall spices (Especially clove)

However in this Kusmi tea you’ll get real pieces of citrus fruits in addition of natural flavours

A real travel in Russia… thank you Pavel Kousmichoff !