St. Petersburg

How do you like the Kati? This is why Steepster is dangerous. :)

I like my Kati! There are some reviews up here on them. :)

I know – you guys are a bad influence on me!

Was proud not to cave on the Kati frenzy, but then turned right around and succumbed to the free shipping at Kusmi (for this tea and Caramel).

LOL buy EVERYTHING (till your broke) SIGH

I like my Kati but at this point I have a different infusing basket that I use in it (a ForLife (this one: http://amzn.com/B001JP1KPO), so if I dropped it and it broke I would probably be sad but I don’t think I would buy another. I really like the ForLife basket, though, and it will fit in any kind of mug so it’s very useful.

Congratulations on your A, Jacqueline!

Way to go on the A!

Does this tea have chunks of caramel, or just the caramel flavoring? Asking because the chunks have dairy (wondering if it’s something I can have or not since its not clear from the ingredients).

I was secretly hoping you were going to be singing some punk music like last time you had Kusmi Tea :)

Kristin – All that I see are tea leaves, and no caramel chunks (or berries or bergamot rind!). I have just a sample but I think I would have gotten some kind of something in there :) I hope it’s safe for you because it’s delicious :) :) :)

SoccerMom – this one is elegant and happymaking :) If I had Angry Teenage Clove Tea today – ooof! who knows what would have happened!!!! I shudder to think!

thanks. :)

Congrats on both the A and the tea! :D

Woo hoo, yay for the A!

The kusmi tins really are pretty!

I swear this one smelled like cola bottle candies to me!

Coca bottle candies? Wow, that’s really evocative.

Yeah, I swear it was this one and not another Kusmi. Only smelled it in a store. :)

So weird. I have to go home and sniff this one now.

Whoops, just double-checked and it was definitely Prince Vladimir that smells like cola bottles to me!

I don’t have Vlad at home. :) I’ll keep it in mind the next time I go to SOKO, though!

Yeah, I don’t know why I was thinking it was this one.

I thought a lot of the Kusmi blends tasted like soda, so cola bottle candy makes sense to me.

This and Vladimir. I honestly can’t decide which of those two I like best. I want to get a tin of one of them, but not both. They’re too similar to need both. But which one??? O.o

This one!!!! Okay, that’s my answer but only because the spice bit didn’t make me happy with Vlad. But I know you like spices so perhaps Vlad is your man?

I don’t really like spices, I don’t care much for chai and such like. I just have a couple of notable exceptions, Vlad being one. I think I’ll go for St P, unless I discover it’s not readily available in shops. I know Vlad is, so if I can only get St P via internet trade, I’ll settle for Vlad and be happy with it. :)

Okay, just the fact that you have Kusmi of any sort readily available in stores makes me pout just a little bit. :( See?

It’s only tea shops and such. My supermarket doesn’t ahve them and they don’t have the full selection either. Nothing smoky so far as I can see, for example.

Well, it’s better than nothing. I wish anywhere around me carried Mariage Freres or something closer to higher end that RoT. But at least I have RoT so I should focus on that.

Okay, similar tea taste is one thing but now you’re just being a copy cat. Hehe! j/k! Yay Kusmi Russian assortment!

I noticed that too! I swear I just picked a little tin at random! O.o
I’ll have to look for the other three sample sets, though. You know… for completion. :D

You mean these? http://www.kusmitea.com/en/black-tea/traditional-blend/assortment-the-moments/c1_11/p174/product_info.html, http://www.kusmitea.com/en/black-tea/flavoured-black-tea/assortment-the-afternoons/c1_8/p167/product_info.html and http://www.kusmitea.com/en/green-tea/flavoured-green-tea/assortment-the-greens/c4_12/p169/product_info.html ? Muahaha.
And the US site (those links go to the European site) doesn’t have that middle one. What’s up with that? :(

(That looks like one big long block of hyperlink but I promise there are three in there.)

Yes, exactly. I got the set that came in a box with a strainer-thingy in it, which I have no use for btw, so they were mentioned on the box. Didn’t say what was in them though. I have a lead on where I might find them without having to internet shop.

…oh wait. I’m not supposed to be buying anymore tea…

They used to have those middling sized cans! Now the US site http://www.us.kusmitea.com/en/ only has the small ‘miniatures’ with the tea strainers – but the good thing is, they’re all back in stock!

Lauren, if you click on the Gifts link on the US page (http://www.us.kusmitea.com/en/gifts/c3/index.html), they have three assortments (without the strainer) there. But no assortment of “The Afternoons”. Boo. But I think the tins are the same size so the only difference is the strainer.

Oh, there they are! I believe you are absolutely right about the sizes 25g = 0.88 oz! Thanks!

Kusmi Store opens in NYC in May! I’m so going!

OoOoOh!! Where in NYC?

Third Avenue & 61th Street. All the tea is mine! I’m going to steal all the samplers!

Apparently I saved the exact location… don’t remember when I did this.

1037 3rd Avenue 61st Street

Sweet, you can steal all of the tea, I will go to the store when they restock :)

I also have problems with tea on an empty stomach, especially ceylon. I can usually get away with Yunnans, & some Assams, at least for a little while :)

I used to know which varieties were more likely to cause the problem but I’ve forgotten. I’m sure I’ll be reminded at some point when my stomach gets angry at me.

I hear you! Black tea (and coffee even more so) on an empty stomach in the morning makes me feel hungover.

If it tasted like Florence I probably wouldn’t love it so much!!

LOL see and i love florence :)

You know, the one Harney tea this reminds me of is Paris. I had both at a time, and they reminded me of each other. I never had Florence though it will be a Harney priority if I ever order from them again (shipping prices, not cool at all right now)

Paris is way bergamotty for me :( this tastes better so maybe somewhere between the two :)

I loved Paris

But not Florence, in case that wasn’t clear. Hehe.

lol that was clear you goof

I think I love bergamot. I have yet to meet a tea containing it that I didn’t enjoy or even love

Both Paris and St Petersburg were definetely bergamotty for me – I am not really a fan of bergamot either. Paris did not work for me, so yes I agree this is better. But if you are interested in a similar tea (red fruits with caramel ) but without bergamot try Dammann´s Paul et Virginie.

Cteresa – yes I picked that one up when I was in china haha :)

That sounds soooooo delicious. I really have to get my hands on some Kusmi tea!

Want me to send you a sample!?

Do you see anything in my cupboard that you might like to try? I would do a trade :) I don’t want to impose! [email protected] if you’d like to swap!

I’ll drop you a test email now…let me know with a quick note back…will look at your cupboard shortly…thanks!

Really nice review this sounds good.

I think I’m going to have to try it again with that in mind, and see f I agree. I love cherry cola :)

I don’t know if it tastes that way to everyone, but it definitely did to me.

I have a spinning wheel, and have always wanted to learn to spin.
But there is a part missing off of mine and I have no clue how to get a replacement…so there it sits:(

Do you know what kind it is? I have been researching wheels and I might be able to point you in the right direction. If it’s an old handmade antique you would have to probably commission a woodworker if you need a new fly or bobbins. What part is missing?

You know, its been in storage the past year…I am not even sure I can remember.
I do remember contacting the company and they gave me a number to someone else who gave me a number who gave me a number to the company.
It is not a antique,but I was thinking the same thing about how it would just be easier to have it made!

If you remember what the part is called and the company that made it, I can check some of the sites I have been looking at to see if they sell the parts. I’m looking at an Ashford wheel, which parts are readily available for, which is very nice.

Oooh, I only have my old ashford traditional, so I’m no hope for you, but I saw your post and had to comment :) That’s so exciting, getting a spinning wheel! (I still actually really like the tactile feedback of my drop spindles even though I mostly wheel spin now). I hope you end up getting one. Are you on Ravelry?

Yes, I’m on Rav – I’m Sanguine there. I’ve been mainly lurking the last few months because I go into hibernation mode in the summer – it’s too hot to even look at wool in Texas in the summer!

Your spinning is very pretty (and so is your Turkish Spindle! Jealous here). I just friended you there. I usually spin every day, but I haven’t touched my fibers to knit or spin in weeks. (And yet, it’s still not too hot for tea!)

Thank you! So are yours! And I love the names you come up with for them :D The Embroidered Bell Bottoms one is particularly awesome!

I think the heat is more a mental thing than it being actually too hot to spin. It’s no worse than any other activity, but seems like it should be worse. In the height of summer, it’s usually too hot to even want to breathe.