Saturday 31 October 2009

time for tea

I was on a mission yesterday to buy some more of my favorite tea, which is now thankfully stocked here in Hong Kong by Lane Crawford. Kusmi, short for Kousmichoff, is a 140 year old Russian Tea house that is now based in Paris. I first discovered Kusmi teas in the then recently opened Dean & Deluca store near Tokyo station when I lived there almost 8 years ago. It was like paradise for an expat in a city where "import stores" could be almost an hour away! Ever since then I've been hooked. My husband and I spent hours in the Paris store when we were last in Europe smelling almost every blend and walked out of there with a small fortune that might have once made the East India Company threatened. Well maybe not quite.

Anyway, flash forward to not too long ago and I was having to ship the tea via the US because nobody stocked it in Asia...until now. Thanks Lane Crawford! Our favorite blend of the lot, and trust me when I say we've tried almost all of them, is the Russian Morning No.24 - its the perfect morning tea. Not too strong, smooth, but with a great kick to it. Think I might go make myself a cup now!

2 comments:

Ron ( the Netherlands) said...

Hi Suzy,
I loves me teas !!!!
Thanks for this post.
I had heard of them, but never tried any of their teas.
I have just ordered three of their sample combo's.
Cannot wait to try them and see how your favorite 'Russion Morning 24' is.
Will let you know after it has come in.
Best,
Ron ( the Netherlands)

Suzy said...

Hi Ron - I hope you like them! This one is definitely my favorite. The other russian blends are also lovely - like the Prince Vladimir which is quite light and a little fruity. They also make an excellent Chai mix, and a very dark and smoky Russian Caravan if you like teas like that. Enjoy!