Tea Review: Russian Tea Time house blend


 Back in 2016 the family and I went to Chicago for a vacation and while there we had afternoon tea at this marvelous place we found called Russian Tea Time.  My Dad, who is a coffee drinker and NOT a tea drinker simply LOVED the tea we had there - and has since, measured every other cup of tea he's had against his memory of the tea from Russian Tea Time.  So, for Father's Day, I managed to track down a tin of the house blend that we had at the restaurant.  This is the tin that came in the mail.


Honestly, I don't remember there being a Black Currant taste to the tea back then - I thought of it more as a Russian Caravan type of blend but..... this is the House Blend, and that's what we had.... so I brewed us up a few cups to try.


Ok... wow, in the mug it could be masquerading as coffee with that color!

This stuff is BOLD and STRONG.  I tend to be heavy with the leaf when I brew my tea, but I think for this blend I don't need to be.  The black currant is much heavier on the nose than it is on the tongue.  But if you're looking for it, it's easy to find and focus on.  Beyond that, this is a high quality and strong darjeeling - which makes me think that this blend might use mostly monsoon and autumn flush leaf harvest.  This blend makes me realize that I mostly drink my Darjeeling in blends with Assam.  I liked this enough that I might need to start exploring more unblended darjeeling.

Be warned - not only does this brew strong, but if you over brew this it WILL become a tannin monster!

If you want to get a hold of your own tin to try this yourself - you can find it online for purchase at the Russian Tea Time shop.

Our Chicago tea was served in our Chicago art museum mugs.



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