Russian Caravan

It turns out that the other intern who is working with me this semester and I have a lot in common, including being total tea nuts. Yayyyyy! Now we have stuff to talk about during those excruciating periods of down time in the mornings. Plus, it’s tea. Which I love.

Anyway, this tea has really grown on me. I’m really digging the smoky black teas lately. Mate, lapsang souchong, black-and-mate blends… I love ’em.

Something about the winter makes me crave them. Maybe it’s because they remind me of fireplaces. The smokiness makes me think of warmth, which is what I want in the winter. It makes sense, right?

I like the taste this tea leaves in my mouth. It’s like an old-man tea, but whatever. I’m old in my soul.

This tea has a definite smokey/woody flavour to it that hits right as you taste it like Volstagg on a powdered pastry. I drink it with milk and sugar. Good for the days you feel like you need using a word like “robust” to describe yourself.

Keep away from other teas, or else they will pick up the smoky smell. I prefer with some milk, on a cold or rainy day. This is not a everyday tea for me to drink.

oh so smokey and deep, this tea perks me up on a rainy day

If you are looking for a smokey tea this is a good one to try. They did a good job with this Yunnan-Lapsong blend ratio… straight Lapsong is too smokey for me and the Yunnan pulls it down to a point of acceptability while maintaining the richness and character, minus the too-intense smokey bite. Its still a very smokey tea and needs to be stored away from others.

Compared to Samovar’s Russian Blend it is smoother and richer, with higher and more diverse flavor notes. The samovar is more of a frank, charred smoke, while this one is more of a burnt/roasted cedar. Both have a background sweetness which is a great component. They are both very good teas if you enjoy smokiness. I drink both of them straight. For the money, and the organic aspect, I’d go with this one.

I had never heard of this tea before, but its romantic name and history of being transported thousands of miles from China to Russia in camel caravans sold me. It smells like a fire. It tastes like a bundle of burnt sticks. It’s fabulous! I happened to be eating some raspberry yogurt while drinking it straight, and I don’t know if I ever had a tea that goes so well with cream and sugar. Bold and smoky on its own, but in another realm when paired with rich and smooth, sweet flavors.

I love this tea. My only problem is finding a store that carries it, as I can not remember where I found it. Everyone carries Choice Teas but not the Russian Caravan. Even when I call the company they can not tell me where.

Smells interesting. Like a swamp murder. Tastes like dragon piss. I tried it black, with sugar, with milk, with milk and sugar, with Jameson, and came to the conclusion that I am not a Lapsang Souchong girl. Banished it to the top of the refrigerator because it was stinking up all the other lovelies in my tea nook. Has since been relocated to the trash bin.

Smells like lox. Tastes like lox. Maybe I should try this with cream cheese.
I wanted a smoky tea, but this might be too much for me.

Brewed for 1 min 45 sec with boiling water, then added almond milk and sugar.

Let me tell you… this tea tastes WAY better than it smells. I can’t even keep it around my other teas, the smell is so strong. Before I drank it the first time, I was a bit hesitant to drink it because of the smell. I do like the FLAVOR though. I’ve drank this tea before (not sure why I didn’t leave a tasting note) but the local newspaper said to try maple syrup in tea. I didn’t know why I didn’t think of this myself. I thought I’d try a spoonful of the maple in this tea, as sort of a tree theme (you know, maple syrup, pine-smoked tea…) It is GOOD. I have never sweetened any tea with anything before. I usually like to drink tea by itself (and I get enough sugar elsewhere in my diet – I don’t need sugar in the one thing I eat that doesn’t have sugar in it!) The rating for this tea, is for how I might rate it without the maple in it. By itself, the tea is a nice smoky black. But occasionally, why not add a bit of maple to a cuppa tea?