A few weeks back, I reviewed the Russian Blends collection, a set of 5 Earl Grey teas, which I selected to review. More often than not, when a tea company contacts me, I choose the teas I want to write about. However, there was a mix-up and I got BB Detox, White Anastasia, and Jasmine Green tea bags from Kusmi Tea first. White Anastasia, I am totally down with. However, anything with “detox” in the name makes me run for the hills and I laugh at beauty claims. I’ve said this multiple times, if tea did anything magical, with the amount I drink I should be a supermodel, but alas I am a lumpy owl who eats too many snacks and is getting older by the minute. Tea does not stop time or the sun.
The Kusmi Tea tins look so inviting and classy, and I opened the happy yellow tin of BB Detox and was like hot damn, this tea smell good, the review is on!
White Anastasia from Kusmi Tea
I enjoyed Kusmi Tea’s Anastasia, which is the same ingredients but with black tea, so I am looking forward to trying this tea. White Anastasia is a blend of white tea, orange blossom, bergamot, and lemon. The dry leaf is strong smelling, stronger than the black tea version, of zesty citrus and orange blossom. I am worried that is going to be overly potent flavoring.
I did western style steeping, using 1 gram of leaf per 60ml of cup size. I steeped the tea for 3 minutes at 175F/80c water temperature.
Surprisingly, White Anastasia doesn’t taste all flavoring, despite the smell. It is softly grassy, hay tasting with a floral flat jasmine essence. The citrus flavor is mostly in the aroma, but there are notes of bergamot and citrus, but strangely my mind wants to fill in grapefruit. The aroma of this tea is high, as each sip and aftertaste sinus tickles with orange blossom. It is also not sweet, unlike the black tea Anastasia. This tea is also surprisingly floral too due to the combination of floral white tea and orange blossom. It shouldn’t be soapy but can be a bit too floral for some.
White Anastasia was also great iced, though the citrus elements were quite powerful, so you get a floral lemonade that isn’t tart, so it doesn’t need sugar. White Anastasia, I would likely drink down the tin. Best use it is an afternoon tea and one to show off to the mom. Pairing this tea with fruit and shortbread would be killer.
Jasmine Green from Kusmi Tea
I strangely got this tea in bags. The box of Jasmine Green has a lovely jasmine scent. I am impressed with the cloth tea bags as I tried ripping them open and they would not budge.
1 bag, 175F/80c and steeped for 3 minutes tasted most optimal.
Kusmi Tea’s Jasmine Green is pretty generic. It is savory, buttery grassy green tea with a soft jasmine flavor. The jasmine is on the lighter side, so the actual green tea shines more. Derp, there is nothing special about this tea and you can get something cheaper with more interesting flavor if you want a generic Jasmine Green tea. Kusmi Tea should have thrown in something interesting, like vanilla or caramel, like other blends they have that set them apart. The tea bags material is quite nice though, but I bet the loose leaf is better as you got better control of the concentration and likely better leaf.
BB Detox from Kusmi Tea
BB Detox is a blend of green tea, mate, rooibos, rose hips, fennel, mint, guarana, dandelion, and grapefruit. This type of tea screams all the no’s for me. I’m not a green tea fan, I avoid mate as the caffeine makes my skin crawl, I hate red rooibos, and detox stuff makes my eyes roll. But here we are as this tea smells EPIC. It has the smell of those gummy sugared grapefruit slices I don’t buy as I eat the entire bag.
I used 1 gram of leaf per 60ml of mug size, 185F water steeped at 3 minutes as per instructions. I messed up and did it first attempt at 175F, which came out fine but lighter in flavor.
This tea is surprisingly good. It has a lovely, floral, naturally sweet grapefruit flavor. Some sips I can find a slight refreshing herbal note, but it isn’t grassy, medicinal, bitter, or bushy as mate and various herbs can be. The texture is creamy and smooth, something I don’t find often in western style teas. Going in for each sip I can smell the floral grapefruit, and it lingers in my mouth after each sip. There is some dryness in this tea, so dropping to 175F or 180F, or pulling at 2 or 2.5 minutes would be a fix, but you’ll get less flavor. I can see this tea being awesome iced or potentially cold brewed.
I am getting a caffeine punch, feeling a little crawly in the skull and ready for a brawl. BB Detox is likely best as an energizer on a spring or summer morning. I can see myself finishing this tin by drinking it on hot summer mornings as an alternative to my daily matcha. It’s still not stopping time or the sun.
I’m gonna rename this tea “Pretty Grapefruit Gummy Punch” as that seems a more appropriate name than buzzword eye rollers. Ahhh, yes these are affiliate linked teas that one I called generic tasting and the other bogus health claims. Talk about shooting myself in the owl foot, but I strive to be honest.
(tea provided for review/affiliate links)
