Kusmi Tea Review 2026: Parisian Blends With Real History, Tested

Anastasia is Kusmi's flagship, and the easiest way to understand the brand: take the Earl Grey idea, then refine it. Bergamot leads, but lemon brightens it and orange blossom rounds the finish into something soft and floral, so the cup reads perfumed-in-a-good-way rather than soapy. The organic black base stays smooth underneath.

It's best plain or with a thin splash of milk; sugar amplifies the florals fast, go gently. Steep three to four minutes. If you already know you love straightforward Earl Grey, compare the Earl Grey Intense below; if you want the blend Kusmi built its name on, this is it. Check the current price on Amazon.

Prince Vladimir is the other pillar of the house, a recipe in Kusmi's Russian tradition that layers citrus and bergamot with vanilla, cinnamon and spice over a solid black base. Where Anastasia is bright and floral, Vladimir is warm and rounded; the vanilla gives it a plush, faintly sweet character with no sugar involved.

It's an afternoon tea in spirit, wonderful around 4pm, and the one Kusmi blend we genuinely prefer with a splash of milk, which pushes it toward a gentle spiced latte territory. The 3.5 oz loose tin brews about 50 cups, roughly 44 cents each, cheaper per cup than the bags, and the tin itself is airtight and reusable. Brew 195F, three to four minutes. Check Prince Vladimir on Amazon.

Where Anastasia softens the Earl Grey idea, Earl Grey Intense sharpens it: more bergamot, a tangy lemon top note, and a sturdier black base to carry them. The first sip is unmistakably citrus-oil bright, and unlike most delicate Earl Greys it keeps its voice under milk.

Against the mainstream benchmarks, it's noticeably more aromatic than Twinings' and richer than Bigelow's takes on the style, as it should be at four times the price. Loose in the 3.5 oz tin it works out to roughly 44 cents a cup, which is fair for a certified-organic specialty Earl Grey. If bergamot is the whole reason you drink tea, this is your Kusmi. Check Earl Grey Intense on Amazon.

Kusmi's English Breakfast blends organic Ceylon brightness with Assam body into a smooth, robust morning cup that takes milk comfortably. It's genuinely good loose-leaf, clean, balanced, certified organic, and the airtight tin keeps it fresh through the ~50 cups it holds.

Where it earns its place is inside a Kusmi order: if you're already buying Anastasia and Vladimir and want one unflavored staple in the cupboard from the same house, this fills the slot well. Check English Breakfast on Amazon.

The Sampler Assortment packs three bags each of eight house blends, spanning the signature flavored blacks, greens and herbal styles, into one giftable box. At about $1 a bag it's the most expensive tea on this page per cup, and still the box we'd recommend to a first-time buyer who can't pick between Anastasia and Vladimir: three cups of each is exactly enough to know which tin to commit to.

The mix includes both caffeinated teas and caffeine-free herbal blends, so check each sachet before an evening cup. As a gift it does serious work, the packaging is unmistakably Parisian, and every blend inside is organic. Audition here, then buy your winner as a 3.5 oz tin where the per-cup price drops to about 44 cents. Check the sampler on Amazon.