St. Petersburg – Black Tea with Caramel & Vanilla

Saint Petersburg by Kusmi Tea, a sweet tribute to the brand's birthplace

Saint Petersburg is Kusmi Tea's tribute to its birthplace, created in 2003 for the city's three hundredth anniversary. Black tea with bergamot, red berries, caramel, and vanilla – the sweet and fruity sister of the classic Anastasia blend. Loose leaf in a 100g tin, organically grown. Velvety, fruity, with caramel warmth.

Saint Petersburg tea by Kusmi Tea is the sweet sister of the brand's classic Russian blends. Created in 2003 for the three hundredth anniversary of the city of Saint Petersburg, where Pavel Mikhailovich Kousmichoff founded his tea house in 1867. The blend is based on black tea, refined with natural red berry flavor, essential bergamot oil, and natural vanilla and caramel flavor. A warm Earl Grey variation that fuses citrus, fruit, and caramel into a fruity-velvety unity.

Amber, fruity-sweet with a warm caramel note

As soon as you open the tin, a seductive aroma rises: red berries meet warm caramel notes, carried by elegant bergamot and rounded off by the creamy sweetness of vanilla. The tea leaves are dark and uniform, the scent can be described as a sweet, slightly childlike Earl Grey – sweet like raspberry candies, elegant like St. Isaac's Cathedral, which adorns the Kusmi logo.

In the cup, Saint Petersburg shows a deep amber with a golden shimmer. The first sip is full-bodied and round, the bergamot gives the classic Earl Grey character, the red berries bring fruity brightness, and the caramel wraps everything in a velvety-warm sweetness. A tea that immediately evokes thoughts of bridges over the Neva and the opulent elegance of the Russian city – flattering, fruity, with a subtle dessert note.

On Sunday afternoon with cake or by the fireplace with a book

Saint Petersburg is the dessert tea among Kusmi's Russian blends. It pairs well with cream cakes and fruit tarts, raspberry macarons, a slice of cheesecake with berry compote, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream as a liquid accompaniment. It's also a perfect match for classic Russian chai cake with honey glaze.

Drunk plain, the fruity-sweet notes are most clearly expressed. A hint of milk can transform the tea into a velvety winter drink; sugar is usually superfluous thanks to the caramel. Saint Petersburg also cuts an elegant figure as an iced tea with a lemon slice. For a pot, you need about 2 tablespoons of loose tea per liter, steeped with 90°C hot water for 3 to 5 minutes.

The Russian Kusmi blends form a harmonious quartet: the floral Bouquet de Fleurs N°108 (1880, the oldest blend of the house), the citrus-fresh Anastasia with bergamot and orange blossom, the spicy-orange Prince Wladimir (1888) with cinnamon and clove, and the sweet-caramel Saint Petersburg. Four blends, four characters, four teatime worlds.

Kusmi Tea, the Russian tea house from Paris

The history of Kusmi Tea begins in 1867 in the city that gives this tea its name: 21-year-old Pavel Mikhailovich Kousmichoff opens his own tea house. By the beginning of the 20th century, the house operated 53 tea shops throughout Russia. After the Russian Revolution, the family fled to Paris in 1917, where Kusmi Tea has been based ever since. The eponymous tribute was only created in 2003, for the city's 300th anniversary.

In the modern factory in Le Havre, the classic recipes are still maintained and new blends are added. Since 2017, almost all teas are organically grown, and the essential oils and flavors are 100% natural. The iconic round metal tins bear the logo of St. Isaac's Cathedral with its reflection in the Neva – a tribute to the birthplace that gives the tea its name. In our Kusmi Tea collection, you can find an overview of all blends.