History:

It’s a story pulled straight from the pages of a Russian novel. The year was 1867 when Pavel Michailovitch Kousmichoff opened his teahouse in St. Petersburg. Born into a peasant family, Kousmichoff had pulled himself up by the proverbial bootstraps to marry the daughter of a wealthy merchant. As his family grew, so did his business: by the turn of the century, Kousmichoff owned eleven teahouses and sent his eldest son, Viatcheslav, to London to learn about tea. Viatcheslav took over the family business after the death of his father and then transferred the business’ operations to Paris on the eve of the Russian Revolution. To make a long story short, Kusmi Tea continues to be a favorite of cosmopolitan tea lovers more than 140 years later.

Philosophy:

Sophisticated teas that have stood the test of time. The original Kusmi Tea blends are chronologically numbered in the order of their creation, and each has a unique history. Camel N°50, for example, harkens back to the caravans of camels that used to transport bundles of tea from China before the advent of the Trans-Siberian railroad. Pretty nifty, right?

Birchbox Extra:

Tsar Nicholas II was a devoted fan of Kusmi Tea’s Bouquet of Flowers N°108, which is still available to this day.