Kali Laska is an interesting tea brand from Belarus and a lovely addition to my tea blog. Although it’s hard to come by Kali Laska tea here in the UK, if you happen to find some on your travels around Europe I recommend you give it a chance.
Kali Laska’s official website describe this tea as having a “Light sunny taste reminiscent of hot summer at any time of the year.” They go on to talk about bright fruity notes, sweet and sour jam, and honey in the aftertaste.
Is your mouth watering yet?
Find out if this tea lives up to its reputation in my full review below.
Kali Laska Rosehip Apple Tea at a Glance
- Blend: Black tea with dried apple and rosehip pieces
- Flavour: Smooth, slightly sweet black tea
Despite Kali Laska’s delicious description of this tea, I found it to be a simple and smooth black tea… and nothing else. I wonder where all those fruity notes disappeared to?!
Full Review – Kali Laska Black Tea
- Type: Tagged paper filter teabag
- Tea: Black tea
- Additives: Apple, rosehip
- Flavour Notes: Smooth black tea, warm
- Aroma: Sweet black tea, slightly malty
- Milk or Lemon: Sugar, honey or sweetener
- Where to Buy: Kali Laska Official Website
The foil on these teabags is super thick, which gives a high-quality feel to the whole experience and promises fresh, well-preserved tea flavours.
But that promise is instantly broken.
I found the black tea to have a very smooth and pleasant aroma – no suggestion of astringency. But aside from a very VERY subtle hint of something sweet, there’s no note of rosehip of apple in this Kali Laska tea.
Once brewed into a mid-brown tea colour, it has warmer black tea notes with hints of maltiness. The fruit still eludes me. The flavour is no different. It’s an extremely pleasant cup with no astringency or bitterness whatsoever. It has a silky smooth texture too!
I just wish the flavours were stronger. Whether this tea was just a bad batch or perhaps it’s aged a little too much, I don’t know.
How to Brew Black Tea with Apple and Rosehip
There’s conflicting advice about how to brew Kali Laska black tea with rosehip and apple. On the tea bags pictured, you can see the clear recommendation to use 90°C water and brew for 3 minutes – so this is what I did.
But if you visit the Kali Laska website and translate it from Russian to English, you get something else entirely. They recommend cold brew! They suggest you drink it chilled with sweetener.
After the lack of flavour I found when drinking this tea hot, I highly recommend you try it chilled instead. I didn’t get a chance to try this tea cold, so if you give it a go please leave a comment at the end of this article with your experience.
Why Kali Laska Tea from Belarus?
I didn’t go out of my way to select this tea – it was gifted to me. While many tea brands offer some great, flavoursome teas… Kali Laska hasn’t been one of them.
Regardless, I do appreciate a simple ingredients list. Just black tea, dried apple and rosehip pieces – simple. There’s no added flavouring, colours or sweeteners in this tea, which makes it quite healthy.
The black tea used by Kali Laska is sourced from India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, while the fruit and plant ingredients are Belarusian medicinal herbs. Besides that, there’s not much that I can find about this tea brand online. They have a smart professional brand image, but on the other hand they have only a small following on social media.
My guess? They’re a relatively new and small brand from Belarus with wholesome values and tasty, natural tea.
Summary
Overall, I do recommend trying this tea. Even though the fruit notes let me down, it still brewed into a very respectable cup of black tea. Smooth, bright, and warming – everything a good cup of tea starts with.
Tea Recommendation
Fruit and black tea can be a heavenly combination. For stronger fruity notes, read my review of Ahmad Strawberry Sensation next! It’s wonderful iced in the summer and warm in the winter, with a hearty black tea base.