From: Blend

Organic Russian Caravan Tea

$17.50

5.0

Just $0.18/serving

Weight: 2.5 oz Canister

2.5 oz Canister 16 oz Pouch

Try free sample! Limit one per tea, please.

About Our Organic Russian Caravan Tea

Russian Caravan is a well-known tea variety, but it is not a single tea. Instead it is a tea blend, consisting of a mix of Organic Lapsang Souchong, Organic Jade Oolong, and Organic Keemun Black Tea.

The tea is always smoky in scent and flavor, but not as smoky as pure Lapsang Souchong. Our blend is half Lapsang Souchong, with a quarter each ofJade Oolong and Keemun Black, a special for our tea club members. It's a strong tea, sharp, and cozy. Perfect for winter days and thoughts of spring.

Tea blending is something most other companies do for a bunch of different reasons and something we have traditionally rejected. But all rules, even good rules, need exceptions and we have decided to make an exception here, given the long history of Russian Caravan tea.

Originally, Russian Caravan was not a blended tea at all but the result of a happy accident, more than 200 years ago, when overland transport by camel caravan of tea from southern China during the long (more than half a year, 6,000 mile) journey to Moscow resulted in the prepared black tea picking up distinctly smoky overtones from repeated exposure to the nightly campfires when the camel drivers (and their camels) stopped to eat and rest.

That smokiness, unintended at first, came to be appreciated by the Russian consumers. It’s interesting to note that the overland route was thought to be better for the tea flavor than shipment by sea during which the tea would pick up disagreeable scents from the humid ocean air.

Brewing Guidelines for Organic Russian Caravan Tea

2:30

210 F

1 TSP - 1.5G PER CUP

Brewing Guidelines are for one 8 oz. cup.

The best way to brew your tea is the way you like - don't let anyone tell you different. Our guidelines are configured for making your tea a cup at a time - maybe with our stainless tea filter. If making by the pot, maintain temperature and time but try with slightly less tea than the math would suggest.

Serving calculation assumes re-steeping your leaves once. After all, these are teas so nice, you'll steep them twice.

For more brewing instructions, read our brewing guidelines.

Customer Reviews for Organic Russian Caravan Tea

Amazing!

Best Russian Caravan ever had. Strong but not overwhelming, with more notes and complexity than Lapsang Souchong (though their L-S is great for those days desiring the extra kick). The R-C blend is brilliant; so happy to see them venturing into blending.

Awesome tea, best Russian ever.

I’ve gotten russian tea from other companies online, and they were never able to get it right. The best I’ve had, even better than the stuff at this Russian food festival

An After-dinner Tea

I bought the tea hoping it would be something very different from the Golden Monkey, White Peony and Black Snail I’ve favored for the last year. From the moment I opened the bag, I knew it would be spectacular. The aroma of smoke fills the air and floats over the cuppa. It’s great at the end of the day because it’s rich flavor brings focus to one’s senses and work troubles are left behind.

An exquisite blend

The Organic Russian Caravan is among the best versions of this blend that we have tried. It's smokier than most, leaving a rich, luxuriant aftertaste. This is a great tea for morning charge-up or as a later-day treat.

Excellent Russian Caravan blend

Without question this is one of the best, if not the very best Russian Caravan blend I have ever had. Full, strong, pleasantly smoky, solid, sturdy tea. Bought the smaller amount to try it out but will be ordering a full pound very soon. The tea's description says it is good for cold winter days, but this particular blend will become a staple in my kitchen year round.

Smoky and complex and wonderful

I love cooking with this tea!!!

So this tea is so complex and smokey... I love a cup on a cold winter day or when we head up to the mountains. I recently discovered a new way to use this amazing tea! We are heading camping this Sunday and each family is in charge of a meal for the 3 day trip. It was requested that I make my "friends and family famous" pulled pork bbq. This was great because I can make it in advance and freeze it and then just heat the day of our lunch. However, It's already tripple digits here in Central Valley, CA and I didn't feel like firing up the smoker in the heat. I brewed a strong batch of Russian Caravan, put my seasoned and cast iron seared pork butts in crockpots, and then poured the Russian Caravan tea in for the liquid instead of just water or stock. I even let some of the bloomed leaf go in the pot, much like how you'd use a bay leaf. 6 Hours later I had to do the official test test and let me just say... you wouldn't know I didn't smoke the meat unless I told you. The tea imparted a lovely amount of smoke and tannin that is just amazing with the sweet carolina bbq sauce added. I never though I'd cook with a tea but now I'm wondering what else I can come up with other teas. Thinking of fine grinding the Wuyuan and crusting a ribeye to see what happens :)

Haven't tried it yet

Russian Caravan

I liked it. It is LRC's first blended tea, and as you described it as having a lapsang suchong dimension without going full-on with that smoky taste and aroma, I was glad to brew and drink. I like LS tho' I know many don't, as it's so distinctive.
Indeed it's strong and dark. Like many of the green teas (this isn't), the Russian goes really, really bitter if you over-brew it and so it must be watched and timed.

Everything I hoped for!

Delicious, aromatic, and satisfying. The tea is really nice and smoky which I love! It’s like sipping tea around a campfire. Really puts me at ease. I don’t have one bad thing to say about it.

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Why Our Tea Is Organic

Tea is among the most heavily treated crops in conventional agriculture. When you steep tea leaves in hot water, you’re making an extraction—and that extraction doesn’t discriminate between flavor compounds and pesticide residues.Every tea we sell meets certified organic standards. Our teas are certified organic by the USDA and MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association), a leading independent organic certifier. This means no synthetic pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, and annual third-party inspections to verify it.We source from worker-owned cooperatives in rural, mountainous regions of China, where traditional growing methods align naturally with organic standards. These aren’t industrial plantations; they’re small farms where people have been growing tea the same way for generations.Healthier soil produces better tea. Plants grown without synthetic chemical inputs develop more complex flavor profiles. You can taste the difference.

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