Kusmi is the gold standard of all teas. Named after its founding family, the Kousmichoffs, the company was established in 1867 in St. Petersburg. It quickly became an official supplier to the Russian czars. Kusmi relocated to France in 1917--where it remains today--right before the Russian Revolution.

Though you can still buy original Russian tea blends, Kusmi now sells a dizzying variety of tea. We started with Detox (a blend of mate and green tea), which is among the best green teas I've ever tasted. Our most recent purchase was their traditional Earl Grey, which is strong and round in its flavor. Not knowing how good the tea even was, my initial interest was due to Kusmi's packaging design. The tins and labels are ornate and completely appropriate for a czar...or you, of course.  If you buy a bigger tin, you're able to bring the container back in and pay bulk prices for a refill.

And if you don't want to refill your canister when you're done, I'm sure you can find something useful to do with it!  The tins are frequently featured on design blogs.

Their Manhattan store is located behind Bloomingdale's.