Russian Caravan is a blend of oolong, keemun, and lapsang souchong teas, all produced from Camellia sinensis[1] the Chinese tea plant. It is described as an aromatic and full-bodied tea with a sweet, malty, and smoky taste. Although a Chinese tea,[2] its name originates from the 18th century camel caravans that facilitated the transcontinental tea trade from tea-producing areas (namely India, Ceylon and China) to Europe via Russia. "It took at least half a year to make the six-thousand-mile journey from the Chinese border to the populated regions of European Russia, and the voyage was harsh."[3] Some varieties do not include lapsang souchong, thus having a less smoky flavor.[4]
The southern route by Odessa is far cheaper, but the tea is supposed to suffer in flavour in its transit through the tropical seas, while it improves in its passage through the cold dry climate of Mongolia and Siberia, by losing that unpleasant taste of firing [whereby tea was dried using direct heat]. As Russian epicures believe that a peculiar delicacy of flavor is imparted to it by the slight moisture it absorbs when nightly unloaded and placed on the snow-covered steppes, the enhanced price it commands compensates for the greater expense and difficulty of its carriage by this route.[5]
I don't like tea as a rule, but I would give this a try.
I get mine from a tea specialist. It's a large-leafed, "grey" tea which needs stronger brewing to get the benefit of the full flavour. Your description, "aromatic and full-bodied tea with a sweet, malty, and smoky taste," is absolutely accurate, although I would emphasise that the smokey flavour is pronounced, which is the quality that I like best. Like other black teas, it's a good source of iodine.
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