Not all caviar tastes alike. Species, water and time each leave their mark on the pearl, and learning to read those differences is where the pleasure deepens. Three of the most beloved caviars — Oscietra, Kaluga and Baeri — show just how wide the world of the pearl can be.
Oscietra — the house signature
From the Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii), Oscietra is the caviar most people picture when they picture luxury. Its medium-to-large pearls range from warm amber to deep, burnished gold, and it is prized for a firm bead that pops cleanly and a long, unmistakably nutty finish. Matured over four to six years, it is the connoisseur’s everyday luxury — refined enough to serve alone, generous enough to share.
Kaluga — opulence, made approachable
A freshwater cousin of the Beluga, the Kaluga sturgeon yields large, glossy pearls in shades of grey to soft brown. The taste is smooth and buttery with a clean marine finish — much of Beluga’s opulence and cream, at a gentler price and with a little more everyday ease. It is a wonderful bridge for anyone moving from a first tin towards the rarest.
Baeri — the natural first tin
From the Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii), Baeri offers small-to-medium pearls of deep jet-black to brown, fresh and marine, with an easy, uncomplicated finish. It matures faster than its cousins and is as approachable as it is generous — the tin we recommend for first discoveries, relaxed entertaining and everyday celebrations.
Beluga — the rarest name of all
No account of the great caviars is complete without Beluga. Drawn from the Huso huso sturgeon, which yields its roe only after eight to twelve years, Beluga produces the largest, palest and most tender pearls of all, with a soft, buttery, almost oceanic delicacy. It is allocated in the smallest numbers and reserved for the occasions that truly deserve it.
A word on grading
Within each species, caviar is graded by the size, firmness and uniformity of the pearl and the clarity of its colour, with the lightest, largest and most even beads earning the highest grades. Grading describes character and rarity more than it describes simple quality: a modest grade of a fine species, well cured, will always beat a high grade that has been carelessly handled.
Price and value
Price follows rarity and time. Beluga sits at the summit because the fish matures so slowly; Oscietra offers the truest balance of prestige and pleasure; Baeri delivers extraordinary value for a first or an everyday tin. Buy the best you can of a smaller tin rather than more of a lesser one — with caviar, quality always outshines quantity.
How to choose
Read three things: colour, grain and finish. Paler and larger is not automatically better — size and shade follow species and age, not simply quality. Choose instead for the occasion: Baeri to discover and to serve generously, Oscietra to savour, Kaluga to impress without ceremony.
In our own collection you will find Oscietra, Beluga and Baeri — explore the shop to choose the tin that suits your table, and, whichever you pick, taste it before you dress it.
Leave a Reply