85

In the tin, the dry tea smells like gingerbread, down to a pastry-like quality. Yum.

The ginger is also prominent in the steeped tea’s aroma, as is the cinnamon and clove. Cardamom? It’s there, though for me, it’s around the edges. I was sort of hoping there’d be a citrus element. I wanted to see what a French blend with the Constant Comment flavor profile would be like. But no citrus that I can ascertain. The liquor is dark brown, almost coffee colored though it’s translucent rather than opaque.

Which reminds me, I dislike the fact Mariage Freres doesn’t list its blend ingredients. I am not sure why they don’t list them, but I thought it was an FDA requirement? I know they’re French, but I’d think if you’re selling into the US market, you’re still required to abide by those requirements. I don’t specialize in that sort of law, though, so I could be wrong.

If the reason they don’t list them is a sort of trade-secrety worry that others will copy their blends, I think that’s a little misguided. Knowing the ingredients doesn’t mean I can blend something myself that will taste like something I can buy. That takes skill that I simply don’t have. Even master blenders blending the same flavor profile have variations — none of them are exactly the same unless they’re the same tea with different branding.

Anyway /rant over.

This is a nice spice tea. It’s smooth, which is a relief. Some spice teas can be harsh. It’s pretty evenly blended so that no one flavor takes over. I don’t taste much pepper, which is surprising given that it’s listed first in the parenthetical of “including but not limited to” flavors. But it could be that my spoons didn’t pick up much this time. It does have a spicy aftertaste that gives a little burn to the tongue and that could be informed by the pepper. But that could also be the ginger. The pepper is strongest in the aftertaste.

I can understand why CrowKettle thought chai — there’s definitely an overlap in the flavors. But there’s something undefined about this that makes me not think chai, but more a mulled cider without the apple (thinking about what it might be like to put some apple in this?), a wintery, holiday-like flavor profile.

I find it amusing that I seem to want to add fruit to this — orange or apple — as though it’s missing something. But I really don’t think that. It’s very well blended and stands on its own.

Not sure where to rate it because it is a fine example of this flavor profile but I tend to drink this flavor profile sparingly. And I honestly don’t remember which teas in my tea notes are the most direct comparisons to this one (and am not feeling the need to research that point). So I feel a bit as though I’m stabbing in the dark with the rating.

Flavors: Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 17 OZ / 500 ML
Cameron B.

Kusmi’s Prince Vladimir reminds me of Constant Comment a bit!

__Morgana__

That’s funny — I mentioned that in my note about Prince Vladimir, too! I have had so many teas I can’t keep them all straight. Sigh. But this makes me want to have PV again. I suspect I would rate it higher now than I did then.

Teatotaler

I adore Prince Vladimir! He is especially tasty this time of year, I think.

Cameron B.

I try to tell myself that I really don’t need a tin of each of Kusmi’s Russian blends. I’m always wrong… XD

__Morgana__

And the caramel, and the red fruits, too!

Cameron B.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh… you’re not helping! :P

Cameron B.

P.S. – I now have brand new shiny tins of Prince Vladimir and Anastasia. And it’s all your fault! ;)

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Cameron B.

Kusmi’s Prince Vladimir reminds me of Constant Comment a bit!

__Morgana__

That’s funny — I mentioned that in my note about Prince Vladimir, too! I have had so many teas I can’t keep them all straight. Sigh. But this makes me want to have PV again. I suspect I would rate it higher now than I did then.

Teatotaler

I adore Prince Vladimir! He is especially tasty this time of year, I think.

Cameron B.

I try to tell myself that I really don’t need a tin of each of Kusmi’s Russian blends. I’m always wrong… XD

__Morgana__

And the caramel, and the red fruits, too!

Cameron B.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh… you’re not helping! :P

Cameron B.

P.S. – I now have brand new shiny tins of Prince Vladimir and Anastasia. And it’s all your fault! ;)

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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