Christmas (Rois Mages)

This was a pretty decent holiday blend. I guess I was expecting a stronger taste of “holiday spice” (cinamon, nutmeg, etc), but this came across really mild to me (which I suppose is something I’ve come to expect from Kusmi). On their website the description for this tea says it “tastes like a Christmas cake”, and I think its a very apt description. This does taste like a Christmas cake (specifically it reminds me of a fruitcake). If you like the idea of a tea that tastes similar to a holiday fruitcake, then this is the tea for you. I personally found it to be a good but not outstanding blend. I may reorder this at Christmas time just for the novelty of it one year, but I don’t consider this good enough to become a holiday tradition at my home.

Smooth and seamless, but I prefer other Kusmi teas to this one.

This tea really reminds me of DAVID’s new Glitter and Gold. Slightly spicy—mostly ginger—but nothing really in your face. Pretty heavy citrus note as well. I let my cup cool down a little too much on this one; it seems like a tea best drunk piping hot on a cold day. I’ll probably wait for the weather to deteriorate before giving this another go. Even the name implies this is the wrong tea for summer.

I didn’t like this one so much. Took me a while to finish it.

I am reading the past reviews on this tea with a bit of disbelief, because I loved this. It wasn’t weak at all, and the orange flavor was very foreground. Maybe they have changed the blend a bit?

Anyway, let’s get this out of the way. I love the Kusmi tins. I know, I know. Weird tin fetish. But they are so pretty and distinctive! I ordered a gift set of this because the tin was supposed to be smaller than if it was ordered by itself, so I was surprised to get 125g of it. I probably didn’t read well enough. So, it’s a good thing I love it!

You know I love all things orange, and I love that whole Christmas thing where you stick whole cloves into oranges to make a wonderfully smelling decorative thing. This tea reminds me a bit of that, although it is not heavy on clove. It also reminds me a little bit of a tea I loved when I was a kid. It was called Boston Tea Party, and it came in a little copper colored tin. It was absolutely the fanciest tea available at our small KY town grocery store (think town of 8,000 people). Unfortunately that tea is no longer made.

So anyway. I opened the tin and could smell orange, almond, and spice. There’s no bergamot in this one so the orange smell is just orange, but it smells like fresh oranges to me, not orange candy.

Brewed, I don’t taste the almond. The orange is very foreground and the clove and cinnamon is dancing in the background somewhere. It’s really nicely balanced I think. Now I am really glad I have so much of this one!

Currently, I am suffering from allergies and was craving something a little spicy to get the annoying buzzy feeling out of my ears and throat, so spice it is! JustJames sent me a bit of this around Christmas.

I brewed 1.25 TSP in 225 ml for 2.5min.

Hot, I smelled mostly fruit, with the base tea combining with the orange and vanilla to create something almost berryish, cloves and ginger and a hint of cardamon. As it cooled the almond and vanilla notes, as well as the orange became more distinct.

I found the tea to be not as spicy tasting as it smells but the cloves and possibly pepper does create a tingling on the tongue and a cooling in the back of the throat. The fruit is very present in the forefront, with the vanilla becoming more distinct and separate as it cools and the base contributes a cherry note that sweetens the orange. The base contributes a sense of thickness as a result of a mild astringency and its moderate level of tannins. It is quite fruity on its own and contributes a hint of floral, as well as slight malt and bready notes.

Altogether this is what I needed at this moment. Thanks James!

Being only recently introduced to Kusmi teas and a lover nearly all things almond, I was delighted to get a sample of this from VariaTEA.

First thing I smell is cinnamon. The description says it is just like eating a Christmas cake, but I have never tried or even heard of one! Maybe it is more of a European thing? First sip, whoa! Too much leaf with too little water! Good thing there is an easy solution for that. Diluted and sweetened… I would enjoy a cake that tasted like this! The tea base is strong and dominates the cup. As it cools I get more orange on the sip, but the almond blends in so well that I can’t pick it out on it’s own. I think I can taste it a tiny bit in different parts of each sip, but then other flavors come in before I can figure it out for sure. The tea is nice and quite smooth. The verdict is still out on if this is a must have for my cupboard or not.

Christmas or not, this tea is good! I could certainly drink this one all year round. I can’t really detect any of the spices individually, but they’re adding a nice backdrop in the taste. The flavor is malty with a hint of sweet orange (not tart orange) and there’s a very heavy almond vanilla aftertaste that lingers nicely. This one is blended well, with all of the flavors meshing together. Thank you, VariaTEA!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves with small pieces of orange peel.
-Dry leaves smell lightly of fresh oranges with a hint of sweet vanilla. Tea liquor aroma is of warm spices with vanilla.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium brown yellow color.
-Malty flavor with a light sweet orange finish. Heavy almond and vanilla aftertaste that lingers.
-Best with sweetener. Milk optional.
-Very good tea. A creamy cup. Malty flavor with touches of oranges and spices. Sweet vanilla almond ending.

Almonds, vanilla and spices. Does what it says on the tin, but the tea manages to overpower the added flavours, and also taste somehow weak. It does not evoke a sense or the spirit of Christmas to me, so I think I prefer the French name. I swear I taste rooibos in this.

nothing incredibly impressive, but still nice.