100 Tasting Notes
An absolutely fantastic Pouchong!
Dry, the leaves are medium-dark green and remind me of seaweed. The scent is somewhat nutty with a distant milk note.
While steeping the leaves smell faintly of green apples and the sea. The liquor is a light vivid green. Taste is light and lovely. Slightly fruity, a hint of green apples. When it cools, it becomes slightly floral. Subsequent steepings become more vegetal and nutty, while retaining a fruit aspect.
Preparation
A nice classic Earl Grey. I find that I like the bergamont that Harney uses much more than others I’ve come across thus far. Medium strength, preferring this blend without milk. Solid black base, slightly malty.
Preparation
Totally hate tea ninjas. I have certain teas that I hide from family members/guests, not to be rude but because I don’t want it all to go missing while I’m not looking :P
They went through a whole tin without asking? How rude!
My issue was the lengths they went to, to hide everything. I would have been happy to open it and share if they had asked. Oh well.
I feel like I missed something here….. O.o
Yeah, I removed the negativity from my review. I had some house guests who opened my tin of this without asking, and went through all but one bag, while purposefully hiding that they were doing so. I don’t understand why they felt the need to be sneaky, but figured people who were looking up tasting notes for Earl Grey Imperial didn’t need to hear me rant ;)
Ahh. I am not nearly as thoughtful as you! That would drive me crazy, btw! I’m lucky that nobody steals my tea here (granted, it is in my room, which is technically off-limits to my roomies).
I’m not really a fan of Chamomile. By not really, I suppose I mean…at all. In fact I’m normally a “nose wrinkler” when it’s mentioned. Yup, afraid so. That being said, I actually liked this. Perhaps I’ve just been drinking poorly blended, low quality Chamomile previously… who knows!
This is smooth. I certainly don’t get the apples that Harney mentions, but I don’t feel at a loss because of it. Lots and lots of large chamomile buds in the sachet. I’m starting to feel less gypped at there only being 3 sachets in this tag-along vs the normal 5.
Okay Chamomile, I’ll concede. You may just earn a spot in my permanent cupboard yet! Although I’m still not a fan of your natural musk.
Preparation
I also am not a fan of chamomile. But I think I will have to try this after reading your review.
noooo really? chamomile was okay? idk, … skeptical shmiracles is skeptical. (but i’ll consider it i suppose) ;)
I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome of this. It’s great that it comes in tag-a-longs for the chamomile hesitant among us. ;)
This is a lovely black with a melange of stone fruits that remind me of the orchards in the south island where I grew up. I’m getting apricots, nectarines, plum, maybe a touch of fresh dark cherries. The stone fruits come through more strongly in fragrance than taste. When it’s raining and dreary, like it is today, and I’m after something comforting, this is my go-to cup with milk. Sometimes with sugar, but not often.
Preparation
I blind purchased this because I absolutely love coconut. My first 3 cups at longer steeping times (+3 mins) were all disappointments. Very bitter, no coconut – just floral and sickeningly sweet. Blerg!
But, when steeped for 3 minutes or less, I get coconut reminiscent of coconut ice, and a slight chocolate hit. Very sweet. When milk is added, the creaminess of the coconut comes out a titch more but not much. When cooled, it becomes very floral. A nice medium-light dessert tea.
I’m on the hunt for a great coconut, and while this isn’t bad, I don’t think this is it. So may not replenish this one once I’m out. We’ll see what future cups bring.
Preparation
Full disclosure, I’m not normally one for Breakfast teas.
BY THE BEARD OF ZEUS! THIS IS STRONG!
Wow, wow, wow, wow! SO strong. Smooth. and STRONG. Is this Assam? Seems like it might be Assam… DAMN IT’S STRONG. People really steep this for 5 minutes?
OKAY, LET’S ADD SOME MILK! BETTER! Less strong! More creamy!
Milk was a good choice.
Edit: This review is the result of 7 different cups of black tea on an empty stomach. I’m going to leave it as is to warn about the dangers of writing reviews while highly caffeinated. Oh, the shame.
Stay in school, don’t do drugs, moderation in all things – even tea.
Preparation
That was great!
Lol!
This was one I almost picked up on the most recent tea spree. I decided I had enough “breakfast blends”. I put myself on that particular shop’s list for when they get another shipment of Birthday tea in; now I think I’ll go ahead & grab this when they call me that Birthday is in.
Let me know how you find the Birthday tea ClassieLassie. Harney NZ will be importing it soon and I’ve been eying it curiously.
I always have a small box of this handy. My guy likes to over eat a lot, so this comes in handy when the moans start. It’s always seemed like a great quality peppermint tea, is easily available in most supermarkets here, and is reasonably cheap. Winner winner, [following] chicken dinner! ;)
Preparation
This is a nice mild green tea. I get more of a sweet orange or tangerine, than normal orange, which is quite nice. The tea itself is more of a light-medium green base. Nothing is overpowering. Overall I can see why it’s suggested by Harney as an introductionary green tea
Nice to have in a tagalong for when I’m in the mood, but I wouldn’t go through enough for it to be a staple. For me, this is a lovely once-in-a-while tea.
Preparation
I bought a large bag of this a couple months ago from my local tea shop and have been enjoying it off and on. The leaves have quite large chucks of dried peaches mixed in and smells delicious. The green roiboos base is a good match and isn’t dominant at all. There’s a great peach flavour, but I wouldn’t call it “juicy” or overpowering. My steep times are generally 5-7 minutes, although it can go for ages without becoming bitter.
I generally make a cup of this, thanks to it’s forgiving nature, if I’m feeling especially absent minded and am afraid I’ll forget about the tea, haha!
Preparation
I’ll admit, I was a little afraid to steep this for 6 minutes, having only ever steeped Oolongs for much much shorter times, but it came out absolutely lovely. Sweet, soft, beautiful. Mmmmm.
The second steep was much less sweet with more of the oolong leaf flavor coming through, but very nice with a light floral fragrance and taste.
Having never had an Oriental Beauty before, I was quite interested to hear how it was made. Here’s a blog post (To which I am not affiliated) on some basic history – http://teamasters.blogspot.co.nz/2007/02/study-of-oriental-beauty.html.
