Harney & Sons

I tried this tea without reading anything about it except that it was a green tea. I could smell the coconut right away.
It reminded me of a tropical cocktail with light exotic flavors. I think the coconut was just too strong for my liking and to make this a tea I would enjoy very often. I still think it as a nice combination of flavors, and is very well balanced.

I picked this up the last time I was in store because I had never really tried an apple spice blend before and it smelled wonderful.
I tried it as just a normal hot tea and was not let down. It had a very warm apple cider feel, but with more spices and a stronger flavor.
I had a thought while sipping my second cup that this tea may make a wonderful ice cream!
So last night I set off on a culinary of making a no churn tea infused ice cream. That I then got to enjoy tonight (and surprise my boyfriend with some topped with homemade apple pie filling). The ice cream came out wonderful, creamy and had that same flavor I was looking for! Tasted up like the tea, and I only used 2 teaspoons worth of tea for the whole thing. While it was a little work to make it was worth it and something I now want to do with many of my other teas.

This is my favorite breakfast tea thus far. I took a chance on this one and I’m so glad I did! Its smoother than other breakfast teas I’ve had. It tastes great with just honey, but adding milk as well gives it a nice creamy flavor.

This deliciously scented tea brings all the flavors you want in a flavored black tea blend.
From when I opened the tin to when I brewed my first cup and on to my first sip, the mint and chocolate came through. The mint is a very natural and gentle taste, that does not compete with the black tea but comes through with perfect harmony. While the chocolate is stronger in smell than taste, it is most certainly present and is not too sweet or overpowering, just a subtle chocolate flavor.

Most of the chocolate teas I have tried have actual chocolate chips in them, while in this tea chocolate extract is used. While chocolate chips add a creaminess to the tea, the use of chocolate extract allows for a more pure chocolate taste and a more sophisticated overall taste in the tea.

I would recommend this tea to anyone who likes mint or chocolate but also those who are a fan of peppermint teas and are looking to branch out. While the flavor of the black tea is most certainly present, the mint comes through enough for a stronger mint tea taste.

I love vanilla! This tea has a great vanilla flavor. Add honey and a small splash of milk and it’s like dessert in a cup! I steep this one for less time than suggested. No more than 3 minutes.

I have never been a big fan of chamomile tea. But, at the same time, it is not horrible taste wise. I can tolerate it. I recently became gluten intolerant and was having horrible stomach pain, nausea, etc. I did some research online and found out that chamomile tea is great for stomach cramp pain from digestion issues. One cup of this tea made me feel at least 50 percent better. Second cup almost completely took the pain away. So, I keep this tea on hand just for this reason. It is totally worth it. Amazing results. Who would have thought that tea could work better and faster than medicine. LOVE it!

I really enjoyed this unique pu-erh. I used a gaiwan to prepare 6 grams with 175 degree water. The tea really evolved over multiple steeps.
1st steep had a robust sweetness with a distinct green grape taste.
2nd steep was more astringent with grassy notes.
3rd steep the sweetness returned and tasted like white wine
4th steep showed sugar, grass, and leather.
5th steep was malty.
I wanted a 6th pour but found myself a bit tea drunk. None of the familiar mushroomy/earthy pu-erh notes were found here but it is an enjoyable and unique tea worth checking out!

I love jasmine tea and this is my favorite thus far. It has a great jasmine flavor. Smooth green and white tea taste. Sweet. It doesn’t need much honey. Soothing to drink. Just the aroma alone makes you feel peaceful.

Got a few bags of these as sample with multiple orders. Decided to try these after running out of my regular one from Fortnum and Mason.
First impressions : As soon as I opened the bag, I could smell the strong scent of chamomile. It was delightful. The bag instantly caught my eye… The whole bag was filled with dusty petals the whole flower part was missing altogether.
Tea itself: It was lighter than the F&M that I was used to. It is a good cup of chamomile but it is not the best ever. It will do the job, if you are looking for a night cuppa. It will have to do fo now.

A delicious black tea! Reminds me something of the black tea I drank back in Russia, so the memories poured in with every sip. The sweet scent of the currant was warm and inviting, and the tea was strong and vibrant without being too overpowering. Overall, a success!

I am grateful to have tea, any tea at all, any comforting warm beverage at all, full stop. But the more I drink this one the less I enjoy it. It’s harsher on my throat than other teas. It could be the weather. I could be coming down with something. :shrug: My palate may just be gravitating away from black teas.

song pairing: Sonata in B Minor, K. 27 (Domenico Scarlatti) – Lucas Debargue

I was disappointed the first time I tried this. I love JE Milky from The O Dor but it is $$$. This is really, REALLY inexpensive. So I was bummed that it wasn’t even close to being as good as my fave.

Then I remembered that I love Bird Pick’s Premium Silky Green – which they market as a green tea but is deffo a milk oolong – made at 175F for three minutes. So I gave this a try that way and it is delish! We had it with breakfast and made a resteep. There was a lot left of the resteep and it had cooled completely by lunchtime so I drank it cold and loved it. This tin will be gone in no time, and I really think I will repurchase to keep as a daily drinker.

I truly enjoyed Malachi McCormick’s brief book A Decent Cup of Tea, so when I learned that Harney had collaborated on a blend with him I had to try it. I’m glad I did.

It definitely has a slight malty & toasty flavor to it but is overall smooth & mellow. Whenever I prepare a cup, I bring the water to a boil, steep the leaves for approximately four minutes and then add about 1/2 teaspoon of sweetener and a splash of half & half. I have noticed that it can get a bit astringent if I let it steep too long but if I watch the time I get a wonderful cuppa tea. I usually get a second steep out of the leaves and the second cuppa is slightly milder but no less tasty.

I ordered a sample of this because 1. I love Huang Shan Mao Feng and 2. I love Tie Guan Yin. This is completely different from those two. And I love it.

This tea is also known as yellow goddess and golden jade oolong. I think there are a few more names as well, as it is a somewhat recent hybrid.

This is the second time I have had this tea. The first time, I made it the way the website recommends, and it was really good, but it didn’t taste exactly as the website described to me. It was certainly highly floral in aroma, but at 212F and 4 minutes, it had a savory aftertaste. It was good, but they didn’t mention savory.

Tonight, I had only about a teaspoon of my sample left so I made this is tiny amounts. I forgot it was supposed to be boiling water and used about 180F. Glory hallelujah this is good! It is so much more floral and there is a milder, sweeter flavor. I really love this, so much so that I went to the website to order but then I saw why I only bought a sample. But you know what? You only live once, and life is too short to drink bad tea. In this case, life is too short to deny yourself good tea if you really, really like it.

Where has this tea been all my life?!! Why did I not try this blend sooner? That I deprived myself if this wonderful blend for so long just devastates me!

All hyperbole aside, this blend is amazing! It’s light and citrusy with an almost fizzy twist. I usually drink it with a touch of sweetener and half & half but I’ve enjoyed it plain too. It’s fairly mild with little astringency, just a lovely uplifting blend.

I’m a big Earl Grey fan and will give most any variations a try. I think this blend with it’s lovely bergamot flavor has shot to the top of my list!

I found this to be a lovely, light tea with a nice fruit flavor. It reminded me of pears sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. I drank it with just a touch of sweetener and nothing else. I really like this blend but after several samples I realize it’s not my cup of tea (sorry, couldn’t resist). I’m just not a fan of white tea. They’re too delicate and fussy for me. I prefer heartier, bolder blends.

So, if you’re a fan of white teas and enjoy fruit blends, this tea should be right up your alley. It’s delicious. If Harney ever releases this with a black tea base, I’ll be all over it!

Besides celebrating Independence Day this week, I am also celebrating the receipt of a tea that I’ve been wanting to try for a long time. My Harney & Sons points accumulated from previous purchases made it possible for me to reel this one in within my budget. I’m excited to give this tea a whirl. So, without further adieu, away we go….

When I opened the black Harney & Sons bag, a sweet and malty aroma greeted me. The dark brown leaves were medium length.

I steeped the leaves for five minutes at 212 degrees. The color of the brewed liquor was dark amber. The aroma was surprisingly weaker than in its unsteeped state but there was still a detectable sweet potato odor that was not unpleasant.

The flavor was mild. I again recognized sweet potato that was now accompanied by malty attributes. The taste had a slight twinge of astringency with the initial few sips but this characteristic quickly disappeared. The trademark keemun smoothness was very much in the moment. The aftertaste was light and gentle.

Although this isn’t the most flavor-fortified tea I’ve experienced, it is still a smooth and solid keemun with all the flavor notes that I expected. Another “thumbs up” for Harney & Sons.

This is my first white tea blend so I followed the steeping instructions closely. Once I finished the steeping, I added a little sweetener and half & half. I definitely tasted cocoa and vanilla flavors and an additional flavor I can only describe as toasty. Regardless of how I would describe this tea, the overall effect was delicious. Although I may never become a white tea aficionado, I truly enjoyed this cuppa and this tea will definitely go on my repurchase list.

My tea budget was depleted recently so I’ve been happily focused on my stock of morning rotation black teas in my cabinet. But, as great as they are, it wasn’t long before I started getting the itch to venture out into something new. Again Harney & Sons came to the rescue with a great sale on already very reasonably priced teas.

I found this Songluo Broken tea in their Chinese Teas section. Apparently, this variety with broken leaves comes at a much lower price than the one with non-broken leaves. Since I care more about flavor than appearance, this was fine with me.

When I opened the Harney & Sons bag, an aroma of keemun wafted forth. There also was a sweet attribute to the smell which was quite pronounced. The dark brown leaves were small and appeared…uh…BROKEN. They reminded me of finely ground mulch.

As the folks at Harney & Sons recommend, I brewed the leaves at 212 degrees for five minutes. The color was an orange-brown. The brewed odor was subtle with sweet keemun-like undertones.

My first sip had an astringent attribute but this completely disintegrated with the next sip. The flavor was mild with keemun and sweet characteristics. Harney’s web page likens the sweet attribute to agave. To me, it was more like Sweet’N Low, which I have become very familiar with since I am no longer allowed to drink the South’s traditional sweet tea. I really don’t have any complaints about that flavor (or agave’s for that matter).

The pleasant and moderate flavors were also quite smooth. I had no trouble swallowing my first cup rapidly. The taste levels were certainly sufficient to please my palate. The aftertaste was light and gentle.

This tea is a tremendous bargain with first-rate flavors. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys Chinese teas but has a limited tea allowance (like yours truly). I also believe that people with hefty tea budgets will not be disappointed either.