Harney & Sons

Experimenting w/cold steeping- brewing the tea overnite in the fridge. Brewing Paris via this cold method resulted in a weak tea (so far peppermint /black tea has been the best cold brewed) ….

Very refined- a sophisticated flavor- this tea has a perfect name to mstch its subtle flavor- Paris! Perfect in the late evening- not sure if I would want this as a first cup in the morning…. i

No single flavor predominates- sort of a subtle citrus flavor but not predominately lemon or orangy, subtle vanilla flavor and little bit of bergamot…

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 tsp
Additives: none
Water: 6 ounces
Tool: Mesh basket strainer in cup
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: chocolate, it reminded me of a tobacco store
Steeped Tea Smell: chocolate
Flavor: very smooth, lightly chocolate, black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent, slightly bitter very breifly
Liquor: dark brown

Steepster Traveling Teabox tea

MilitiaJim did not like it at all.

Neither of us got the hazelnut, maybe that was what I was mistaking for tobacco?

Either way a delicious chocolate tea.

Either way after everyone rating this so highly on Steepster I was expecting too much. This is a great tea and I will probably purchase it occasionally but to fall in love perhaps I need to tweak my preparation methods?

Post-Steep Additives: none

Resteep: 6 minutes, lighter color and taste but still good

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/harney-and-sons-loose-leaf-black-tea.html

The gentle notes of dark honey or light molasses makes sipping this tea is a wonderful way to begin any day!

The lovely Assam teas offer delicious notes of both honey and malty flavors- some may compare this maltiness to that of a fine beer. The strong briskness of Assam teas results from the fast pace at which they are made; the Assam area in India generates an enormous quantity of tea in just 6 short weeks.
The Mangalam Assam is one of the best Assam teas. Its aromas are both sweet and toasty. Its body is full and boasts the signature Assam-briskness, with gentle notes of dark honey or light molasses. Sipping this tea is a wonderful way to begin any day.

Okay so I stayed at B & N a long time yesterday (long enough to try out 2 teas). This tea my husband encouraged me try because it was the only tin left of it’s kind while the others were stocked pretty full (he assumed it was the best since it was closest to being sold out). Not that it was hard for him to talk me into trying a new tea or anything :) but I usually don’t just pick white teas I don’t know why but I think it may have something to do with their lack of full body flavor. At least that’s what I typically think when I try white teas but this one was totally different it was surprisingly full bodied and the taste of the fuzzy peach filled your mouth. The color I found surprising as well in that it’s not clear it’s not even close to clear it’s amber in color and the smell it sooo nice it’s peachy but not in an artificial type peach way in a natural peach way it’s a soft peach smell but not as soft as one might expect for a white tea. I tried two teas yesterday and I think I might have to go back today and pick them both up :))

I brought the tea bags home in there respective cups and resteep and while the the taste was a little fainter than the original brew it was still quite enjoyable and was definently a true reflection of the original steep.

I tried this today at Barnes and Noble while shopping and it was so good. I totally agree with the other reviewers in that this tea is a tasty green tea and you get hints of coconut and I don’t taste the ginger very much at all but just enough to give the coconut a briskness it also does seem to have a buttery taste to as other posters mentioned. I am definitely adding this one to my list of “To buys” from Harney and Sons.

Yummy, but a bit too sweet.

What more can I say that hasn’t already been said about this tea? I TOTALLY agree with all the other reviews. It’s nose is spectacularly chocolate mixed with hazelnut. And the flavor is awesome black tea (probably Ceylon) and the same as the nose, chocolate and hazelnut. It just works! Yum.

UPDATE: I find myself craving this tea more and more Thanks to Amazon V for fueling my addiction (she is a tea enabler). Bumping it up.

I find this tea very good. It has grassy notes more so than fresh spinach; it depends on how much you decide to use but you will enjoy a full mouth feel, experiencing umami. It has that fresh bright, electric green coloring which indicates a fresh tea and a reputable tea purveyor. I do recommend this tea. Quite enjoyable!

Paul Harney don’t tell my husband…. but I love you. I love Harney and ALL his Sons for that matter. The only person who might love you more is JacquelineM and I love her too for her wonderful reviews of your teas that introduced me to you to begin with. :))

I had a cup of pu erh a while ago and wasn’t thinking about what I would try next and then that knock at my door came that wonderful, glorious knock the knock you’ve been waiting a week for! I froze and then broke out in a full sprint It’s from you Mr. Harney (I won’t tell my husband that you keep sending me these lovely little gifts it’ll be our little secret) that is until my husband sees my C.C. statement.

So I decided since I just had pu erh I better go for a green and I selected the Green Hot Cinnamon Spice and what can I say it is so perfect. It is the exact same essence of Black Hot Cinnamon Spice only milder way MILDER and I love the black H.C.S. but this is perfect when you need a cup of green tea or if you just don’t like the black version> I think it was Jillian who didn’t care much for the black H.C.S. and if she were here right now I’d pour her a mug and reassure her that just because the black was not her cup of tea don’t give up try this cup of Green H.C.S.! It’s smooth yet spicy a MUCH better version of Teavana’s White Ayurvedic Chai/Samurai Chai Mate. Don’t worry Mr. Harney I haven’t been cheating on you with Teavana I pledge to you that after drinking your Green H.C.S. I won’t betray with that White Ayurvedic stuff anymore just please don’t change!

There’s only one thing I would change about you as with most guys your a little hard to read as in your suggested steep times and temps. LOL such a great tea!

You know, I had a hard time evaluating the vanilla teas from GM, and I’m having a hard time evaluating this one, too. On the one hand, I really do like the creamy warmth of actual vanilla. On the other, I am beginning to think that it’s difficult to represent it at a strength sufficient to contend with black tea whilst also avoiding the risk of an aftertaste that isn’t necessarily flattering.

That aside, I’m enjoying my cup. The aroma of the tea itself is heavenly. Harney’s description of the tea, while enchanting, is completely inaccurate for me — I didn’t ever spend any time in the winter baking sugar cookies with my grandmother, and if they’d known any of the three women I called variations of the name ‘granny’, they would probably kill themselves laughing at the very thought — but if I had, then perhaps it would’ve smelled like this. It’s a nice, musky, low vanilla scent, not the super-sweet vanilla of confectionary. Vanilla is one of those flavors that, when most natural, makes me think of…thick-petaled flowers with sweet, oily scents, sitting in pots half-hidden in shadow in a warm, dark room, in which the only lighting comes from a low-burning fireplace. It’s sweet and shadows, but warm shadows.

It isn’t completely overpowering, either. The aroma is stronger than the flavor, but only by a hair. I’m drinking this plain because I want to see what the tea does in my mouth, because of this aforementioned inclination for vanilla to leave an aftertaste…and, sure enough, it does have one — even high-quality vanilla-bean ice cream does, so that is by no means the fault of the tea — though it certainly wouldn’t prevent me from having another cup.

It’s good enough that I think my next go-around I’ll be sipping it with some sugar to see if that decreases the tang in the aftertaste. I expect that a tiny bit of sweetener will elevate this from being merely a warm-fuzzy cup of comforting tea to a real treat that borders on indulgence.

Fresh tasting with quick shots of sweetness. Subsequent steepings more vegetal but pleasant.

I think this is officially my first chocolate chocolate tea? My lovely friend’s mum gave her some of this, because they were sold out of Paris. Nice substitute, but I think I will still give Paris the upper hand here.

Yummy yummy yummy smell. Super strong. Chloë opened the tin, and I swear my brain dissolved. As they say in Chocolat, “Each time I tell myself it’s the last time, but then I get a whiff of…” etc. Perhaps even more so than when I am lusting after someone to a silly degree. BUT. It also had a slight coffee / toasted wood undertone to the smell, which was well balanced, and definitely reflected in the taste.

The leaves are almost black, twisted, and expanded exponentially inside my strainer. Again, it reminded me of coffee in color – a very luscious, dark mocha. My anticipation was growing. I was biting my lip and staring at my glass teapot sideways, begging it to brew faster. The macaroons were prepared to dunk. (http://www.macaroons.com)

As we brewed it (and perhaps it could have sat for a bit longer), I was unimpressed. No bitterness to be found. The chocolate flavor was weak, mostly in the aftertaste, and only mildly strengthened with a splash of milk and sugar. In truth, all I had been searching for was a full-bodied, creamy, chocolate taste. If, however, you seek a tea that harmonizes chocolate with black tea flavors, then I think you will be quite pleased.

Got this as part of an order from Harney that consisted strictly of a bunch of samples.

This wasn’t quite what I expected, but I think with some playing around it could easily become one of my favorite chai options.

It is not what I would consider typical chai, and I suppose Harney probably doesn’t consider it to be typical chai either. Rather, as someone else noted, it’s a flavored black — there are no bits and pieces of spice or dried fruit or additive here; the tea consists of little black-tea crumbles that remind me of grape nuts, if grape nuts were the color of black tea, and smaller. I was concerned that preparing this in the traditional way — in a pot on the stove, first in hot, sweetened water and then with milk, 1:1 — would ruin the tea, subsequently, and I wasn’t right, but I wasn’t entirely wrong. Despite not being populated with a slew of additional ingredients, the spice profile here seems to come through the milk just fine, and in a balanced, appealing way. In fact, my favorite thing about this tea so far is how balanced the spices actually are…far too often I’m finding chais that club you over the head with cardamom.

That said, I think the little pieces of black tea did not hold up well to being scorched by the hot water, as there’s a faint bitter-sourness to be had. Not enough to be unpleasant — this is still a good cup of tea — but enough to wave a little flag up at me that says ‘hey, jerk, that was a little bit too hot’.

The scent in the pot as the leaf sat in the hot water was not particularly strong. I think the solution to brewing this as a latte in a pot might be to increase the leaf but reduce heat and steep time for that concentrated flavor that holds up well against milk without turning bitter.

The dry leaves welcomed me with a “hello” of hazelnut with a hint of cocoa. I couldn’t wait to try the fragrant, dark amber infusion, and I was not disappointed—a true nuttiness with cocoa undernotes—oh, yeah. Although the aroma stayed true during subsequent infusions, the cocoa-nutty flavor diminished, but a delicious cup remained. This tea made me happy!

Sipdown

Definitely will re-order. One of our go-to evening teas when we want real black tea taste that isn’t washed out. We drink it plain but it takes milk and sugar well.

I decided to make good old Southern chicken and pastry tonight with the noodles being made from freshly ground Southern white wheat. I had made the stock two days ago while I had two chicken carcasses handy. For some reason, this meal is forever associated with tea for me, though I grew up drinking iced tea with it.

Since it was the evening meal and hubby was dining with me, I needed to choose a decaf that we both like. That narrowed it down to two teas! I chose this one and I don’t regret it. In fact, we drank the 22 ounce pot and I was longingly tipping it in hopes of another drop or two. This is one of the few black decaf teas that really taste like tea to me. When I first bought the Harney version it was almost too strong for us! We were used to one from Southern Season that we still like but it is noticeably weaker than the Harney decaf. Now we love it, and I am thankful to have a plain black tea that I can drink at night.

We had a repeat of yesterday’s brunch as our breakfast today since i had potatoes and onions left over. I decied to switch up the tea, but snce hubby drinks only a few kinds I am very limited as to what I can choose! I knew he liked this one. This is the most tea-like decaf I have ever had, other than flavored decaf teas. It stands alone very well, I took it plain but he added milk and sugar and sugar. LOL! It was hearty enough to pair with such a breakfast. In winter I like the flavor this one myself in the evenings. Must reorder!