Evol Ving Ness Send Message

184 Followers / 400 Following

drank Malachi McCormick's Blend by Harney & Sons
1403 tasting notes

The mood for what gmathis calls builder’s teas seems to come upon me more and more often. Perhaps this is because the flavoured teas I have been drinking lately are so over the top, with a gazillion flavours dancing together.

Enter Malachi. Simple. Uncomplicated.

Yesterday, I picked up some milk, so I had it with milk, a lot of milk.

So far, this blend of Assam and Keemun is one of my favourite H & S’s teas.

It steeps up a deep mahogany. Punchy, malty. A great tea to start the day with.

Also, I like the label: a decent cup of tea. And that it is.

There must be some sort of pan-national Steepster crowd mind intuition thing happening today as everyone is reaching for Harney.
8 comments
Edit
gmathis
Delete

Do you know, I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Malachi. I need to remedy that soon…I’m long overdue!

gmathis
Delete

Or have I? Oy. Oh, for Sheldon Cooper’s identic memory…

Evol Ving Ness
Delete

I noticed that Harney’s has 20% off now.

Note that this is what I imagine builder’s teas taste like. Others have noted that it is along the same lines as an Irish Breakfast blend.

ashmanra
Delete

I liked this one! I gave it as a gift to a builders tea lover a few years ago. She read the “Decent cup of tea” bit and looked confused and worried and laughed, as if it was admitting to be only “decent.” After she tried it, I got a phone call saying “Wow! That really IS a decent cup of tea!”

Andreastt
Delete

Would love to try this one! Sounds great. What do you think of their Irish Breakfast blend (100% Assam)? It’s one of my favorites when I want a plain, strong black tea with a splash of milk.

Evol Ving Ness
Delete

Ashmanra, that’s a good story. :)

Andreas, I haven’t tried their Irish Breakfast, so I can’t compare. Yet, anyway. I will put it on my list.

so far, I like this one, Scottish Morn, Queen Catherine, and Brigitte’s Blend when I reach for an unflavoured tea by H & S.

Evol Ving Ness
Delete

Ooops, I just realized that your name could be Andre or Andrea, so my apologies if I got it wrong.

gmathis
Delete

Andreastt, I just had a cup of H&S Irish Breakfast yesterday (bagged version). You described it well: plain, strong black tea is as about as accurate as you can get. However, just like the book is always better than the movie, I’d hazard a guess that the loose leaf version is better than the bagged!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Comments

gmathis
Delete

Do you know, I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Malachi. I need to remedy that soon…I’m long overdue!

gmathis
Delete

Or have I? Oy. Oh, for Sheldon Cooper’s identic memory…

Evol Ving Ness
Delete

I noticed that Harney’s has 20% off now.

Note that this is what I imagine builder’s teas taste like. Others have noted that it is along the same lines as an Irish Breakfast blend.

ashmanra
Delete

I liked this one! I gave it as a gift to a builders tea lover a few years ago. She read the “Decent cup of tea” bit and looked confused and worried and laughed, as if it was admitting to be only “decent.” After she tried it, I got a phone call saying “Wow! That really IS a decent cup of tea!”

Andreastt
Delete

Would love to try this one! Sounds great. What do you think of their Irish Breakfast blend (100% Assam)? It’s one of my favorites when I want a plain, strong black tea with a splash of milk.

Evol Ving Ness
Delete

Ashmanra, that’s a good story. :)

Andreas, I haven’t tried their Irish Breakfast, so I can’t compare. Yet, anyway. I will put it on my list.

so far, I like this one, Scottish Morn, Queen Catherine, and Brigitte’s Blend when I reach for an unflavoured tea by H & S.

Evol Ving Ness
Delete

Ooops, I just realized that your name could be Andre or Andrea, so my apologies if I got it wrong.

gmathis
Delete

Andreastt, I just had a cup of H&S Irish Breakfast yesterday (bagged version). You described it well: plain, strong black tea is as about as accurate as you can get. However, just like the book is always better than the movie, I’d hazard a guess that the loose leaf version is better than the bagged!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

A monk sips morning tea

A monk sips morning tea,
it’s quiet,
the chrysanthemum’s flowering.

- Basho

(1644-1694)

Note to self—-you do not actually need any more tea.

My real tea obsession began in February 2015.

Not, sadly, when I had been living and working in China, though I very much enjoyed sampling a variety of teas during my travels there as well. No, no, that would have been far too sensible.

I am a reformed coffee drinker. I still enjoy a long double espresso with a good quantity or milk or cream from time to time, but for now, tea is my thing. All day.

*note—this is way out of date, so if we are doing a swap and you are checking to see what I like and dislike, mostly never mind what you find below. One of these days, I will update this. In the meantime, check what I’ve been drinking and use your own judgement. I like all the teas. Well, I am open to trying all the teas.

I tend to drink black, green, or oolong tea in the morning to early afternoon. Rooibos or
Honeybush or herbal in the evening. And perhaps some sort of sleepy-type tea in the wee hours.

This year, I’ve been discovering flavoured teas, so it may look like that is all I drink although that would provide a false impression.

Not a big fan of chocolate or mint in teas, but I will try them and, from time to time, have been pleasantly surprised. Also, usually I dislike a prominent cinnamon flavour, if untempered with other things, in teas. Again, I say usually, because there are exceptions.

Also, please note that haven’t quite gotten into the habit of updating my tea cupboard on Steepster, and it is unlikely that I will do this on any kind of regular basis.

I drink my tea black and unsweetened. If there comes a rare moment that I add something to it, I will mention it.

Finally, while I thank large and successful tea companies for tantalizing and beckoning me to the world of tea, I prefer to support independent ventures with real people, real enthusiasm and commitment, and real dreams.

Currently, I am researching monthly tea subscriptions. Perhaps it will keep me out of tea shops.

And here is Shae’s rating scale— which I am using with permission, of course— which more or less describes the way I have been rating teas. I am going to make more of an effort to stay very close to these parameters now.

Rating Scale

1-20: By far, one of the worst teas I’ve tasted. I most certainly will not finish my cup and will likely “gift” the rest to my sweet husband who almost always enjoys the teas I dislike (and vice versa).

21-40: This tea is not good but if I mix it with another tea or find another steeping method I might be able to finish it.

41-60: This one is just okay. I might drink it again if someone were to give it to me, but I probably won’t be buying more for myself.

61-75: This is a consistently good tea. It’s reliable but not necessarily special.

76-90: This one is a notch above the rest and I would gladly enjoy a cup of it any day of the week. I’ll likely be keeping this in my cupboard, but it isn’t one of my all-time favorites.

91-95: One small change and this tea would be perfect. I’ll definitely have a stash of this in my kitchen if you come over for tea.

96-100: No words can describe this tea. It’s an experience, an aha moment. Closed eyes, wide smile, encompassing warmth. Absolutely incredible. Perfect.

Location

Mostly, but not always, Toronto, Canada.

Following These People

See More

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer