Scottish Afternoon

I had this tea tonight while I was working (thank goodness I also have some melatonin to knock me out!). I had to be on a video conference call…but thankfully did not need to be seen on this call…b/c I was in my pj’s!

I was starting to feel sleepy before the call started at 7pm so I made a cup of this to wake me up a little. Boy did it! Made my note taking go pretty darn quick! :) This is a really robust tea with a lot of flavor to boot. I did add a little half and half as well as sweetener to cut it a little. But that didn’t make any difference. This tea was still very strong and so full of a malty kind of flavor I had a few moments where I found it hard to concentrate on the call!

But I pulled through and now need a cup of sleepy time tea to come down from the caffeine.

I just brewed this tea for the first time and it smells Uhhmazing.
I think it has to do with a chocolate tea being stored next to it in the same package. Thank you Nicole for this lovely tea!

A new black tea in the morning always makes me happy and my taste buds are ever so excited to try something new. I am down to using just one packet of sugar in the raw, which I am proud to say is much less than I would normally use. Yay to less sugar!

The tea is yummy, malty, with no bitterness, and just an all around great black tea for the morning or afternoon.

Also had earlier today. Not bad, but I much prefer the heft and extra flavor of Scottish Morn!

Flea crisis averted! The foster kittens have the instant acting flea medicine on and are happily out of the bathroom roaming around again. Our cats have flea medicine on just in case. And there is table salt sprinkled on the upstairs carpets just in case of any rogue fleas (they eat the salt and die – works like a charm and no chemicals!) Feeling much calmer this afternoon, and even was able to go to the pool with my mom for a quick swim!

This is my last new Harneys tea to try from my recent order. I thought about getting the Scottish Breakfast, because I like breakfast teas. But this one is supposed to be more mellow, and I already have a tin of another company’s Scottish Breakfast. WOW is this strong! The dry leaves smell just lightly malty, and the tea smells super sweet and malty, so I wasn’t quite ready for that first strong sip. I steeped this for 5 minutes according to the instructions, but I think I would bump it back to 4 minutes to hopefully avoid any bitterness. The flavor is smooth with a robust finish. The aftertaste is lightly bitter. Not horribly, though, and milk and sweetener does tone down the bitterness. Overall I like this blend! Even though this is an ‘afternoon’ tea I think it would be perfect in the morning to wake up instantly with the first sip (yes, it’s that strong!).

-Dry blend has small brown granules of tea leaves with tiny pieces of green tea leaves.
-Dry leaves smell faintly malty. Tea liquor aroma is sweet and malty.
-Tea liquor is a clear very dark reddish brown color.
-Smooth flavor with a robust finish. Lightly bitter aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. A robust cup with a slightly sweet and malty flavor.

What I love most about this one is it won’t keep me up at night yet still is strong. I find it can be hard to get the perfect cup right- its easy to steep too long or not long enough or use a little too much or too little. Its not the best black tea but its ok.

Music- Eluveitie. This is my tea of the day. There is a malty, and lightly citrus scent. The flavour is more citrus and nicely malt. (Will have to try with milk and scones.)

I ordered a sample of this with our most recent Harney order and while it is tasty for a bold straight black, the TLDR version is that I prefer Scottish Morn still.

In the measuring teaspoon, it looks like CTC black pieces with small greenish flecks. It brews a rich dark brown and the aroma is straight up malt. I don’t look for complexity in teas like this, so I am not at all put off by the simplicity in the scent. Unfortunately, while the addition of Darjeeling to this blend adds depth of flavor in my cup, it does it in a way that takes from the briskness and body of the Assam and Ceylon.

This kind of tea (like Scottish Morn) is meant to be enjoyed with milk and I added a good dash to my cup, which helps to give the tea a creamy balanced profile and highlights a hint of muscatel and citrus. While it is still a decent tea blend and I like what they had in mind for it, my personal preference will forever go to my favorite CTC for when I want a bold wake-up and I will reach for Scottish Morn, not Scottish Afternoon every time.