Tower of London

Ooh, it’s been a long time since I had this one!

I’m looking forward to hearing what others have to say about the difference between the two.

I concur – If I had to choose just one, it would be ToL.

Thanks for the comment, Evol Ving Ness! As you can tell, I find them to be quite similar. I just took a whiff of both the dry leaves of Paris and Tower of London and they smell quite similar, but I get a little more bergamot in Tower of London than in Paris, I think. It’s been a year since I broke the seal on my Paris tin, so the smell has diminished a little, so my comparison is probably not 100% accurate, but I do remember how it tasted when it was brand new. The smell of the dry leaves of ToL reminds me of Big Red soda a little bit. I just did some research and it turns out Big Red is flavored with citrus and vanilla which are two of the ingredients in both of the teas.

ashmanra: Same with me, although the difference is so subtle I would be more than happy to have either of them in my cupboard. I can’t get ToL in loose leaf here in Europe, so a reason for me to get Paris again would be that I can get it in the loose leaf version.

Hmm, why can’t you get T of L in leaf form there? Curious.

Evol Ving Ness: It’s not available on their European website, unfortunately. ToL is one of their more popular teas so I don’t know why. We don’t get quite the same selection here in Europe as you do in the US/Canada. It’s still decent though and better than some other North American tea brands who do not do business in Europe at all (DAVIDsTEA for instance). My guess would be that the European website only has about 25% of the different varities of teas that are on the US website. Their US website ‘harney.com’ does not send to most of Europe which is a bummer.

Tower of London used to be available only in the Historic Royal Palaces tin in sachets. I “requested” it (begged shamelessly for months) and Mike Harney commented on Facebook that if I would DM my address he would send some loose if I didn’t mind buying a whole pound. I requested three pounds to split with friends if it wouldn’t be any extra trouble, and people who saw the comments started asking for some. Mike graciously said, “I hear you. Here is a link and we will just make it available loose to everyone.” It became so popular, they started selling it in smaller amounts loose leaf as well. I have had great customer service from them.

Our Canadian distributor also has only about 25% of what they offer. The TOfL was only available in the tiny tag along sachet tins.

I then ordered directly from the US, with high shipping fees, and got all the things.

All this global difference is indeed a bummer. Thankfully, each region has stars of their own.

ashmanra: Thanks for sharing that. So you could argue that you are the reason Tower of London is available in loose leaf. How long ago was that?

Evol Ving Ness: Yes, it is a bummer. But it’s understandable since a brand like Harney & Sons is an American tea brand, so they are naturally going to have the most customers in the USA and therefore have a better selection there compared to in Europe where much fewer people know the brand. Being from Europe, I didn’t discover Harney & Sons via their own advertising or via people I know, but actually right here on Steepster back in 2011 or early 2012.

I see a review from eight years ago where I mention that I finished my tin of sachets and had my one pound bag, so it has been quite a while! Around the same time, Florence was only available as four ounce tins or pound bags, and a few of us campaigned for 8 ounce tins, and they gave it to us! They do seem to listen to what the customers want.

I notice and like the differences between Paris and ToL… though I admit they are subtle differences! But I think both are cupboard essentials for me.

ashmanra: Thanks for the information. Harney & Sons is a great company!

tea-sipper: Nice to hear that both are cupboard essentials for you. I love both as well. What have you found is the main difference between the two?

Tower of London is blackcurrant rather than Cranberry, with black tea, oolong, vanilla, bergamot, caramel, and honey flavors in addition. Any chance you had something else or was it tainted in the container?

It was a fresh sample. I’ll give it another go. It didn’t have ingredients listed on the sample, so I was going off of flavors. It could be the blackcurrant.

I wasn’t fond of it either. If I steeped it short, there just wasn’t much in the way of flavor there. If I steeped it longer, it just got bitter.

I gave it a second chance. I thought that maybe it was the popcorn I ate, so I gave it a couple hours. I don’t think it’s for me. I shared some with a coworker and they thought it grand, so it’s me. I’d say it’s good with cream.

It’s unfortunate it was not for you. How similar are Tower of London and Paris? It sounds like Tower of London is Paris with honey flavor added. Harney & Sons also mentions stonefruit in the description but it is not in the list of ingredients, so I am a little confused as to what flavors this tea actually contains. Is it like Paris with honey or is it completely different from Paris? I have a tin of Tower of London on the way and I am curious to try it. I love fruity blacks so I will most definitely enjoy it.

I think that it’s good with cream. Maybe I’m not into the fruity black teas at the moment. I feel like this tea would’ve been something I’d’ve liked at some point, but maybe my palate has changed. Maybe it’s the season. I’m the type of person who’ll go for a certain cup at a certain season. This could just be one of those “not for winter teas.”

No hate from me, by the way! This is a really great community and we all like different things. Sometimes I am into fun, flavored teas and then I go through a streak of just wanting premium leaf served gong fu. One day a tea tastes magnificent with friends at a tea party and then the very same tea falls flat when drinking alone. It is good to hear your opinion!

ToL has a special memory for me. When I was new to good tea I wanted to try it and it was sold out everywhere, even on the Harney site. My husband tracked some down in a distant gift shop and surprised me with it for our anniversary.

That said, my beloved Boston does not taste the same anymore, and personally I think it has to do with the vanilla prices skyrocketing. I suspect that just as Vieux Paris is Paris with artificial vanilla, some of the real vanilla is being substituted in other teas perhaps because they just don’t taste the same. I gave away my tin of Boston.

@ashmanra- I didn’t read anything as hate. It’s always good to see a connection to tea. Paris was one of those teas in my early days that I sipped on and instantly loved. I simply feel bad for not liking it as much as I wanted to. So many people recommended it to me. I’m not typically overly picky and try to find the good in any cup of tea. With cream added, this is a good cuppa! I love the story you have with this tea though :)

I don’t do other social media, but in my experience with steepster, I don’t think you need to worry about “hate” or “judgement” here - if anything we like dissenting opinions on a tea, keeps it interesting, maybe narrows down the wishlist for me.. and I’m a fan of Tower of London! I’m definitely a suggester of “try all the steep parameters possible” for each tea like cooler water & a short steep – even 45 seconds might be better for some flavored teas. But yeah, I like seeing all the opinions on tea here! Welcome to steepster!

I don’t think there’s too much “hate” on going against the majority on any tea. IG doesn’t have too many, and if there are, I’ve been fortunate enough to not find them. I try to try different approaches to tea, too. It could always be my cause for the tea to not sit well. Thank you for the support :)

I was just surprised by your mention of hate and judgement and thought you meant other social media places had a lot of that (I don’t partake, so I wouldn’t know). But I have never had to worry about that on steepster. :D

I should’ve used another term. I just saw that it was highly rated and I thought, “uh oh. They’re going to eat me alive.” :p But nobody did. You all welcomed my review with open and arms, and that’s totally welcoming! :)

Open arms*

By the time I need to order tea, I’ll be in a nursing home, but next time I procure some non-Target H&S, this will be on the list!

This one would go well with shortbread or gingerbread cookies.

Mmmm!

This is a special tea to me because when I first read about it, it was only available as sachets in the Historic Royal Palaces tin, but it was sold out everywhere. Ashman googled like mad and found it at some little gift shop and ordered it for our anniversary.

Shortly after that, I pestered the Harney FB page for loose leaf and Mike himself finally replied in a public comment to me that he was about to blend some and would make a pound loose just for me if I would DM my info. Several people immediately commented that they wanted a pound, too, and he commented, “We hear you, here is a link.” They made it available loose leaf ever since!

Hurray, ashmanra, for being the reason that this is now available in the form we like! Well done! Thank you!

You’re welcome! But not just me, ha ha! I was glad his comment was public so other folks jumped on the bandwagon. One woman even requested one pound for herself and a pound for her mother to be delivered at intervals. Ha ha! I think it was the eagerness of all of us combined that swayed him.

Still, you are a large part of the story. I’ll just stay with that.

:)

Also, throwing a box of free delicious shortbread cookies into a tea order is brilliant.

Oh that’s great to know, ashmanra – Tower of London is one of the RARE teas I actually have a tin of.

Tower Of London is delicious and similar to Paris which I love as well. I have a tin of Boston I’m still working on finishing but wish it was Tower Of London. (: Also free shortbread cookies? yum

Yeah, those cookies are long gone, but I may need to order some more.

Oh dear! Poor cherry tree! Save some of the wood, even a branch, for the memory. Cherry wood is so pretty…

Martin I have never made this pie but I think it will fulfill your requirements. The measurements/temperature are American but Google can switch those to metric/Celsius for you if you cook this. Pecan pie is very good with vanilla ice cream. https://littlehousebigalaska.com/2018/11/pecan-pie-without-corn-syrup.html

I’m also sad to hear about your cherry tree. I can’t help you with the pecan pie recipe, but I hope the one from White Antlers works out.

Martin it occurs to me that you might not want to go to all the trouble of making a pie crust. If you don’t, but still want to make something tasty with your pecans, this is a nice cookie recipe (Pecan Sandies) and we all know how nicely tea and cookies go together… https://www.marthastewart.com/342386/pecan-sandies

Thank you White Antlers, I think I can make it even with pie crust. It doesn’t sound very hard and I will try it. The cookies seems delicious as well! *drolls

Leafhopper: It isn’t very healthy unfortunately, so for safety measures it is better to cut it down. I think I will try that recipe above, it indeed seems good and not sweet at all which is important for me (dad is diabetic and we don’t like too sweet things)

I am glad you enjoyed your tea! I like pecan pie and pecans are my favorite kind of nut. We have a pecan tree but the squirrels steal all the nuts!

I am sorry about your cherry tree. Definitely save a few limbs or piece of trunk for a project. I want to make some wooden chignon sticks (hair sticks) so I am looking for some special wood. Maybe I should use some fallen pecan limb!

I’m glad you are making a pecan pie, Martin! I remember you mentioned it before. However, the pecan pie I make is mostly corn syrup and a ton of brown sugar, so I don’t know how that will work for you.

Always sad to see a fruit tree go. When I was growing up, our cherry tree was the perfect size for a skinny little fourth grade girl to shimmy up (there was a v-branch that would accommodate her skinny backside) with a book and a transistor radio and read all afternoon.

Pecan pie is on my holiday baking list, but my Aunt Nancy’s never-fail recipe is all about the corn syrup and sugar. Hope you find an alternative.