SimplyJenW

My afternoon tea of the day…..

I had forgotten how much I like this one as it was one of my first teas from Harney. Fruity with bergamot. The tea base is very rich tasting, even moreso than Marco Polo, and rounds this out to be a full tasting tea. Lovely. I only wish the bergamot was a little lighter, so it sounds like I need to try Tower of London. That is next on my list!

Resteep at 6 minutes was also very good.

I bought enough of this for myself and a tea friend to try on a recent, probably once in a lifetime, trip to Harney’s in Soho. I am definitely not disappointed!

Sometimes, Keemuns are a little too smokey for my taste and sometimes have a bitter end (the taste, not that they were thrown out! Then again, I think I have thrown at least one out…..). This one is perfect. It is not as light and refined as Keemun Mao Feng, but it has a good solid base, a full mouth feel, and beyond that, it has me at a loss for words.

Good for you, Harney! I have yet another tea on my shopping list!

This is a backlog from yesterday…….

I had a tea to go of this with honey from Harney & Son’s in Soho. Yes, that is absolutely correct. This bumpkin from Ohio just happened to be at a trade show in NJ where we were done in the early afternoon. My boss asked if there was anywhere I wanted to go in NYC, and the first thing that came to mind was Harney’s. It was such a great treat to get to go….I sampled Pomegranate Oolong, and had a sample of Golden Snail iced. I picked up some Midsummer’s Peach loose leaf by the ounce, and a few ounces of English Breakfast to try at home. The store is beautiful and yet simple. The staff was extremely helpful. After shopping at Harney, we had dinner in Little Italy, and then went to Veniero’s for dessert. My boss bought me another tin of Keemun Mao Feng as a gift. It was a total squee day for a diehard Harney fan.

For those that wonder about their pricing per ounce, from what I saw, they sell by the ounce based upon the online price per pound (pound price/16 = ounce price). I do know the Millerton store will ship amounts of 2 ounces or more out to US for $4.75 up to $25, $5.50 for up to $50, and $6.50 for up to $125… and ships for free at $125. This sounds like a great option to me, if you need refills for your tins……

My morning tea of yesterday. Very good. Now that I am not drinking it in a side by side, I do think I could probably live with just this one! Resteap at 6 minutes is as good as the first. I must love this, because once my cup is empty, I stare at the bottom and always wish there was more…..

This was the afternoon tea of yesterday. I brewed a pot for my daughter’s friends, and we all tried it. Love that you could taste the maple and buttery flavors. It was great sweetened, and we added a little milk. I am holding off on rating until I can brew like normal, so it is more an apples to apples comparison. But we all had fun at our little tea party.

My tea of the morning….. Can I just say how happy I am that there is more than one tea in my life? Yes, I still go weak in the knees for a good China black tea, and this one definitely delivers. It is staple-worthy, and almost worth committing to as a one and only. Almost.

For my usual price comparison: This one comes out to be $2.50 an ounce which is mid range in my scale of cost, plus it is packaged very nicely. I have heard that it now comes in a golden tin, but mine was the standard black with a gold lable. It was also packaged with an inner pouch to keep the tea at peak freshness until you open it (or at least mine was). It resteaps great, and is so complex. The coiled leaves open up into a rather large volume…I am always amazed at the volume difference from measuring out of the tin to post steap. It is a must try if you are fond of China black tea.

My tea of the day. I got three steaps out of this one today. Yum! Definitely a favorite.

I decided to try this again for my evening tea, and drank it lightly sweetened. It really was not as bad as I remember. I do think there might be hibiscus in this blend, which is kind of unexpected. Anyway, I think I am going to try it iced next time….. But it will NOT be going on the repurchase list. I think hibiscus and red rooibos are just too much for me in one tea……one or the other is fine.

Bummer. Sold out. It was good, too. This one had a lovely floral smokiness. Hopefully, I can get a recommendation for something close! For now, I will savor the last cup of my sample…….

I am revisiting a few of my China black samples to make notes on which to possibly purchase in the future. Refer to other tasting notes as this one is mostly for me…..

I really like this one. It fits the profile of what I would think for a black of this region with cocoa notes, smooth taste, and is enjoyable. Price is about $1 an ounce. Great for brewing once as far as cost goes (I usually try to plan when I drink my more expensive teas, that I will have time for rebrewings.)

My tea of the evening. I love that it resteaps so well. The vanilla and almonds are a good match to rooibos.

My afternoon tea….

After floating all morning in my love that is Keemun Mao Feng, I had to find something that was just as wonderful, but in a different way. I do agree that this one is blended so perfectly. It is sweet and floral, and such a comforting and relaxing tea. The jasmine, rose, green tea, and Earl Grey all have their place in this blend. Wonderful.

No notes yet.

A Tale of Two Keemuns…..of the Mao Feng Variety

So this is kind of my last stop for now on my tour of China black teas. Cup #12. This one was an add on, since I absolutely loved Harney’s Keemun Mao Feng, I added a 100 gram size of this onto my Upton order for Imperial Golden Monkey. One day, I will have to pick up a few Yunans and a few more Keemuns to round it all out. This is a Keemun Mao Feng comparison between Upton and Harney….

I decided to do a side by side prep of these two, just to see the differences. The dry leaf looks very similar, and the Upton smells a little sweeter dry. However, things change slightly when steeped. Both were steeped for 4 minutes with freshly boiled water from the same kettle. Both are very, very good. I would say the taste is similar except that the Upton is ever so slightly smokier. The mouth feel of the Harney is slightly thicker. If I had not tasted them side by side, I am not sure I would have noticed the subtle differences.

For taste, I do think I slightly prefer the Harney, but for value, Upton wins. The Harney & Son’s Keemun Mao Feng is $24 for 4 oz., and the Upton comes in at a great bargain of $8.20 for 100 grams (3.5 oz.) Even if I added in shipping from Upton, the cost is just a little over half of the other. Here is another case where I am not so sure the extra cost is totally worth it for the one I slightly prefer of the two. However, I am so glad I have them both in my cupboard. I do love Keemun Mao Feng!

Cup #11…..

This one is really very good. It is in line with the usual profile of a Fujian black…..cocoa notes, smooth, and I do get a little of the berry note they suggested was in this. I did sweeten, and maybe that helped. I think this one could easily replace a slightly more expensive Fujian black in my cupboard that is $7 for 3 oz. ($2.33/oz). This one is a little cheaper at $7.40 for 4.4 oz. (125g total and $1.68/oz) and is what I consider to be in the low range. A great value tea in my book. Also, a bonus that it is organic.

Cup #10 in my tour of Upton’s China blacks. I have about two more to go, and I am sure I could find several more there to try. This one is what I would consider a mid range for price at a little over $3 per ounce.

This one is interesting. I think this is the first tea I have noticed to have a bite at the beginning, but a completely smooth finish. The needles are very fine and dark, like a Keemun. There is the slightest bit of smoke in the finish, but I am still trying to sort out the front notes….to my sissy sweet loving palate, it is kind of bitter, but it goes away. While this is not a tea I would purchase for anything other than sampling, it definitely has made a difference, because I never would have thought this combo of beginning and end existed. I have such a long way to go……

I had three jumbo mugs of this today. Yum! The resteaps were as good as the first. Feeling rather spoiled…..

My morning tea…..I thought this one was appropriate, as there is another Catherine joining the British Royal Family today who could be queen. It is not that I am so much a royal watcher, but it is a tie to my childhood. I remember watching as a child when Prince William’s parents wed, and I was completely taken with the whole thing. I wish them the best.

I am trying this one again. I think my memory of it was not very accurate, and opening the tin whilst in the throes of allergies and sensitive nose does not help. It is very floral and bergamot smelling. So much that it makes the sensitised nose (remember that it is allergy season for me) think thoughts of finely milled French soap. It did not, however, stop me from trying this one again today.

It is definitely an Earl Grey and rose blend, but it lacks the sweetness of Teas Etc. Rosey Earl Grey. Maybe it is the lack of jasmine? It is still a good cup as long as I remember to do a short steap time and sweeten it. I need to bump up the rating a bit, but I won’t be repurchasing as it makes me long for the Rosey.

No notes yet.

My morning tea….

This one is so complex. It is kind of smokey and coffee like, with a very full mouth feel. It does have notes of dark chocolate, but still a sweet finish. Definiely a favorite.

Second steap is as good as the first.

I had this tea last night. I can really see the progression in my tastes as I could definitely taste something off in this tea. There are only a few decaf blacks that taste good to me, now. I am purging several from my cupboard. If it is still in my cupboard, it is not a bad choice in my book.

I thought I would drink this one in contrast to my previous log for tea that is 4 cents a cup. This one works out to be 50 cents a cup. Yep, roasty, toasy with chocolate notes, super smooth and pure yum. However, I would never dream of icing this one. For me, iced tea is more about the temperature than the actual quality of the tea. I nearly always drink iced tea without any additions, even sweetener. I use iced tea mostly to refresh. In order to truly savor a tea, I must have it hot. Prepared with just enoough sweetener to bring out the chocolate notes. Second steap at 6 minutes….and just as good as the first. Worth the price!

Bargain Basement Time-

Onto my cup #9. (I just have to thank Upton for having such a vast variety of teas for sampling! Huzzah!)
This one is probably the cheapest of the bunch. It is one of their Season’s Picks, so the minimum you can order other than a sample is 250g. But is it only $4.70 for 8.8 ounces of tea, or 53 cents an ounce! Yes, truly a bargain. To break that down even further, using the average of about 12 cups per ounce, we are talking about 4 cents a cup. When I make a pitcher of iced tea, I use about 6 tsp, so my whole pitcher is about a quarter. Now that is a refreshing number.

All of those numbers sound great, but how does it taste? Really, it is pretty good. I am positive it would beat Lipton easily for taste. There are no roasty, toasty, notes, or hints of chocolate, but it is a good solid, smooth tea. Upton describes it like a Keemun without any smokey notes. If I did not have about 20 varieties in my cupboard to make iced tea (meaning teas I bought and did not really care for them hot), it would be on my shopping list, because I do like this one hot, too. Maybe next season.

(Better go make something iced ASAP.)