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Smooth and delicious, this got more accolades than Paris at tea time today! I guess I am going to have to keep this one around, just as I do Golden Monkey…

Delicious! And the tin fell off the counter and leaves went EVERYWHERE! So now I have to place a Harney order…again. My last one isn’t even here yet! Thank goodness I have the 2 ounce tin from the Chest of Tea to tide me over. Sigh.

I tried a resteep of these leaves at 7 minutes. It just isn’t doing it for me. This is weak. If I were in the mood for a soft oolong I would really be enjoying it, but as a black tea – well, I like mine stronger. It isn’t terrible, but the first steep really is much better!

I steeped this one a little longer today after reading that going up to 7 minutes can release some new, subtle flavors. I wasn’t too brave, so I only took it to 6 min. 15. sec. instead of my usual 4 to 4 1/2 minutes. It certainly did not get bitter. I think I detected a little smoke, as expected from a keemun but very light, and this time I picked what I believe should be called toasted walnut! Maybe that is how the extra time affects the cocoa notes. There was also a light, fruity scent at the beginning that I didn’t notice as much as the tea cooled. I will resteep these leaves, and see how it goes leaving it for 7 minutes. In the meantime, I am finishing this 22 oz. pot sans additions, and it is very smooth. I kept it just under the boil, as I read here that is how they are doing it at Harney Soho.

I was so ready for tea today! While running some errands I called home and requested a pot of this so it would be waiting for me when I got there. Just smelling it as my youngest carried the pot to the patio made me growl – yes, I growled, which really disturbed the kids but I really wanted that pot of tea and it was smelling SO GOOD! This was exquisite, as it always is. Is it the Ceylon Silver Tips that make it so special? If so, I need to try them by themselves, too!

This is my favorite Earl hands down so far. We paired it with a Panera Double Fudge brownie that had been cut into strips so we could share and some strawberries we had sliced and lightly sugared. The tea was perfect just as it was – no additions at all. Ahhhhh. Feeling so blessed…

Tornados stuck the north side of our town at the military base and hubby is essential personnel. This means supper at midnight tonight! What to serve? One of his favorite decaf teas! This one by Harney and Sons is decaf and….believe it or not…somewhat assertive! I don’t even bother to drink most decaf teas – they taste half-watered down. This one has good body and flavor, will be bracing, but will allow him to sleep like a baby.

I don’t normally drink greens, even flavored ones, but this one is so very flavorful! This is a very good tasting tea and great to keep on hand for friends who prefer greens because everyone I have shared it with has liked it. It is good hot, warm, and iced!
It is sold in loose leaf under the name Bangkok, which is how I will buy it. Like many green teas, it makes my tummy rumble. I wonder why? Maybe because I forgot to time it! Or it could be the amount of polyphenols in different types of tea, because assams and some yunnans do it, too.

I had this one plain this morning and it was so…PLAIN! It had that classic tea smell but I didn’t get smoke or cocoa or any of the things I love about keemuns. I need to try it again with food and see if it improves – this is a good time to get out my new Thursday Next book and some Swiss cheese! If you like Keemun tea, stick with Harney and Sons!

I seem to have become particularly susceptible to suggestion lately. Paul mentioned a tea tasting like buttered squash – I went to the produce market and bought squash. Jacqueline drank Keemun Mao Feng – I drank Keemun Mao Feng! This tea is as smooth as they come, and I had a whole pot sans additions to go with my Panera double fudge brownie and fresh strawberries. Yummy teatime on a beautiful spring day in the great outdoors!

This was our third tea party tea today. This Irish Breakfast is milder than most, but is also our favorite. Like most brekkies, it takes milk and sugar very well – indeed, it is blended with just that in mind!

For some reason we especially like Vanilla teas in warm weather and it is a beautiful day! This was a tea party tea, paired with chocolate cake, Hershey pie, and fresh sugared strawberries from a local farm. This tea is excellent with desserts. We added no sugar, it is delicious and sweet on its own!

Excellent, as always! Mike Harney just posted that he is on his way to India and China to buy tea, and I reminded him to be sure to pick up some Golden Monkey. This one stays sold out because it is so popular, and for good reason. The honeyed sweetness and rich body combined with its incredible smoothness are hard to beat.

Tea party today was extra special, celebrating the end of my radiation treatments. We had homemade three layer chocolate cake, Hershey pie, and fresh local strawberries sliced and sprinkled with sugar around lunchtime to sweeten until tea time! We chose Golden Monkey, Vanilla Comoro, and Irish Breakfast as our teas for today. Golden Monkey always wins when we ask which was the favorite!

We ordered a sampler from Summit Tea Company through amazon.com because their website said they had Dammann Freres teas. While some of their teas seem to have the same name or the same name but translated into English, the taste isn’t even close to the quality of the Dammann Freres tea I had in a tea swap, though it was a different flavor.

I assumed by the name that this tea was not a Dammann Freres tea but rather their own version of Earl Grey. Since I adore Harney and Sons Earl Grey Supreme I hoped to like this one. Sadly, it is a bust! Twinings Earl Grey from my local grocer tastes better than this. There is almost no bergamot flavor at all. What is going on with Summit Tea? Are they selling ancient stock on amazon to get rid of it because it has no flavor left? The Poet’s Tea that was supposed to be Dammann Freres was so awful that I poured it out! Of the three in the sampler I have tried, only one is drinkable so far.

I have neglected my oolongs! I am going to remedy that right away and try to have at least one per week.

This is a very light-colored cup of tea with a definite floral aroma. The flavor very much reminds me of the liquid from vegetables that have been cooked with butter. Though I smell the floral aroma I do not taste it as I do with Wild Forest Oolong. This is an incredibly smooth tea, and I finished the whole 22 oz. Beehouse teapot quite by myself! I am finding oolongs very relaxing.

Again! And I only have enough to make one more pot. This is already in my basket for the next Harney and Sons order. You can’t run out of Queen Catherine.

The resteep – now it is really nutty! I taste walnuts, lightly toasted ones! It is possible (probable) that it doesn’t taste nuttier than before, but rather that some of the sweet and floral notes have diminished and the nuttiness is more noticeable. This is quite good, and I can see myself possibly becoming more of a oolong drinker in time….

I have been wanting a nice oolong ever since my last trip to Teavana where I tasted a very nice sample they were serving. I pulled this one out today not even remembering what it tasted like, it has been so long since I had it!

There is a mineral quality that reminds me of a puerh, though the flavor does not. It is sweet and mellow, but not weak. It has great body and is really lovely. Today has been a bit challenging with the radiation burns plaguing me. This oolong helped soothe my tense body – I drank a whole 18 ounce pot of it. I plan to resteep these leaves, too. I need some additional mellowing! :)

A lovely vanilla tea for this afternoon! It tastes great sans additions, but is also very nice with sugar and/or milk.

When I need to serve a tea for people who don’t drink tea, this is the one I turn to. It is very well liked even by the coffee drinkers. I love JacquelineM’s suggestion to make it with water just below boiling to avoid any bitterness. It is delicious, and the temp tweak improved it even more.

Tea party was extra special today, as our usual guest was absent for two weeks and we were excited to be back on schedule! We prepared Indian Spice according to the chai directions in the tin. Lovely and sweet, it tastes like liquid pumpkin pie to me because of the cardamom, and I think there must surely be nutmeg in there as well.

Tea party day! This was exquisite, as always. Rich, round, full, sweet – this is the best tea ever!

I was saving Catherine for my radiation boost, which is now on day 2 of 5. Sometimes I need her firm but encouraging strength, and I am nearly out so I have been rationing this one until my next Harney order. Ahhhh, how I have missed you! This is a delightful cup. Slightly, only ever so slightly smokey. Full-bodied, rich, smooth Chinese teas. There is no bitterness, no astringency, just a cup of delight! Time to put in that Harney and Sons order I have been holding off on….

This was served for tea party today, and the aroma drew an immediate reaction. It does smell sooo good! The cranberry high note is rounded by a full, deep almond or amaretto scent and flavor. So nice! I drank it sans additions, guests took it with milk and sugar. Everyone liked it, even the children but they are seasoned tea drinkers! Why don’t I make this more often?? I am glad mrawlins brought it to my mind so I could suggest it for today’s offerings. Many thanks to my little barista, my youngest daughter, who makes all the teas and prepares the dessert plates for our tea parties!

Mike Harney, you done good! :)