Harney & Sons

Got a sample of this tea from my mom. I’m still hesitant about green teas, because of their grassiness, but I do like toasty ones. I guess this is bancha, which I’ve not tried yet. The tea reminded more of squash than grass. Like zucchini. It also had a slight floral flavor, and was slightly sweet. I’m not sure why, but I got a little spiciness from it…maybe as a side effect of the floral note? Not sure I’d buy this one, but it helped to educate me a little more on the green tea realm. :)

Drinking this again after upping the quality of chocolate hazelnut spread that I buy. Wanted to see if it compared better to the new spread versus the sugary Nutella I was buying before. The result….maybe. It’s a little closer to the new spread. I really like the new spread…far more nutty, with a more crunchy than smooth texture, like there are real nuts in there! Anyway, I still like this tea, but the spread is better! Ha!

Mmmmm, coconutty guava deliciousness! There are several coconut shreds in the tin which combine with the guava to create a wonderful scent. I could smell this tea all day, though my officemates might give me some strange looks.

This is a green/black mix, but to me it just tastes like an awesomely flavored black tea. I usually prepare it as a green tea. I’ve noticed that the flavors aren’t as prominent if steeped at boiling, though it’s still drinkable. Once steeped, I can mostly taste the guava and coconut, but the strawberry finally makes an appearance too. It has a natural sweetness to it that I just adore. It really doesn’t need any added sweeteners, though a touch of honey really brings out the guava.

Caribe is fantastic as an iced tea. The fruity flavors really pop when it gets cold. I generally steep it hot at double strength, add a squeeze of honey, and either pour it over ice or just add water and let it cool in the fridge. The results are quite refreshing. This will definitely become a staple for me this summer.

ETA: Just noticed that this was my 50th tasting note. Hooray!

The sweet taste of black currants with a smooth black tea. Good cold or hot but I prefer it hot. No sweetener needed. I’ve never tried it with sweetener as I thought it would ruin the taste. I also love the dry smell as it greets me every time I open the can.

I’m reading a book right now called “The Dressmaker” that is about the Titanic sinking and what happened afterwards. The book is pretty interesting and since I had a sample of this in my cupboard I figured this would be a perfect tea to start the day with. The tea smells deliciously matly with just a hint of sweetness, like a citrusy sweetness. The flavor is robust, but not overly done. There is an almost bitter finish, but it’s actually a nice little kick at the end. I added some milk and sweetener and it became a smooth, sweet cup of tea. This isn’t the strongest black tea blend, but it’s nice and light. I think it’s also a little more sweet than your average black tea blend. This apparently has some oolong in it too, so maybe that’s what is balancing everything out. I kind of like it as a breakfast tea during the summer, it’s not too heavy when the weather is super hot. It’s kind of fun to see what type of tea they were drinking back in the days of the Titanic. I’m glad that reading the book made me remember about this little sample sitting in the back of my cupboard!

-Dry blend has medium black and brown tea leaves and twigs.
-Dry leaves smell malty and slightly sweet. Tea liquor aroma is of malty black tea with a hint of sweet citrus.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark reddish brown color.
-Robust flavor with an almost bitter finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. A lightly robust black tea. Perfect for the summer.

So, I tried three steeps of this tea. One with milk and sugar, one without, and tonight, one steeped for less time (3 minutes). My mom gave me a sample of this tea, because I was really interested in having a delicious tea in the evening that had all the characteristics of my favorite black dessert teas without the caffeine. This tea isn’t it. Bummer.

There are a couple of reasons. First, the vanilla is not my kind of vanilla, although it’s not terrible. Second, the astringency is too much. Even the 3-minute steep had astringency. Blech. It’s really too bad, but I’m glad I didn’t just go for it and buy a tin of this. I guess I’m stuck with naturally caffeine-free teas for the evening.

Nice and smooth black tea. No need for milk or sugar.
Decaf tea that tastes like normal tea! Well, it is just a *teeny bit weaker than normal black tea but it’s nice and I like it.

Hm. I feel like all the teas I’ve tried lately have tasted off, and this is no different. With my standard splash of milk, this tastes a bit like I put liquid coffeemate in it. It’s not quite right.

My favorite tea. Sweet, romantic, strong.

In reading reviews of Paris I found mention of Marco Polo (which I have yet to try), and thus learned of Mariage Freres. Recently went to the harney.com page for Paris and realized that when the item description says “In homage to [Paris,] the city he has created this blend, reminiscent of one of their most popular blends”, the popular blend in question MUST be Marco Polo!

This probably comes off as very circular. My point is that I love the heck out of Paris, and I’m in love with Marco Polo despite never having tasted it. I need to go to France!

This is an “old friend” kind of tea, and went well with our pound cake and strawberry yogurt. Taken plain, no additions. I like it a lot, but I don’t know that I will replace it when it is gone. I will probably with Chocolate Delight from the Tea Guys if I want another chocolate flavored tea. Then again, I am really preferring unflavored teas lately….

I have had this tea for a really long time, and now I remember why. I don’t care for it! It is light and lemony, but it just doesn’t float my boat. It isn’t exactly astringent or bitter, though I do only give it a four minute steep. I just greatly prefer other Ceylon teas to this one. I am not a huge fan of UVA Highlands either.

We really started our tea journey drinking a lot of Ceylons, but I find that I have gravitated more toward Chinese sources when I am drinking black tea. Ah well, I can give it away knowing I gave it a fair shake!

backlog of this morning.
This is a very pleasant black tea base, without any bitterness nor astringency. The apricot flavour is sweet, mellow.
I am not sure the flavour is 100% natural but anyway it works perfectly.
I like mono flavoured teas, this is a kind of ode to a flower a fruit, a spice.
I love apricot and really enjoyed this one, thanks Nicole for the share.

I was hoping this would satisfy my craving for nutella on toast (or croissant, or waffle, or…anything. What doesn’t go with nutella?) The flavors were subtle; the chocolate and hazelnut were mildly there, but it was lacking that certain something.

Then I added milk and sugar, which smoothed it out and enhanced the flavors a bit, but still didn’t result in that “pow!” that I was hoping for. I guess it’s just not that kind of tea, and that’s ok; now that I know what it’s all about I can accept it for what it is. And it was a nice cup. Thank you to whatshesaid for the sample!

Got this bagged from a little cafe on the way to work. My thoughts were that something with ginger in it would ward off the chilly feelings from the torrential downpour this morning. This hit just the spot.

I like the natural-tasting, not too sweet peach flavor. It could have used maybe a pinch more ginger, but that’s a personal preference. From what I could tell of the base, it was an ok-tasting black- maybe slightly astringent, but I did have the bag in there for a long time since I went straight to our staff meeting this morning and couldn’t get rid of the bag without calling undue attention to myself. I also felt like there was vanilla in there, but I’ve been tasting vanilla in everything lately. Maybe it’s my cold.

Decided to prepare tea for me to relax from midterm stress.
It was around 9:30pm when I made it and I was on the phone with my parents and stress + caffeine (even though this tea has fairly low caffeine) = your parents thinking that you’re high ;)

But this tea is really good okay. THE AROMA. And it steeps really well. I’m on my 5th mug but I think it’s because I like my Jasmine tea a bit weak.

I loooove my Jasmine Dragon Pearls!
I doesn’t really matter what kind of Jasmine but… oh the Harney Dragon Pearls smell AMAZING right from the tin.
Smells good, tastes great, and it comes in a really cute tin :)

I got this as a sample sachet when I bought tea from Harney and oh golly, I have to thank Harney for sending me this tea! The second you open the wrapping, the aroma that comes out is amazing. Black tea, slightly fruity, and the caramel flavour was lovely.
I usually don’t drink fruity teas with milk, but I drank this one with a veeeery small dash of milk and it was amazing. I was pretty upset that I only had one sachet. The next time I buy from Harney, I’ll definitely buy some of this!
The reviews on the cite does it justice. One of my favourites :)

Very tasty, though I still think Tower of London and Florence are my favorite Harneys so far. The sweet-tart balance is very well done. I’m not the biggest fan generally of fruit teas, but as they go I liked this one.

Sipdown 7. I’m glad I didn’t buy more than a sample of this tea. I wish it tasted as good as it smells, because it smells amazing— warm cinnamon and gooey apple. Once steeped, the cinnamon hides away, but the apple flavor is still present. For some reason, I just don’t love the combination of the apple with the black base. It’s good, but nothing remarkable.

Wow, dry the grapefruit is very upfront, along with some sort of…feminine floral scent. Very unlike other bergamot-y blends I’ve had, and quite welcome.

I knew when I began my EG-a-thon I’d have a hard time picking tops or dismissing many because it’s pretty much my go-to, favorite blend and always has been (bergamot is probably my favorite fragrance; I used to use it in all of my toiletries and whatnot). And well, it’s true. I’ve enjoyed all the variations I’ve tried, and this is no exception. I love grapefruit, so this is kind of a no brainer despite my usual unease around astringent teas. This is lovely, and would make a good springtime EG. That said, like a few stragglers around Steepster I’m one of those weirdos who isn’t nuts for the H&S tea base they seem to use for the EG and EGish blends. It’s not a dealbreaker here, because there’s other good stuff going on, but I wouldn’t opt for a standard version EG with this base. Also, Tower of London is still my favorite Harney daytime blend. But this is nice, especially the fragrance.

1 tbsp in 12 oz

This was better last time with less leaf. It bordered on bitter this time. Must remember to do no more than 1 1/2 tsp per 8 oz.

This is a lovely oolong tea. The pomegranate flavour is clearly there, but not overwhelming. The oolong base is lovely and comes through clearly. Overall a great balance between tea and flavour.

Thanks jessiwrites!

The second resteep is still quite flavourful. The pomegranate has diminished somewhat but the oolong base is still nice and strong.

No notes yet.

So I had this one hot brewed today, and I also stuck a cup in the fridge as a cold brew. The cold brew turned out super good. It is definitely thirst quenching, slightly sweet, there is a creamy texture to it. You can definitely taste the roastiness of the buckwheat but it is a bit more blunted than when compared to the hot brew. I would like to try blending this one with a fruity or sweeter blend. I think this cold brew is going to be a summer staple.