Harney & Sons

I received this in a swap I did with someone and it got mixed in with all my other samples so I’m not sure who I got it from but thank you!!!
This is a lovely green tea :] The green tea base is soft and slightly sweet with hints of a buttery flavor. The orange and citrus flavors are very light and complimenting. It’s a very natural orange flavor, which is nice :]
Thanks again!

tart, not overly plummy.

I wanted to share this with you.
I think its fair to say that this tea is quite potent.
Well, in the tea box that my friend sent me for Christmas (she just ordered from H&S and had it sent to my house) they sent me like 8 tea sachet samples, all the same flavor, and all this.
I groaned inwardly.
Where I do actually like this tea, its almost something you have to mess with.
Either mix with another tea or just be creative.
So, the day before Christmas I was pulling out the apple cider to have for a drink on Christmas day and I was thinking “I should do something with this to make it fancier”
Then total light bulb moment!
I got out my giant tea jar, dumped in all the apple cider and then put the tea sachets in and cold brewed the whole lot till the next day!
It was so good!
Everyone kept wanting to know what I seasoned it with!
It was tasty cold, it was yummy warmed up and it even tasted good with a wee snort of rum in it!
So there is just an idea on what to do with all the Hot Cinnamon Spice tea you might have around (and if you want to be slightly naughty you can tell everyone its a super secret recipe;)
See previous notes for more on this tea.

A friend of mine gave me this tea along with the Autumn Cranberry tea as a thank you for a favor I did for her.
Apparently, my Christmas gift is from H&S too.
She said I could open it as soon as it arrived, I don’t have to wait till Christmas.
Now that is a true friend.
Okay! Now the tea…
This tea smells very holiday-like.
Obviously, Cinnamon is the focus point in both taste and smell in this tea, but I love the fact that the clove and orange are present as well.
Taste is like red-hot candies.
I like this tea…but honestly its mainly for the smell.
One thing that does not thrill me about this tea is that whatever vessel you choose to drink this from will smell like cinnamon red-hots for days to come.
I thought Lapsang Souchong left a taste/smell behind in my go-mug.
But, nothing like this tea!
I have soaked and scrubbed my go mug, but when I first open the lid to add my tea, I still smell a hint of cinnamon.
The other thing about this tea is that it is black tea based, however you are not going to find the black tea anywhere in here.
I was not expecting too, but just wanted to make sure it was known how very pronounced the cinnamon is.
That being said, this tea is perfect for the holidays and to have on hand for company.
I think even a non-tea drinker would like this sweet, cinnamon-y tea.
Overall, a very nice tea to have on a blustery Monday morning.

First, the smell of this is incredibly divine. It’s like Red Hot candies or fireballs. My friend and I took it to have others smell it and they all said the same thing. I don’t think you could – no matter what you put in it – make anything smell more cinnamony than this.

This is the first full cinnamon tea I’ve had and I must say I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s like hot flavored water/cinnamon. I dig adding the cloves in there to enhance but I keep tasting them too, cloves are pretty potent things and I’m not sure if they ended up taking away from the experience a little or not. I do wish I could taste more “tea” though with it, I think it would have enhanced it. Also, I couldn’t detect orange undertones. Could smell them, but not taste.

It’s not something you could drink much of in one sitting I don’t think, one cup is enough, it’s pretty strong. I think I prefer Cinnamon heavy chai mixes over straight cinnamon, but this is a winner if cinnamon is your thing, and it is mine. I’m totally obsessed with cinnamon this year – tea foods, breads, cakes, lattes, and of course TEAS!

Time to tackle this sample. The dry leaf kind of reminds me of 52 teas Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha! Probably get the similar roasted nuances from the sesame seeds, and the caramel is stepping in as the gooey factor. But it’s not nearly as sweet as 52 teas.

Steeped, the sweetness mellows out even more. When it comes to the flavour, there is a slight vegetal note in there but it’s not overbearing. The caramel is very subtle but just enough for me. And it doesn’t taste as roasted as I had hoped. But it’s still pretty good!

Was kind of hoping for this to taste more like sesame snaps but it’s a very subtle, beautiful version of it. Wouldn’t purchase a tin but wouldn’t mind having it again either.

Bagged

Aroma when Dry: Dessert Sweet, fruity
After water is first poured: bergamot and grapefruit are noticeable
At end of steep:
Tea liquor:
first color: light tan
At end of steep: Same

Staple? No.
Time of day preferred: undecided, first tasting
Taste:
first notes: Light floral, followed by citrus.
As it cools? Notes blend, floral aftertaste heightens.
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No.
Lingers? Yes, the bergamot stays, the citrus blends and lingers as well.

Officially finished with the semester! I finished my sample pouch over two sittings and honestly, I think I’m missing out on something. The dry leaf smelled very bland. Faint bergamot with a smattering of black currant.

Steeped, I could only taste the base, followed by, again, faint citrus and black currant flavours. No vanilla, no caramel. And I’m not sick or anything so it’s not like my taste buds are failing at life right now.

The sample was a good way to go. Glad I’m not stuck with a tin or anything. These guys offer much better ones, in my humble opinion.

SIPDOWN!

Yeah…not going to see that much anymore from now on haha. Made a cup of this for this afternoons series of ongoing issues. After having this a few times, i think i’ve grown less fond of it. It’s not a bad cup of tea but i find the flavouring isn’t quite as much as i’d hoped in the longer run.

Another backlog from last night – such things will happen when you have people over until far too late lol Ah well, at least a really enjoyable evening. Another tea from the travelling tea box (and coincidently the 12 days of christmas swap). I’m still rather enjoying this one, though I’d like to try it as a cold brew still. Something about the black base and the black currant makes me feel like this one could be really tasty cold.

On the 4th day of christmas tea swap, boxermama gave us black currant tea! I’ve tasted this before, but technically it was also courtesy of boxermama through our travelling tea box lol so double yay!

My favourite part about this tea was her explanation for why she chose it. :) Thanks for a star filled evening Boxermama

Mmmmmmm tasty. The black in this is wonderful.

Travelling tea box!

I think this was a little contaminated by a smokey tea as there’s abitof a smokey taste to this however it’s a lovely tea anddoes capture black currant nicely.

Forgive the short note. Dozing abit…. Trying to get better today.

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: Sweet, like store cake frosting, dusty
After water is first poured: overpowering SWEET
At end of steep: sweet, almost like baby shampoo
Tea liquor:
first color: light brown
At end of steep:
Color: same
Staple? No.
Time of day preferred: undecided, first tasting
Taste: flat, dusty, bland
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, leaves a sour note

Upon suggestion, I tried a 1min steep
Taste: Soapy, but not sour
Lingers with earthy, dusty notes

Note: This review is only for the sachets. I have not had the loose leaf version of this tea (though I would like to).

This tea is pretty good. It is very spicey, which I actually really like. It isn’t as flavorful as I would like – you definitely have to use filtered water or else you can taste the minerals in the water more than the tea. Still a good tea, but I would like to try it loose leaf to get it a little more flavorful.

I love strong, sweetened ginger flavors (like ginger candies, and practically the only carbonated beverage I drink is ginger beer—and then the stronger the ginger and the less citrus, the better!) and I also enjoy licorice/anise teas. So I thought this one would be a good one to try and threw in a sample order with my latest Harney order.

When I opened the bag and took a whif, my nose tingled and I coughed (as good strong ginger will make you do!). I agree that the steeped tea has a medicinal smell, but then I tasted it…

How lovely! It really is a perfect blend of both! And the great thing about the licorice is that I don’t even have to sweeten the tea (and I almost always put honey in my tea!). This tisane is…fantastic. At least if you love these two flavors as much as I do. I wondered how they would work together, without any other base—and now I know: awesomely.

I found it very similar to Yogi’s Ginger tea, which has ginger and licorice along with lemongrass, peppermint, and black pepper. The quality and simplicity of Harney’s tisane sets it apart though :)

Wish I had bought more!

Backlog from yesterday.
This kind of reminds me of Florence, probably because both have chocolate flavouring. The main difference is that this is a creamier milk chocolate, which is likely because of the coconut flavours. Good balance between chocolate and coconut, and quite tasty overall.

I thought that this tea sounded fun, so I added a sample pack to my most recent Harney’s order. The dry leaves smell really florally-gingery. I am not the biggest fan of ginger, but I love lychee-flavored teas, so I hope that I like this. Anddd I just spilled my poor little sample packet all over the kitchen floor. :( I have just enough left to make 2 cups. Is it ok to cry over spilled tea leaves?

-Blend is made up of plain tea leaves.
-Dry leaves smell sweetly of ginger. Tea liquor aroma is more floral and of lychee.
-Tea liquor is a very dark brown color.
-Pleasant lychee flavor with hints of ginger. No bitterness.
-Best with sweetener.
-Very good tea. Sweetener brings out more of the spicy ginger flavor.

It’s a random sample morning with Harney & Sons’ Organic Breakfast next in line. I’ll leave out the suspense and cut right to the chase; this is really quite dreadful. Bitter! It’s extremely bitter. This tea is devoid of meaningful flavor. It’s somewhat astringent. It has an unpleasant maltiness that just clogs up the throat. I’m having a very tough time drinking this one. It’s harsh on steroids. But at least the harshness is organic, right? Ehh ok. Life is short, time to brew up something else.

I received a little sample sachet of this in my recent Harney order, and as it is a dreary and somewhat chilly night I thought now would be the perfect time to have a little cup of something tropical. When I opened the packet I was overwhelmed by the fruity (mostly guava) smell. I was excited about this blend having coconut in it, but no coconut is detectable in the aroma, or in the flavor. The flavors that I do notice are mostly strawberry and guava. This is a read good, warming tea!

-Silken sachet.
-Sachet smells fruity, like guava, with a musky undertone. Tea liquor aroma is like strawberry jam.
-Tea liquor is a medium brown color.
-Malty fruit flavor with a light guava finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Refreshing, heavier tropical tea with malty undertones. Lingering fruity flavor.

Another little sample I had this morning in my to go mug, and I quite liked it! I really love Golden Monkey, but it’s not a tea I get often since it’s pricey, and I can drink all of it really fast when I do.

This was nice and robust thanks to the Assam, but not too strong to be drank by itself, sans milk and sugar. There was also a spicy note in this that I don’t typically associate with Assam or Golden Monkey, but it was nice. Just kind of like, interesting spicy flavor…I don’t recognize this…but not bad! I don’t think this is a blend I’ll get for every day, but I am continually impressed by the quality of Harney’s black tea blends for the price. The Malachi McCormick remains my favorite, and let’s be honest, it’s probably because Rayn is a McCormick. ;)

I typically stick to flavored blacks, but this is a divine white tea take on earl grey! I’m on my second tin of sachets and know it will always be a regular menu item in my tea cupboard :)

We had a tin of the pyramid sachets of this tea for a couple years and only recently was the last of it used.
This is the most cinnamony tea I’ve ever had, really the cinnamon is about all I can taste, hardly taste the tea much less the clove and orange peel. But when I’m in the mood for cinnamon this is a good tea to go for. I like it with a bit of sugar.

I’m not entirely on speaking terms with my tummy at the moment. Or rather, it is not entirely on speaking terms with me. That seems to be a trend around Steepster at the moment. I was catching up on people’s posts and there were a number of you that mentioned having tummy troubles.

Luckily Fleurdelily sent me a bag of this stuff in her parcel, so I’ve got me a weapon to deal with it. And I still haven’t got a return parcel put together. Really, it’s getting both embarrasing and ridiculous. At this point, however, I will probably have to say that it has to wait a little while longer, and then I solemnly swear I will have one in the mail before mid-January! It’s all due to Christmas and some other things going on right now meaning I try to be frugal and spread out extra expenses a little bit. (On the upside on that front, it looks as though January will be the last payment on my student loan! YAY! And Husband has just finished paying his as well. Those are some excellent expenses to get over and done with.)

Anyway, I’m having this peppermint tea in order to try and mollify Mrs Tummy a little bit, so I really ought to tell you about what it tastes like and whether or not it’s working.

Gosh! Minty! A bit strong too. And that’s really it. What else is there really to say about peppermint? I honestly can’t think of anything. I’ve been sitting here sipping and trying to analyse the flavour like I do with regular tea, but all I’m coming up with is ‘mint.’ So I’m throwing in the (tea) towel and moving on.

As for whether it’s working, I inhaled as I slurped the first sip, and I could feel that menthol-y feeling all the way down in my esophagus. It’s still there. It feels like breathing in frosty weather. I had a slight bit of acid burn, which seems to be soothed slightly by this, but it’s still there. It’s too soon to tell whether the tummy will become less rumbly, though, but I hope so. We shall see.

As it is, I think soothing the acid burn, even just a little bit, is worth a load of points, because that feeling is really very irritating indeed.

(I really do need to stock up on a few herbs for medicinal purposes. We haven’t got very much of the vile-but-soothing Throat Tea left either, but since that’s only chamomile and licorice root, I expect it’ll be cheaper to mix it myself.)