Harney & Sons

Whoa – steeped this for five minutes, resulting in a VERY astringent brew. Milk and sugar were no help. I’m going to try again at three minutes and see how it turns out. Results to follow.

I am trying this today – my experience with Keemuns has been a bit “meh” but I’ve read so many good things about this one.

I swear the dry leaves smelled like a Merlot wine and are very slender and beautiful looking. I tried to not overdo it with the leaf here. I eyeballed it but measured out about 1 tsp for my 10 oz mug.

Success! I liked this one. The results are quite delightful!

The tea liquor is a medium reddish brown and has a lovely cocoa fragrance. I’m picking up some hints of malt and the aftertaste is surprisingly floral, almost like a second flush darjeeling (but sweeter). I am not getting much smokiness, perhaps just a touch . But it may be my tastebuds are burnt out from that Russian caravan I had a little while ago.

I might even be braver and go for a slightly longer steep next time, but it ended up being very nice the way I prepared it. No need for sugar or soymilk at all, this is a great one to sip on plain. Smooth and without much astringency. I’m glad I but the bullet and went for it! So good!

I was so pleased when I opened the bag for this—it’s like POW lemon right in your face. Nothing subtle about the flavoring here! I like my lemon blends strong, so right off the bat this tea was off to a good start.

The lemon is really strong when brewed—bright and citrusy, I feel like this would be a great tea for those early mornings when you have to drag yourself out of bed. But the base is actually stronger, surprisingly! This tea starts lemony and finishes lemony, but in the middle it’s a delicious, grassy, ever-so-slightly smokey gunpowder. I am definitely going to try this iced with sugar, it’s already so refreshing hot and I’m sure those qualities would be even better cold. Urgh, I’m already regretting only getting two ounces of this! Good thing H&S is only a subway ride away~

Experience buying from Harney & Sons http://steepster.com/places/2779-harney-and-sons-online-millerton-new-york

Date of Purchase/Date of Steeping: Bought sample in December 2011; brewed up late-May 2012.

Appearance and Aroma of dry leaf: strong, wonderfully fruity smell (similar to a Darjeeling?) with a hint of a roasted aroma; small, beautifully curled light and dark brown leaves (similar to a quality Yunnan).

Brewing guidelines: almost 5 full TSP tea for 4 cups water; loose in my new ceramic four-cup teapot; stevia added; I used my standard Chinese red tea steeping times and temperatures, steeped five times.

Color and Aroma of tea liquor: Beautiful, clear dark-red color with a faint malty aroma.

Flavor of tea liquor: Good! Similar to an Assam—it was clearly malty—but with a definite Chinese red tea flavor profile (somewhat like a Yunnan, possibly in its sweetness?). Good flavor up through the third steeping, some on the forth, with just a hint of flavor on the fifth.

Appearance and Aroma of wet leaf: A few largish-looking stems but few broken pieces and plenty of nice buds in the wet leaf; I smelled it just after the first steeping and it had a wonderfully sweet aroma.

Value: $3 for the sample, but otherwise $22 / 3OZ. This is clearly a quality tea, but that price-tag is too steep for me (as in, expensive, that is); there are to be plenty of other teashops that carry quality Chinese red teas for a price better than $7/OZ (but maybe none with precisely this kind of flavor profile, hmm?).

Overall: I spontaneously brewed up this sample today, it being the last in the bunch I bought from H&S toward the end of last year. On a side note: having now had about ten Teas from H&S I have to say I am impressed with their offerings such that every Tea (NOT including their tizanes) I have tried has been of commendable quality. As I mentioned in Value this is clearly a quality Chinese red tea. Strangely enough in color and flavor this tea somewhat reminds me of a red ale I helped to home-brew just a few days ago; I like that. I am not willing to pay the normal price for this tea, but still, I’m glad I had a chance to experience it.

Maybe I’ve had a sachet of this at work every day since my order arrived, and maybe I only have one left for tonight. And maybe I ordered a whole tin of Tower of London five minutes ago instead of waiting until payday on Wednesday because I have a problem with impulse control.

And maybe I’m bumping up my score because there is only one other tea (Paris) I have gone through so quickly and re-purchased with such reckless abandon, and I gave it 100, too.

Maybe.

Either way, between this yummy tea and the Caribe I threw in because why not? work is going to be delicious for the next month or so. No maybe about that one.

I don’t know why I keep doing this; I’m meant to be cutting back on black tea and switching to green because of the caffeine content.

But I got a tagalong of this along with a bunch of other samples from Harney & Sons, and oh my gosh. Of course I’ve already fallen in love with it. (My next order is going to be so expensive.)

I took the sachets to work, so I had this yesterday evening, but I took some scribbles on a Post-It: “Plum and berries, sweet — delicious, buy more.” I definitely remember the fruitiness, especially the plum, and it was absolutely perfect. I’m guessing the sweetness came from the honey flavoring, but I wouldn’t have guessed because it blended so well with the fruit. And all of it melded perfectly with the very nice tea.

Definitely going on my list of favorites, but I seem to be a Harney & Sons fangirl, so I guess that’s not in the least surprising.

I’ve had this sample for a little while but am just getting around to trying it. It’s pretty neat the way it looks like a silver needle but then you also see some tiny green leaves in the package as well. :)

Everyone else is complaining about the heat but it’s chilly here today… brrr. Bring on some more warm tea!

This cup steeps up to be a very light yellow. It isn’t as floral or fruity as some white teas I’ve had recently, but it does have a sweet and rich mouthfeel, almost similar to a green oolong. There’s a slight butteriness and the sweetness really lingers in the finish. As my cup cools, the flavor here reminds me a lot of fresh honeydew melons with a bit of cream.

This is my first mutan white tea but I was very impressed with it, it’s lovely! I would definitely consider buying more of this if I could ever get through the other white teas I have at home…

The days are getting shorter and our much beloved Indian summer in San Francisco seems to be drawing to a close; by November it will be back to fog and rain all of the time. We are going on one last camping trip tomorrow before the winter cold starts setting in.

It’s been ages since I’ve had any lapsang! This is from a sample bag I got from Harney and Sons last year and I still have enough left for about another cup. I really like lapsangs in the late afternoon/early evening. This is a good one to sip on plain, it reminds me of smokehouse almonds but it has a sweet finish almost like molasses. There are a few other lapsangs I like a tad better than this, but it’s certainly an enjoyable tea.

I’ve had so many lapsangs lately but I thought I would give this one a whirl too, to see how it stands up to the competition!

The aroma is very smoky – woo! This tea certainly packs a wallop. The aroma is definitely that of a campfire I would say. The aftertaste is definitely not as sweet as some I’ve had so I’m missing that a bit, this is more like liquid smoke all the way!

I thought I would try adding some soymilk to this but I accidentally got vanilla soymilk at the store instead of my normal plain. Could not resist the urge to try it with this tea, it actually isn’t too bad… ha ha

There’s something about a lapsang that seems strong and fortifying. I thought this was pretty good but there’s a few I like better right now.

Iced tea of the day…… (SRP #38)

This is the last of my Apricot black tea. It was not a favorite, but it makes a stellar iced tea. It has a nice malty base and a hint of apricot. I know the apricot comes out just a little more with adding something to sweeten it, but that is not the way I roll for iced tea….I like it as is. Refreshing and so welcome on a hot weekend.

Usual iced tea method.

I think it strange that some of the teas that I love the most, I hardly ever review.
I think it overwhelms me of what to say.
Oh, Paris, you are one grand lady!
This tea just envelopes me.
I adore it.
Its a lovely blend of vanilla, notes of caramel and a sultry bergamot.
There is a tinge of sweet berry like fruits in amongst the tea as well.
Scent is divine and so is the taste.
I order this by the largest tin and am considering ordering it by the pound.
It is strange, although I absolutely adore this tea, sometimes I go weeks without drinking it.
I feel as if it should only be drank for special occasions.
But, even when I am not drinking it, just the fact that it is in my cupboard where I can open the tin and take a whiff whenever I want, brings comfort to me.
This morning I am throwing caution to the wind and drinking a pot of this,just because its Monday.
If I start the week with this tea, how can it be anything but a lovely week, right?

I’ve found that you can make the most delicious cocktail ever with this.

Iced Bangkok + pineapple juice + guava paste + dulce de leche + rum

The guava and dulce need to be room temp so you can mix them together into a syrup. Pour into the Bangkok + pineapple, add a splash of rum, and perfection!

So I was at Mitsuwa today browsing shelves and lo and behold, I found an unfiltered Coconut Lemongrass sake. It was fate I tell you, fate! Because I still have some cold-brewed Bangkok in the fridge. Naturally the two must meet, so as soon as I put in my shiny new AC I poured a splash of the sake into a glass of Bangkok along with some ginger ale. PERFECTION. It makes it even more coconutty, and really, you can never have enough coconut flavor… especially in this heat. I feel like I’m on a tropical vacation.

I still have a ton of the cold-brewed Bangkok in the fridge, so today I mixed it with ginger ale. SO GOOD. I wonder if you could carbonate iced tea with one of those soda stream things…

Disclaimer: Bangkok is my favorite tea. I’m honestly not even sure why! Objectively it’s not the best tea: the flavors are fantastic but it’s a little lacking on the ginger, and I think the green base could be a little stronger/butterier. But hey, it’s my favorite anyway. Coconut + lemongrass = love to me. It was also one of the first teas I fell for. I saw the pretty pink tin at Starbucks years ago and couldn’t resist! This tea can also take a beating: I used to brew this with boiling and leave the bag in for 10+ minutes (which makes me cringe thinking about!) but it never got bitter. Magic?

Anyway, I have been meaning to experiment with cold brewing for a while. This seemed like the perfect tea to start with, since 1) I know I love it and 2) it’s cheap (1.50/oz plus a 10% discount in store) so I wouldn’t have to worry about messing it up. I honestly had no idea how much leaf to use and dumped like… 1/2 an ounce into cold filtered water along with some simple syrup (hey, I like my iced tea sweet!). Let it sit for 13 hours and then filtered it, and bam—iced tea! It is DIVINE. The coconut and lemongrass are as prominent as always, but the cold brewing brings out a lot more of the tangy ginger. The base is stronger too, with that nice “tea” taste. This is heaven in a cup, and I will be making this often. Summer gets HOT in ny, and this is just what I need to cool down.

Finishing off this sample from Harney today. I keep telling myself I am not much of a keemun person but perhaps my tastes are changing because I like this better than I remember. It still has a smoky top note with a bit of tobacco, but today I am noticing some fruity notes I don’t remember. Good with milk or plain, I still think I prefer the keemun mao feng from Harney though. It is nice for an afternoon wake up call.

Thanks to The Purrfect Cup for sending me a sample of this tea.

I’ve had it before and Keemuns are not my total favorite but I am enjoying it this morning. Being the wimp that I am, I added vanilla soymilk and liked it that way. See previous notes for more details.

I decided to finish of the rest of this sample today… as my previous note stated, I do not love keemuns but this is a nice tea for the winter time. I am enjoying it this morning but probably will not get anymore.

Hmmm. I really haven’t been a huge fan of Keemuns in the past but I felt like I should try this sample again, plus I feel it’s good to broaden one’s horizons. When I look back on my tea tasting journey, I used to hate a lot of things which have recently grown on me.

This tea is very dark and I’m definitely getting the chocolate here. The aroma is a bit… interesting. Getting a bit of tobacco here, reminds me slightly of cigars and I’m also picking up on the smoke in the finish. It isn’t really a sweet kind of smoke like you might get with a lapsang, it’s more sturdy and earthy and as my cup cools I’m picking up on some bitterness so I’m going to try a shorter steep next time.

I know a lot of people love this one but I’m finding it a bit strong for me. I can definitely see why people put keemuns in breakfast blends, I think I might enjoy this more with a little something to help mellow it out. I definitely don’t hate it but I also don’t think it’s destined to become a favorite of mine.

A while ago I would read tasting notes for unflavored black teas with descriptions of notes of chocolate and such, and I would wonder what on earth these people were tasting because I never tasted that when I tried black teas. I’m pretty sure I tried this tea at the Harney Soho store ages ago after reading notes on here about it, and I didn’t really get it. Now I’ve gotten into Tan Yangs and other Fujian blacks, and lately I’ve come across a lot of tasting notes about Tan Yangs talking about how a particular tea is like a Keemun minus the smoke. Thanks to SimplyJenW, I get to try this Keemun again now and make the comparisons!

Honestly, the descriptions of smoky notes in Keemuns have me figuring I won’t like them as much because I’m not a big fan of smoke in my teas. And the steeped tea certainly smells smoky! It reminds me a tad of the wood-fired tieguanyin I had once in levels of smokiness… not like a campfire, but something roasted on one, perhaps. I do also smell more Tan Yang-like chocolate and molasses notes underneath it. The flavor delivers on the scent, and I can definitely see the resemblance to a Tan Yang. I first taste very delicious chocolatey and molasses-y notes, and then the light smokiness grows in the latter part of the sip. Definite sweetness present here.

This is partly rated on the fact that I can objectively tell that this is a very good tea and I can appreciate it as such. But it also falls into the range of teas that I wouldn’t seek out again… I’m just not a fan of smoky notes in my teas. But I’m really thankful to get to try this tea to further my tea education and also narrow my black tea searching!

While I’m not sure I got so much Passionfruit from this, it was a really nice sweet fruity tea. Similar to what I had hoped Harney’s Apricot would be. I’m sad that I only had the one sample as I’m sure this would be absolutely amazing iced.

A really nice blackcurrant. Drinking this today has reminded me that NZ’s currants taste differently than currants from North America, which I haven’t had in nearly a decade. I bet this would be great iced as well.

Thanks to Peppermintplant for giving me some of this! I found the scent very pleasant out of the tin and after it was steeped. It probably could use a bit of honey but it really was a nice tea. The pomegranate was really strong, but in a good way.