Harney & Sons

Another sample from SimplyJenW! So glad I get to try this; I love lychee fruit, but I haven’t had a lychee black tea before! My first thought when I smelled the dried leaf was “Mmm, lychee fruit!” But the scent wasn’t overpowering. And even though I distinctly identified it as lychee, I don’t think I ever noticed how much lychees smell like rose. I guess that’s probably why I like them so much.

The lychee aroma stayed niced and strong in the brewed tea, backed with a nice, rounded black tea base. And the tea definitely delivers in the flavor: a good, robust lychee flavor (which comes with a healthy dose of rosey-ness), with a pleasant, smooth black tea base that compliments the lychee well but is still a major player in it’s own right. Mm, this is definitely one I’ll have to keep around!

Tea of the afternoon…..

Yayyyy! Samples from Dinosara. How lucky am I ? Anyway, this one has been on my wish list for ages. I was intrigued by the lemon/caramel, and the reviews that said the tea was reminiscent of Earl Grey. I do get the lemon in the top notes, and the caramel in the later notes. It is like a light, but richer version of EG, but not like EG. The Indian tea base is very smooth..and I saw some serious green leaves in there! This is so going on my shopping list. What a lovely blend of flavors. Thank you so much for sending this one to me! I even had some of it kind of cold and it was still very tasty.

Steeped by the usual way!

I’m in search of the ultimate jasmine, and I like art teas, although the ultimate doesn’t have to be one. This one was far too vegetal for my tastes. Too much like fresh-cut grass. I tried it three times to make sure it wasn’t just a mood. Meant to return it but didn’t in time. I’m going to take it to school so others can enjoy the individually wrapped little packets.

A huuuge thanks to Mercuryhime for this yumtastic tea!

My first taste of full on loose-leaf harney and sons and it is so delicious. I found the flavour a bit light, but I used the whole sample in my very large bodum travel mug so I’m guessing that’s why. I’m looking forward to ordering this asap.

There is no astringency, the tea is extremely smooth. The tea has a nice depth with the chocolate and hazelnut – I can’t think of a better simple dessert tea that delivers exactly what it promises.

This was so good! Roasted oolongs are hit or miss with me. Some I love, others just don’t seem to taste all that great, or the smoky flavor overpowers the oolong taste.

This tea smelled wonderful in the pouch — a bit charcoal-y. It brewed to a medium yellow liquor. When I took my first sip, it started off with a strong roasted flavor, but the finish was sweet and clean, not astringent or bitter at all. This was a surprise, the way the flavors morphed as I drank it. There was no aftertaste.

Such an interesting flavor profile, and yet smooth and easy to drink. I’m looking forward to repeat infusions.

Really good for bagged tea.

I went to a coffee shop and ordered this, I expected a loose tea but they just threw the bag in the mug. I was disappointed at first, but I was quite satisfied.

The tea came out a very lovely green color. Which is really nice, most of the green tea I drink comes out a light amber. It tasted vegetal and smooth like a good Sencha should, but also went along really well with the muffin I ordered, with almost a buttery aftertaste.

It’s certainly not the most interesting tea you could get, but probably the best bagged Sencha I’ve had.

Enjoying some of the remains of this sample which was generously supplied by SimplyJenW many moons ago. I remember really liking it and hoarding the remains for some sort of good tea apocalypse. Steeped, the liquor is a light orange, I’m surprised at how light it is, actualy. The aroma is very bold with a strong cocoa note and a sense of bitterness, but that could be the cocoa I’m picking up on.

First sips yield a bold rich cocoa that quickly morphs into a sweet note with a hint of spice in there. Cinnamon is my first thought, as it so frequently is. It’s like I am drinking three distinct things but they are coming through in that order. This is even more remarkable than my memory of it led me to believe. I am getting absolutely no bitterness and not any discernible astringency, just cocoa, something sweet and something cinnamon. Fantastic!

I just looked this up on the Harney site and though it is definitely a delicious tea I was surprised at the price. $20 for 2 oz is about $20 for 50 grams – it is definitely good, but that price is unbelievable. For $10/ounce I would probably rather pick up some Verdant Tea but I am really glad to have this sample still. Thanks again SimplyJen!

Wow. SimplyJenW swapped me this ages ago (at my request) and apparently I didn’t get the opportunity to log it until now. I steeped some up in my gaiwan and am enjoying a nice smooth cuppa. I get dark cocoa and smooth tea behind it. Reminds me of the memory of Golden Snail. Really a treat, and I expect to get a few steeps out of it. First taste is maybe 5 ounces water, 3/4 tsp of tea and a three minute steep with water just under boiling. All very different from my usual lazy way, but I managed to pour it without spilling or burning myself which was excellent! My, this really is a cocoa tasting tea. Mmmm…

Also, comparing this to the Keemun Panda from Sawadee that I had earlier today, this is a much smoother tea, seems unlikely to become bitter unless treated very poorly.

Tea of second breakfast….

I added a sample of this onto my last order at Harney & Son’s. So far, I find it very similar to Tower of London. I would say it is very close, but minus the honey and bergamot. Good, but since ToL is probably more my speed, I will stick with that one. I am thankful to have been able to try this one. I think it is a good choice for those that are not fans of bergamot. It is more subtle than Black Currant.

Steeped by the norm. Lightly sweetened.

A co-worker gave me a sachet of this in a plastic sandwich bag to take home and try. I put it in my shirt pocket. The rest of the afternoon I kept catching whiffs of a bitter, musty, cocoa smell before remembering the tea. The sachet smelled like dark chocolate and that pungent floral smell that the little rosebuds used in tea blends have. The chocolate aroma is definitely dominant over the rose aroma.

The tea under the chocolate here is a smooth tasting black tea (not a sharp, bright, bitter black tea). The bitterness from the tea and the bitterness from the chocolate seem to trade with each other which one is in control. The floral notes from the roses are hard to find. The chocolate is satisfying. I would buy some of this. The chocolate lover in my house thought this was the cat’s pajamas.

The vanilla flavor of this is lovely. There’s absolutely no tea flavor, but it’s a nice smooth vanilla drink when I crave vanilla.

This tea has a very light aroma. I steeped for five minutes, which may have been too long as this brew is very bitter without much character. Cream and sugar helped soften the bitterness while tasting but the finish was still very bitter and dry. I will try a shorter steep time for my next cup but so far this is not the tea for me. It is just too bitter.

UPDATE:
My second cup was steeped for four minutes, which drastically reduced the bitterness. Even so, I found this tea still a bit too dry and the flavor uninteresting.

This tea has a light, toasty, slightly sweet aroma. The first sip of this tea was exquisite. The taste is full and round and blooms in the mouth from a robust, toasted, almost meaty flavor to a smooth, honey-glazed sweetness. Its briskness is refreshing and light, not bitter or smoky. The taste experience is full, complex, and lasting, requiring neither milk nor sugar. This really is an excellent tea and I believe it is now my new favorite Assam.

Enjoyed a sample of this one in the Harney and Sons tasting room this afternoon. It smelled very strong of the black current – which I loved! It tasted amazing a nice mix of the black currant flavoring and whatever black tea was used (I wish they would say) and very smooth. I really enjoyed it and wish I had more of a tasting, so I bought a tin to take home!

Had a cup of this last night. It was a gift from someone I know from Ravelry. For a decaf black tea it wasn’t bad, but it still didn’t have as much flavor as regular black tea. That’s always going to be the case, sadly. But it was decent for a decaf, so thanks to the giver!

This is a smooth, dry, slightly smoky blend. The taste is at first round and bright, then becomes slightly dark and sweet. It leaves a bit of a smoky aftertaste. It’s a little too dry for me but a little cream and sugar help balance the flavor. I steeped this cup for five minutes; shorter steep time may limit the dry and smoky elements. It has a lot of character and complexity and is worth a taste.

This is a nice, simple Chinese black tea with just enough added flavor to complement rather than overwhelm the tea’s natural taste.

This tea has a very interesting character. It isn’t sour or bitter at all but does taste very earthy and somewhat smoky. I don’t usually prefer Pu-erh teas but this one intrigues me. I added cream and sugar and the resulting flavor combination was actually quite nice.

This is a well balanced blend of Assam and Darjeeling with a bright, crisp taste. It is full, round and extroverted like Assam but polished, polite and refined like Darjeeling. It is an earthy, hard-working Assam freshly showered and dressed in a Darjeeling tuxedo. It has a slightly sweet finish. This tea is delicious on its own without cream or sugar but takes both well.

I got this right around the time I got Mariage Frères’ Marco Polo and I really like this and really don’t like Marco Polo. That really took me by surprise since I love every other Mariage Frères tea I’ve had. However Marco Polo is just too floral for me. Paris, on the other hand, although reminiscent of Marco Polo, is just enough of everything. I’m really sensitive to bitter flavors and normally avoid bergamot but this isn’t bitter in the slightest. It’s just a lovely subtle mingling of fruit flavors that make this taste like a delicious black tea plus. I usually have it with honey and milk.

I love cinnamon. I love spice. I love this tea. This is sweet and spicy and perfect for autumn. In fact I store this away in the summer because it evokes harvest time so strongly for me.

If you read my other reviews it becomes clear I also love sweet things. I don’t sweeten white or green tea and rarely sweeten tisanes but as a rule I sweeten black teas. I’ve sweetened this tea before and it’s like drinking liquid cinnamon toast without the salty butter and good bread taste to counterbalance it. That said, occasionally I want to freebase sugar and this, sweetened with milk, hooks a girl up. The rest of the time I drink it straight and it’s sweet enough on it’s own, even for me!

Recently I’ve been trying local honey in my tea as a way to battle seasonal allergies. I thought vanilla and honey sounded lovely and it has been. I have sweetened this with sugar as well and enjoyed it. I usually make tea lattes with it and really enjoy the vanilla flavour. It’s not overpowering (could vanilla ever be?) but it’s strong enough that when I got down to the end of the tin I was able to blend one teaspoon straight black tea (Allegro) and one teaspoon of this and still taste some vanilla. (My desire to stretch it out for so long says a lot – not the least of the message is that I need to find someplace closer that stocks this tea.)