Harney & Sons
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This is a wonderful tea for using in desserts. It makes a lovely ice cream and an excellent creme brulee. I have never tried drinking it with milk, though looking at what I just typed, it seems it goes well with milk and sugar. :) Strong fruit flavors and a good black base. It isn’t my every day drink just to drink a cup, but I keep it around for use in cooking.
Preparation
I’m having this tonight since I’m having a bit of acid reflux flare up lately and while I’m on meds it’s usually best to avoid caffeine. I hope it isn’t tannins + caffeine. :( This is my first black tea in days and it’s been killing me. I’ve had Honeysuckle White from Shang and Strawberry Green from Kusmi – both fine but they sure aren’t my beloved Yunnans or Bi Luo Chun blacks.
Luckily this is one tasty decaf black. :) I forgot I just got some more or I would have been drinking it for several days now!
To those who have sent me teas or swapped with me lately, I promise I’ll get to your teas in a couple of weeks. :)
It has been several days since I’ve able to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea. I’ve been so busy that every cup of tea has been on the go. Boston is tasting amazing today. I am really enjoying this cup with a bit of honey and half and half. Since this tea is better tonight than ever before, I’m upping the rating on this one.
I think this is one H&S city that I haven’t visited. (I really like Florence and Paris) How would you describe the taste?
Paul, I will let mrawlins answer that but I wanted to put in my two cents worth! This is lovely, a very quiet and contemplative cup not at all like Cranberry Autumn (which is good but a completely different mood). I think the amaretto or almond aroma and flavor is what makes it so very soothing to me. Florence is rich and chocolate-y, Paris is bright and full, Boston is an intimate companion.
I do agree with ashmanra on the contemplative qualities of this tea. To me, this tea is very smooth with a nice sweet tart cranberry flavor (more sweet than tart though), the almond is very understated and helps with the smoothness I think. The black tea is smooth and noticeable, but this isn’t a morning wake up tea. This is one tea that I seem to like more each time I drink it – but it also requires the right mood to fully appreciate it.
I usually add a bit of sugar to this tea but decided to try it with honey tonight. The honey changes the taste, but I really like it this way. It is more of a candied fruit type of flavor but not overly sweet. I may not always put honey in it, but I am enjoying this change of pace tonight.
This tea wasn’t originally on my radar when I decided to order from Harney and Sons but I have to say that I’m glad that I added Boston to my cart on a whim. This tea is smooth and definitely full of juicy cranberries. I also like the vague hint of almond that lingers around the edges of each sip. I like this tea best with a tiny bit of milk and sugar because it seems more comforting to me that way.
This is very cinnamon-y and spicy, not normally my thing – my mom bought it. It’s actually quitre delicious, especially on a really cold day. Not the best as an iced tea, sadly, but fantastic to blend with other teas for an iced tea. Recommended for fan of cinnamon flavor, period.
I really bought this one for my husband as he has been searching for a replacement for his beloved Plim Harvest. He also loves anything tart. However, we like to share decaf teas at night and I’m not too into the tart side of things. I was hoping this would be a nice middle ground for us.
When I opened the bag, it was dust. Seriously, this teadust put my Chatsford infuser to the test. Chatsford won! This tea smells primarily of fresh ground cinnamon but I believe that tart is the first noticeable flavor followed closely behind by the fresh cinnamon. I added a bit of cane sugar and bit of half and half which surprisingly isn’t a total mistake with this tea. I think the additions help me to enjoy the tartness more than I normally would. My husband hasn’t tried it yet, but I suspect it will be a hit.
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Water: boiling
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet, cinnamon
Steeped Tea Smell: clove, cinnamon
Flavor: astringent, spiced (cinnamon, clove) black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent, a touch bitter
Liquor: translucent dark brown
I am glad I did not do 5 minutes as suggested. I was not thrilled, it was rather ho-hum spiced black tea.
Pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2011/01/harney-and-sons-teabag-black-tea.html
Preparation
I’ve found that Harney’s flavored base seems to be perfect around 3.5 min.
you don’t find it gets bitter? i’ll need to give it a go, thanks for the tip
Not bitter at all at 3.5. Slightly bitter at 4. Bitter at 5.
But this tea was also not my fav. :)
What is your favorite H&S, what about favorite Holiday tea?
I love Florence. I also love the Vanilla Comoro, I’m not sure I have a favorite holiday tea.
ooo yes i do love florence, i do not think i’ve had vanilla comoro – so fa rmy favorite holdiay tea this year was the holiday from arbor teas
It is 9 am, and time for tea. And I need a minty punch to kick my butt into gear. Since getting up (late) this morning I have accomplished the sum total of this: 1. Decided I needed some tea (1.5 seconds); 2. Chose Chocolate Mint and heated the water (5 min.); 3. Selected my Teavana Tea Harmony tumbler from the cupboard (5 seconds); 4. Discovered the infuser had not been stored inside it and disassembled entire kitchen looking for it (22 minutes); 5. Found it! (But will not be able to find anything else in here ever again, in the wake of my infuser search…); 6. Made fresh heated water; 7. Logged on to share my agony.
If you have stayed with me this far, you have probably had similar moments. I really need this tea break!
As for the tea itself, the aroma is already bringing me out of my sleep-fog. Mint just shakes me into consciousness, and it is the prominent aroma. It is also the prominent flavor, which is why I add some Half & Half — the milk seems to bring the chocolate into focus and balance everything out. No sweetener for me, though I know many do like this tea sweetened.
Now maybe I can decide on what to wear to work and get on with the day. Thanks for listening.
Preparation
Harney’s sent me a 1 cup teabag sample of this tea with my last order. I’m not a big fan of chai, so it’s taken me a while to get around to trying this one. And, unexpectedly, I like it. It’s not overly spiced and the rooibos isn’t overwhelming. It’s a nice lightly spiced rooibos with cinnamon, clove, and cardamom flavors. I added a couple of tablespoons of rice milk and no sweetener (can you believe that?). I sweeten almost all teas so I was surprised to find that I like this unsweetened. Perhaps that is what I need to do with all chais (add no sweetener).
Preparation
I can’t see rice milk and chai together w/o shuddering. I’ve only had authentic chai (at an Indian restaurant run by an Indian family) once, but it was horrible. It tasted like cardamom steeped in EXTREMELY scorched chocolate rice milk. I couldn’t drink it.
Well, rice milk isn’t my fav, but i get it super cheap at costco and it’s what I bring to work.
I picked up a sample of this with my last H&S order. The initial aroma of the tea suggests that it’s going to be extremely bold. Once brewed, that aroma lightens up a bit. When you sip it, the black tea is enveloped by the other flavors very subtly. I would say this is a medium bodied tea with a nice round texture to it. It finishes very smoothly.
It’s a pleasant surprise. I am enjoying it much more than I thought I was going to.
Preparation
Shinobicha sent me a couple bags of this tea to try out. Thank you!
I love the cute pyramidal shape of the bags. Before steeping, it smells like creamy vanilla or sweet powdered milk.
After steeping, it smelled like a light creamy vanilla. My oh my is this tasty! Great blend. Creamy and tastes great with a little bit of brown sugar. I pretty much guzzled the whole tea down.
