So yesterday while I was at Harney in Soho I picked up a few ounces of some loose leaf teas, since I love being able to buy just 2oz at a time, and to not have to spend the extra on a tin as well. I was trying not to spend too much, or to add too much to my stash before I clean some stuff out of it, particularly since I’ll be leaving the country for a month soon! So I only purchased a few, but one thing I did do was pick up 2oz of Boston. Now, I’ve never tried Boston, but it definitely seems like a tea I would like (cranberries plus almonds? yes please!), and at ~$20/lb, 2oz was only $2.50… considering their samples from the website are $2 and way less than 2oz, I’d say it was a steal. Plus, you can’t order a sample of Boston from the website, so it seemed like an all around win.
The dry leaf smells powerfully, incredibly like cranberry. Even when she opened the tin in the store to get some out, I could smell it strongly from across the counter. I don’t get many other aromas from the dry leaf, but as it sits here steeping the lovely scent of almonds is starting to waft my way. When I stick my nose over it, it’s still primarily cranberry, but that almond note is still there… it reminds me perhaps of a cranberry almond tart. I think I can also detect the black tea base; it’s not strong, but there’s definitely something there that reminds me that this is tea.
This one is a definite yum, and I’m glad I bought it! The first notes are bright, tart cranberry, but those quickly are joined by thick, sweet almond that leaves a decidedly sweet aftertaste. This is an almond extract/amaretto/marzipan flavor, and I don’t get anything exceptionally nutty like eating a raw almond, but that’s just fine with me. Ashmanra mentioned a biscuity marzipan flavor in this; I agree, and it’s now making me think of Coquelicot Gourmand by Dammann Freres, except with berries and not flowers. Definitely awesome. I don’t taste the black tea base distinctly, but that’s also fine, and I think it definitely adds a slightly roastiness that adds to the baked almond-cranberry tart flavor. This tea definitely surprised me, I didn’t expect to love it this much, but there you go. Another score for Harney.
