168 Tasting Notes
The new 2015 crop of Bi Lo Chun is a seasonal delight! Every year, this beautifully fluffy treasure arrives as the first of the spring Chinese green teas. Bright and sweet tastes of artichoke and possibly asparagus. Best enjoyed immediately after steeping.
-RA
Preparation
The scent from the 2013 Meijiawu is deep and strong. Roasted vegetal tastes combine with a sweet and nutty aftertaste to make for a deeply satisfying and lasting Lung Ching flavor. This delicious green tea is more reasonably priced than last year.
-RA
Preparation
A new 2013 crop of this tea arrived in the shop this week! The thin leaves are a brighter green than years past, and have a lovely fresh aroma. The post-brew leaves are less uniform than last year’s crop, but have the same amazing citrus scent. The flavor is at first light, but quickly blossoms into a lush and bright citrus. This tantalizing flavor tingles and endures, fading into a darker, softer vegetal after taste.
An excellent tea.
-RA
Preparation
This new Chinese black is currently a staff favorite for the first tea of the day! Roasted notes of cocoa swirl in this Keemun. Flavorful and smooth, this tea is more medium bodied than the Hao Ya A and B.
-RA
Preparation
Marigold petals, dark black tea, and dried apricot create a beautiful blend to look at. Aromas of chocolate and nut are prominent both in dry tea and brewed liquor. The flavor is rich and velvety, the apricot bolstering the nuttiness, and the smooth black tea adding to the chocolate. A sweet treat with honey!
-RA
Preparation
An earthy tea with a light body?! Notes of cooked grains and lemon zing the front of this british legacy black tea. Bright and clean, this tea perks you up without weighing you down.
-RA
Preparation
A brand new set of teas in the shop! Chef Marcus Samuelsson cultivated this dark and mysterious tea with a touch of classic bergamot. Floral notes peak through the deep richness of the black tea.
-RA
Preparation
This new line is not yet available on the Harney & Sons website. There is a chance we may be unable to sell it from there by contract. I haven’t yet been ‘briefed’ on how this line will be sold, but we do currently have it (minus the green) at the Millerton Shop and we can always do custom phone/email orders if needed.
I just added the other 3 varieties under the “Ambessa (by Harney & Sons)” company. I will post reviews once I can sit down for a real tasting.
The Lingonberry Green won’t be in stock until sometime next week at the soonest, so you would have had to wait for that anyway.
Thin needle leaves float on top of the water, unfurling to reveal their their pale green color. The liquor is a light silvery green. The flavor is at first delicate almost to a fault, but it expands quickly on the palate, moving from spun sugar to toasted artichoke. A shorter (2 min) second steep expounds the vegetal taste, while avoiding open bitterness. The mouth-drying aftertastes are of light fresh pine and sugar.
Those chinese green tea enthusiasts interested in more assertive flavors should look first to our new Luan Guapian or the time tried classic Lung Ching.
-RA
Preparation
Smooth, soft flavors of baked fruits blend with a gingery spice, which resolves into a bright yet oolong-like finish. This tea leaves a beautiful savory aftertaste, which entices you for another cup. After steeping, the leaves have a rich swirling aroma, and can be used for another brew!
-RA
Preparation
The Tea Lounge here in Millerton served this as today’s black iced tea. I sipped on a small glass midday and was quite impressed, and decided to brew a cup for myself. Deep red-brown curls of tea leaf are intermixed with small lighter colored twigs. The reddish liquor has a very smooth and polite front, which develops into a sweet and fruity body. Notes of apricot and honey make this a light and pleasant afternoon tea, hot or iced. Note- As of this tasting, this tea can only be found on the Harney website by searching “Korakundah.”
-RA