Florence

This tea makes me think of Japan. What? Yeah, I know. Florence. Italy. Europe. Nowhere near Japan. And yet. But perhaps this clarification will help: this tea makes me think of Japanese snacks. Specifically Toppo, a little sweet pretzel-like tube stuffed with chocolate. (It’s basically an inside-out Pocky but (for some reason) so much better.) There was something about that tube that balanced the chocolate so nicely. Which meant that I wouldn’t get sweetness overloaded and would eat way too many at a time.

This tea is like Toppo. The chocolate is balanced nicely with the hazelnut and tea tastes so it doesn’t feel like plain old chocolate. Instead it is rich, decadent, adult-type chocolate. Given the mood I was in when I had the tea (an oh-please-someone-kill-me-and-put-me-out-of-my-misery-preferably-before-I-maim-you mood), I went ahead and added sugar and half & half because I wanted needed the full-on dessert tea experience. And boy did this tea deliver. Delicious! No single flavor is overpowering so I didn’t sit there and think “Oh, this is a chocolate tea” because it is really much more than a one dimensional taste like that. The flavors are so bold, rich and sweet that I ended up thinking it tasted like a fancy flavored coffee. (Is it sacrilege to say that?)

Anyway, enough people have gushed about this little beauty that I probably should have stopped a hundred words ago but I just can’t help myself. Through the power of this tea alone, I will be able to refrain from killing someone today.

Thanks to Doulton for the chance to try this lovely beast!

Helloooooo, Florence!

I’m of Italian descent, although I’ve never been to Italy. I don’t belong on Jersey Shore – I’m pale as a ghost, actually. I didn’t buy a sample of this one because it was labeled Florence. Random fact: Firenze is my favorite Italian word. Rather, I bought it for the flavor profile, which sounded delicious and sort of like a Nutella tea.

As soon as I ripped the tabs off the sampler, I could smell the goodness within. And sure enough, this one smells absolutely delicious. Like chocolate and hazelnut, with the tiniest bit of black tea smell underneath. It’s really strong and potent and wonderful. Everyone came in the kitchen after they caught a whiff of it to smell the dry leaves.

The leaves look like a fairly standard black. I steeped this up and watched as the tea darkened to a beautiful cocoa-brown. And it smells awesome. The chocolate and hazelnut combine together, and both aromas are really authentic and true to their real-life, non-tea-related counterparts. But it also smells strongly of black tea, which is always a huge plus for me! If I wanted an all-cocoa drink, I’d drink drinking chocolate.

The taste at first actually shocked me! I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. I’m actually pleasantly surprised! What first hits you is the real nuttiness of the hazelnut. And if anyone has tasted hazelnut before, it’s really that signature, kind of bitter, kind of sweet nut-like taste that manifests in the flavor profile of this tea. This gives was to a rich chocolate taste. The tea isn’t creamy, but it almost fools you into thinking it is, the way these two interweave. The black tea base isn’t assertive, but it’s definitely there, supporting the dueling, wonderful flavors.

This is probably the best chocolate-flavored tea I’ve had. I could see this one being really good with milk, but I’ll probably never do that. My mom keeps stealing sips, even though she’s allergic to caffeine. She says it’s her favorite tea that she’s tasted from my batch. But then again, she’s a chocolate addict, and loves Ferraro Rocher chocolates, so… this was a match made in heaven for her!

I’m not the hugest fan of chocolate + tea in general, I’m finding, but Harney has real success with the flavors that are at play here. It tastes true and real and nowhere near artificial, and it’s really lovely to sip. Especially on a cold and snow(?!) filled day like today!

It’s hurricane madness over here on the east coast! We’re in the beginning stages of the storm and people are freaking out. There have been emergency broadcasts on virtually every channel, stores everywhere are closed and sold out of virtually every commodity, I have off school today and tomorrow and everyone’s locking themselves in their houses and preparing for the worst.

In the midst of all this insanity, I thought a cup of tea was in order. I haven’t had much luck with this one so far, but with the low price of it in mind I suppose it’s not so bad. I’ve just found that with this one and Boston the flavors just seem very artificial. But today it’s behaving a little better. I added sugar this time and it’s pretty decent. It’s reminding me of a cup of hot chocolate with a little bit of nut and tea flavor mixed in.

What a lovely easy to drink tea! Thank you MERCURYHIME (capitalizing since I don’t know how to bold) for sharing this sample with me! Also thank you for sending enough for a second cup – I really like it! This has been on my shopping list It think since I joined steepster! Don’t know why I have not picked any up yet. Some things just got stuck on the list.
It is indeed chocolaty and I also happened to have a bit of chocolate here to eat while sipping! YAY! Also tasting the nuttiness!
Now I am not saying it is THE most complex tea ever but it is nice, it is exactly what it says it is and we need more of those teas out there in flavored teas!
As for the base, I am not sure what kind of black tea they are using, but it is very light which is fine, I think I would not mind a bit bolder of a black tea though.
All in all – I am pleased with this one!

Arright, Steepsterites. I’m supposed to be doing school stuff right now, so I can’t stay long. However, I’m drinking this tea courtesy of the ever-brilliant JacquelineM and I couldn’t not drop in to say something.

I think it was teaplz that mentioned this connection, but they could totally rename this tea Ferrero Rocher and get away with it. That’s what Florence tastes like to me, and that encompasses the entirety of the flavor profile that I get from this – hazelnut, nutella-y chocolate [did you know that Ferrero Rocher chocolates are made with nutella [or a like-substance]?], and maybe a hint of walnut.

I love chocolate, but I can’t eat it everyday, and as such that is the same way I feel about this tea. However, I cannot deny its deliciousness and the fact that on most days this tea would be lovely. It’s got a decadence about it. And at 4 minutes it doesn’t go bitter on me, which is a pretty huge plus. The flavor profile also reminds me of some of my favorite Illy coffee concoctions at this bakery cafe I like to visit, which is also working in its favor.

So that’s it. This log is pretty disjointed, and doesn’t really do the tea a ton of justice, but I will end it with this:

If you enjoy Ferrero Rocher chocolates, this tea is for you.

w00t booked a trip this upcoming May to Banff and Canmore! This term can’t end any sooner now.

I’ve had this for a while, and drank it quite a few times already, but keep forgetting to log it. As I’ve mentioned about H&S flavoured black teas before, they’re not overwhelmingly sweet like a lot of other companies’ can be.

I normally don’t like adding stuff to my tea, but I like this one best with some milk and sugar. The base is a little too astringent if left alone. A couple pinches of sugar livens up the flavours in here. I can taste the chocolate sooner than the hazelnut, which is subtler that I anticipated.

I actually bought whipped cream vodka the other day (which smells like vanilla icing!) and added some in this time around. Really goes well with the pastry-like flavours in this. Would be a nice hot drink to serve to company.

ZOMG Banff.

This tea is a long-time favorite of mine. It was one of the first tins that I bought when I was first becoming obsessed with loose-leaf teas. It still holds that same charm for me. The dry leaves smell of rich cocoa with a hint of nuts. The flavor is smooth, malty black tea with a nutty finish. There is a light chocolate and hazelnut aftertaste that is to die for. No bitterness at all in this tea, it is nice and smooth. I like to add a little sweetener, and sometimes milk, to make this tea just perfect.

-Dry blend has large black tea leaves and twigs.
-Dry leaves smell like rich chocolate with a hint of nuts. Tea liquor aroma is of chocolate and vanilla.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark brown color.
-Smooth malty black tea flavor with a nutty finish. Light chocolate hazelnut aftertaste.
-Best with sweetener. Milk optional.
-Excellent tea. A richly flavored cup of chocolate and hazelnut.

My tastebuds seem to be back to normal, or at least mostly back to normal for black teas so I thought i’d chance a bit of my sample from Hesper June today because I’ve been dying to try them since they arrived!

I have to say this is a pretty tasty tea. I’m digging the chocolatey hazelnut flavour that’s not too in your face but is still strong enough to appreciate. There’s not “artificial” taste to this tea which is great. I think i was expecting a bit more chocolate than is present but it’s still a great cup of tea!

Thank you so much Hesper June for letting me try this one! I’m excited to try the others that you sent me :)

So Alphakitty sent me a bunch of H&S teas during our recent swap, which was awesome since I’m seeing everyone on here raving about them, and I had yet to try any! Also, I’m so taken by the city names… as if I needed convincing to want to try the whole line of such-named teas! Today I have brewed up Tokyo, Bangkok, Florence, Paris, and Boston. I have a SoHo blend too… uhhhh…. yeah, that’s it. Should have brewed that one up too!

I decided to make a game of this and guess the tea flavouring by scent/taste. I’m not actually terribly familiar with what each of these blends is, so this should be fun!!

Florence definitely smells quite like a fruity dark chocolate. The type of fruitiness in particular escapes me, although I could be led to believe it’s cherry, as the aroma reminds me a bit of chocolate covered cherries. I’m fairly certain it is not cherry, though.

The first sip tastes much like the aroma. I’m surprised to find that it’s a bit weak given my 4 minutes of steeping, 1.5tsp tea and 8oz. water, but perhaps it needed that additional minute that was written on the bag. It is definitely chocolatey though, with just a hint of fruity. I can’t taste the black tea base as much as I would like, and there’s definitely no astringency or bitterness, so an additional minute likely only would have helped. Still good though. Not a tea I’d purchase as it’s a familiar flavour, so I think it’s much like one of the teas from DavidsTea (Love Tea #7??), which is much more easily obtainable if I’m in the mood.

And the verdict? I think I came the closest on this one, yay! Definite chocolate, and I can see the cherry/hazelnut confusion (even if the rest of you can’t! Hmph!) One more sip and I’m more inclined to believe that there’s hazelnut in the blend than before, but I swear it’s still a bit like cherries, too :D

Thanks Alphakitty!

Do you ever buy a tea and you are just so sure that you will adore it, but then when you drink it your feelings are hurt that you are not madly in love with it?
I was so sure that I would be just as mad about this tea as I am with Paris.
I am not.
However, it IS a good tea and I do like it.
I have a feeling that I did this to the poor tea, my expectations were too high.
I just wanted to love it too much.
Deep Sigh
The nose on this tea is strong.
Almost like its trying to make sure you know it has chocolate in it.
But, the taste it better, it is a smooth tea and I do like the taste.
You really can not identify the black tea in there though.
I drank this as is, no sugar or cream/milk.
I did not want to mask what tea taste that was there.
I can see making this tea for company who do not drink much tea normally, it would be unoffensive to them, unless they do not like chocolate.
Now, I do like some Chocolate Teas.
And this tea is not terrible, we just are going to be friends though, instead of lovers.
I have some of this tea cold brewing, so I will return with a update on how this tea holds up to that.
UPDATE
Well, my opinion has not really changed in drinking it cold brewed.
It makes an all right iced tea, but I probably will not be cold brew it again.

JacquelineM — how fast did you start craving this the moment you saw me post this? ;)

Seriously, it was because of a note that JacquelineM posted about H&S’s Earl Grey that I remembered that I had a handful of samples tucked away for sometime. Well, one of those sometimes is now. We had our first nasty snowstorm of the season yesterday/today, so I felt that Florence would be very appropriate on a day like this.

I think that it’s very deserving of its praise here on Steepster, and I think others have done an excellent job of describing its many charms. So, why isn’t my rating higher? Well, you may recall that I am not a fan of chocolate. Yes, I am a freak. Ever since overdoing it on M&Ms one Easter as a child I have a very low level of chocolate tolerance. Some days I like it more than others. I think that today is a good day, but it still keeps me from utterly melting over this tea. All that said, I would seriously consider keeping a tin of this on hand — not just for me, but especially for visiting friends or family. NE

Thank you Kasumi no Chajin for this tea.
I could smell this tea as soon as I opened the envelope and boy was it strong and chocolatey. A closer smell of the raw leaves reveals an earthy nuttiness along side the sweet chocolate.

Once steeped the smell reminds me of Nutella (chocolate and hazelnut spread).

Without milk and sugar:
The chocolate comes through with a little sweetness just before the hazelnut brings a nutty punch to create a sweet yet earthy drink. The black tea is a little bitter and the earthiness from the nut does not help it’s smoothness which makes the chocolate very cocoa nib tasting.

With milk and sugar. The chocolate is more chocolate like rather than cocoa nib (smoother and sweeter) while the nut is a little softer. The milk really tones down the bitterness and enhances the chocolate. It now reminds me of hot chocolate you can buy in ready made sachets with powdered milk.

Overall it’s a very nice chocolate tea (as far as chocolate teas come) and the nut is a perfect little touch to make this one stand out. Very yummy. :)

I have been wanting to try this for freakin’ ever and I decided today is The Day.

I expected to smell Frangelico when I opened the sample packet. OMG. It’s not a syrupy “essence o’ nuts” I’m smelling, it’s the nuts themselves. Down to their planty innards! I can almost feel their little round bodies cracking between my teeth. And the slightly bitter smell of baking chocolate. I can see why people are invoking Ferraro Roche (drool), but the thing that makes this different is it isn’t sugary like those little balls of trouble are.

And this is just the smell of the dry leaves, which, by the way, are dark dark dark and look almost soft and beautiful. I’m coming to recognize this as the signature of an awesome flavored black tea.

The liquor brews lighter than I’d expected for some reason. It is, interestingly, a sort of hazel nut color. The “true nut” aroma of the hazel nut seems to have mellowed some with steeping, and blended into the chocolate. Mmmmm.

And the taste is a lot like the smell. It’s quite wonderful plain, but the lack of sweetness in the chocolate seems to beg for milk and something to sweeten it. I was happy to accomodate it. With just a small amount of sweetening, the flavor becomes downright lush. The chocolate moves from the unsweetened taste of baking chocolate to the bittersweet of dark chocolate. With more milk, it would probably move further, all the way to milk chocolate. Three, three, three drinks in one! The hazelnut is an accent; a strong, Italian one, that provides a middle note during the sipping and a reminder on the back end.

I was only in Florence for a few days many years ago, but I loved it. It was unseasonably cool when I was there in the summertime, a welcome contrast to the heat of Rome. My memories are, primarily, of clear blue skies and flowers in window boxes everywhere I turned. I remember going for a run along the Arno, the Uffizi (of course), and the adorable little bed and breakfast we stayed in with its old fashioned cage of a lift and its roof garden where we ate in the morning. I still have the pocketbooks and coat I bought while I was there. Mostly I remember being young and in love, the future stretching ahead like the clean pages of a new journal, waiting to be written.

I’m not sure how much it is the name of this tea that makes me want to buy a pound of it immediately, and how much is how it actually tastes.

Ah youth.

My mom got us some of this to split in her last Harney’s order. I picked it up last weekend, when we had tea for her and my grandmother’s birthdays. Tea was so fun…had scones, cupcakes, and chocolate covered strawberries! Delicious! We also drank a bunch of my favorites, because my mom hadn’t tried them yet. We had blueberry crumble, ceylon star, and maple pecan oolong! Yum! We drank them in cute little teacups, which, for me, was not enough tea! I need my large 12-16 oz. mug! Crude, yes, but, I get more tea!

So, this tea….I think my expectations were too high. I really thought it would taste like Nutella. My mom warned me that the smell was better than the taste, and she’s right. It was good, but not as great as I was expecting. I’m also finding that I don’t like a lot of chocolate teas, which is a bummer because I really like chocolate! I can taste both the chocolate and the hazelnut, but wish the flavor was stronger. Maybe I need another cup to really appreciate it. I’ll try that! ;)

Another one from momo. This weekend really would have been a bust without those samples! I had this at breakfast this morning.

This is the year I officially know I have seasonal allergies. Specifically to tree pollen because my symptoms plotted agains the allergy forecasts are dead on. Meh. Maybe I just need to live somewhere where there’s no oak trees? I’m not game for anything that destroys my sense of taste/smell like this on a yearly basis.

That’s the main reason why I can’t rate this tea – I could actually smell it fine, when I put my nose way down in the cup. Hazelnuts and chocolate – nutella in tea. I added some milk but no sugar because if it smelled so much like hot chocolate I wanted the texture to match. And it did become creamy and smooth, but it also lost any chocolate/hazelnut flavor and I was left with black tea and milk. I could still smell it in all it’s glory, and I knew it wasn’t astringent or bitter or anything, but there was NO chocolate/hazelnut in my mouth. :(

I still have enough for another cup or two so I’ll be trying it when I’m back to normal. I can’t wait to complete the whole puzzle – it was the weirdest experience ever to get everything BUT an actual flavor from a tea.

good morning steepsters!!
it’s friday!
i love tea!

“Good Morning!"

“What do you mean? Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”

“All of them at once”

Thanks again to the fan-tea-astic Jenn for sending me all these samples!! My gratitude is endless after having tried this one.
I made this to consume whilst cleaning house, and boy was it deeeeeelicious! Like tea and hot chocolate rolled into one, this tea is made for cocoa lovers.
With milk and a tad bit o sugar, this made my afternoon duties bearable. When will they come up with self cleaning kitchens and bathrooms???
It wasn’t as rich as I had hoped but then I somewhat expected that when the dry leaves wafted a light yet distinctly choco-note at me.
Also, I don’t know why but it tastes a hair chemically to me, but then I’ve seen that before in other chocolate scented/flavoured products. (ever tried chocolate gum? it was interesting to say the least)— not that it detracted in any way from my worshipping this cup.
I think it happened to just hit the spot, matching my tea craving so precisely that I was floored by it. Not to mention that the previous cuppa that I’d made (of an assam I got awhile back) tasted stale. Ugh!
From ugh to WOW in five min… yeah that will put anyone in shock :P

Hail, St. Patrick; we who are about to destroy ourselves on an early pubcrawl in hideously bad weather to celebrate your name…salute you.

Yeah, doesn’t quite have the ring of the original, but it captures the foreboding feeling I have listening to freezing cold rain splattering against my window, while I eyeball the clock and am forced to confront the fact that, yes, in four hours, I am going out. Hoh-boy.

Something…reassuring…was in order, here. Why not try Florence, finally? I have fond memories of that city. Eight months or so out of the year, my mother and stepfather live in a tiny villa on the side of a mountain overlooking the Mediterranean on what is known as the Cilentan Coast, in the Province of Salerno, within the Comune di Sapri, and a bunch of other divisions I can’t be bothered to remember sorting out. It’s nice. Peaceful. There are goats and hairpin turns winding through mountainside towns of a variety that you do not get in the United States, because if you had them here, there would be incidents resulting in cars on rooftops every other Thursday. Somehow that does not seem to happen there, regardless of the fact that every other person you glimpse behind a wheel appears to be one thousand years old and half-blind.

Anyway, I digress. Off to Florence I go, when the goats no longer hold my interest. Hop a train, and bam: buona sera, Ponte Vecchio!

For those of you interested, the very best way to see Florence is not, in fact, to get a hotel room, but to rent one of any number of widely available private apartments just off of the very same Palazzo della Signoria mentioned in the description of this tea. There are a ton of them, and they are available, in the off-season, on what passes for the cheap when you’re talking euros (which means not so cheap anymore, alas).

Anyway, I cannot for the life of me recall having had hazelnut hot chocolate in Florence, but there IS a little chocolate and pastries cafe on one of the corners of the Palazzo called Rivoire that…

…mmm….Rivoire…

…wait, what?

Anyway, enough about Italy. This tea is escapist enough to be worthy of the moniker even if the flavors it so expertly captures are not flavors I immediately associate with that city. I prefer this tea hands down to the plain chocolate blend from them that I’ve also sampled…something in the hazelnut really gives the tea depth, and without it the nose would not be nearly as special. It has the balance I’m coming to expect from a flavored H&S tea, and all in all I’m pretty pleased with having selected it to restore my resolve to march out into the worst weather ever in search of a perfectly-poured Guinness.

I’m sick of being sick and I’m sick of drinking crap tea. Florence is one of my tried and true favorite teas, and I could really use some comfort about right now. I’m feeling a little less congested so I was actually able to taste this tea pretty well. I deserve a chocolaty treat and I shall have it!

At first sip, the promise of a chocolaty treat is delivered. That chocolate flavor quickly moves to a biscuity, smooth, black tea body. A nice, creamy, hazelnut tone quickly follows and the finish is all rich chocolaty goodness.

Ah, chocolaty goodness…

The aroma of the leaves is faint, if you bury your nose right in the tin you can make out a hint of chocolate. The resulting infusion has a promising hazelnut on the nose, but falls flat on the first sip. A smooth, medium-bodied black tea with a ghost of chocolate flavour, which I could just be imagining due to my desperation to taste something, anything!

This is the second Harney & Sons tea that I’ve tried that hasn’t had much flavour to it, contrary to the other tasting notes, so I’m starting to wonder if this is a freshness issue. The leaf is packed loose in the tin (other companies I buy tins from will seal the tea in a bag inside the tin) and there is a best before date for August 2010. A “packed on” date would be much more helpful to me really, is this tea a year old or 5 years old? Just how airtight are the tins? Why isn’t there a decent stockist here? Why am I poking around on Steepster instead of sewing my dress?
So many questions, I’m not sure there are answers…