Indian Nimbu

Main notes were lemon and bergamot, no caramel present. I didn’t care for it plain, but I believe that’s more due to how long I steeped it (4 minutes). The liquor is relatively dark, which surprised me.

With milk, the lemon and bergamot blended together and a light caramel note came out. Yum.

With milk and sugar, the caramel note comes out a lot more, not just in sweetness but gooey creamy caramel. MMMmmm.

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!

Ok, I would never have picked this one out to try, but it was Harney’s “Tea of the Moment” yesterday, and who am I to refuse a sample of tea? I don’t think I’m that big on darjeelings, generally, but I haven’t had a ton of them. Anyway, I tried it and I actually really liked it, so I ended up coming home with a couple of ounces.

The dry leaf smells a lot like an Earl Grey with some warm added caramel notes. It’s an interesting departure from something like an Earl Grey cream. When I think of darjeelings I think of high, bright notes, and those seem to come through even in the dry leaf. Steeped, the darjeeling base comes through more, highlighting what must be a bergamot citrus note. It’s not quite the same character as a lemon note, so I can’t believe this is just lemon. Underlying all that is a warm, burnt-sugar caramel aroma.

Still tasty, and I’m glad I get to try it here in a more controlled setting. It’s a very bright tea, between the citrus and the darjeeling, but the caramel definitely adds a sweet, soothing note that keeps it grounded. It really is kind of like a darjeeling Earl Grey; the caramel almost functions like a malty, caramely black tea base you might get from a traditional Earl Grey, but there’s no mistaking the darjeeling. I’m still really enjoying it, though, and while it might not need to be a cabinet staple, I’m glad I bought some to sip through. Earlier this year I had teapig’s Darjeeling Earl Grey and enjoyed it, so maybe darjeelings are growing on me?

Thanks so much LiberTEAS for sending me some from your stash!!!

I should have started with this tea this morning! It’s VERY FLAVORFUL…naturally!

I can taste the Lemon and Caramel comparison…nice.

I am thinking it would be great iced too! Woot!

My Harney & Sons order arrived on Saturday (very prompt shipping!) – the only real disappointment was that there wasn’t a free sample. I know that I shouldn’t expect freebies or anything – however, in the past when I’ve ordered from H&S I’ve always gotten a free sample tea sachet. This time – not. Ah well… I’m still quite happy with the prompt service of my order, plus, I have some of my favorites from H&S on hand again!

One of the very first tea reviews I’ve ever written was for this tea:

http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=1025

It remains a favorite. Not too lemony, not too sweet, just right!

This reminded me a lot of an Earl Grey when smelling the dry leaf. The steeped leaves are full of greens and a few different colors of brown – a very pretty steeping. The liquid is very dark. It is much darker than I’d think with such a light tasting tea. The citrus is light and nicely complemented by the hint of caramel on the back of the tongue. There is more Earl Grey smell to the steeped cup than Earl Grey flavor so if you don’t like Earls, don’t worry about it with this tea. The smell also has a bit of sweetness hiding in it – possibly the caramel.

I’m so glad I now have someone at work hooked on tea so I have someone to share samples with. This was in his last purchase. We both like it – he’s a Earl Grey fan as am I and he’s getting to be a fan of Darjeelings as well. So this was a nice blend.

I was a bit skeptical of this tea. I ordered a sample with my last Harney order. The smell of the dry leaf wasn’t very appealing to me BUT I steeped it this afternoon and was pleasantly surprised! This is good! I taste lemon predomintely but also a hint of caramel. Although I wouldn’t expect that combination to be tasty it is nice. Wow… I like this! Tastes much better than it smells!

Have a sample of this; seems unique to flavor a Darjeeling, but I think its a cool idea. (At least, I haven’t seen many flavored Darjeelings).

The lemon is a very pleasant, noticeable addition. I didn’t taste caramel, but I think it sweetened/enhanced the lemon flavor. This almost smells like Earl Grey, but tastes nothing like it. There is nothing floral, perfumey, or bitter in the tea, just a smooth lemonyness. (Is that even a word?) I find it a bit hard to give a rating, but I think it’s not quite as good as their straight up DJ blend.

A sweet citrus caramel brew
a bit dry in the back
with body that doesn’t lack
we’d come up with a better track
but we’re tired and through.

The lemon and caramel flavors are perfectly balanced with the Darjeeling base, which is not overpowered by the added flavors. I don’t like it when added flavorings make it difficult if not impossible to taste the tea base: I might as well not be drinking tea! But Harney and Sons blends the flavorings in this tea in just the right amount to enhance the tea base rather than cover it up.

Just purchased 4oz. of this tea and I have no regrets. The lemon in my opinion is subtle or even non-existent but the caramel is noticeable and quite nice.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to like this. I thought I didn’t care for lemon in tea, and darjeeling isn’t my absolute favorite (I like black teas with some heft – delicacy is lost on me!)

The aroma of the tea is a bit medicinal – the lemon is sharp! Without additions it tastes mostly of lemon, with the caramel falling behind. I think this tea is better with milk, which rounds out the sharpness of the lemon. The caramel tastes like vanilla to me, which isn’t a bad thing. The tea has a bit of a soapy or perfumey taste, which I personally really enjoy.

As I was drinking it, the tea seemed familiar. I couldn’t think what it reminded me of, and then I remembered – Lady Grey! I ran right out and bought a box of Twinings Lady Grey, which I have been enjoying ever since. If you like Lady Grey teas I think you would like this, although I have to admit I prefer the sharper taste of the Lady Grey to this tea. I don’t think I’m going to buy anymore, but I’m very happy that it led me back to one of my favorites!

Very tasty, I love how the flavors are just barely there!

After really enjoying most of the Harney & Son’s teas I’ve sampled it seems I’ve run into a couple that left me quite disappointed, and I’m afraid this was one of them ..

I couldn’t taste Caramel and I couldn’t taste Lemon – in fact it was nothing more than what I’d expect from a common supermarket bough tea-bag :(

Perhaps my sample was old ??

One of my current favorite teas. Hints of caramel and lemon. I tend to enjoy this later in the week in anticipation of the weekend.

Normally, I abhor lemon in tea. But the lemon in this is barely noticeable. It’s there but if you didn’t know it was lemon you probably wouldn’t know what it is. Same with the caramel. And the two flavors play wonderfully off each other. This is one of a very few flavored teas that I like. I always buy this in the satchets and take it with me when I travel or go to restaurants (Yes, I really do that!).

Good – similar to Earl Grey, but more lemony.

One of my favorite black teas. It’s even good iced.