Tower of London

Tea type
Black Flavored Oolong Blend
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Bergamot, Berry, Black Currant, Caramel, Citrus, Fruity, Tea, Vanilla, Cranberry, Floral, Smooth, Honey, Creamy, Pleasantly Sour, Berries, Malt, Flowers, Smoke, Tannic, Tannin, Dark Chocolate, Stonefruit, Bread, Citrus Zest, Cocoa, Apricot, Blackberry, Plum, Cherry, Peach, Sweet, Violet, Wood
Sold in
Bulk, Loose Leaf, Sachet
Caffeine
High
Certification
Kosher
Edit tea info Last updated by Teatotaler
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 15 sec 2 g 25 oz / 746 ml

From Our Community

2 Images

92 Want it Want it

  • +77

122 Own it Own it

  • +107

334 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I have had no tea for two days! It feels so nice to sit and have some tea, and it will feel even better to get home to my tea stash and drink some of my new Fauchon teas that I haven’t even tasted...” Read full tasting note
    99
  • “This is one of my favorite Harney and Sons blends. I loved drinking Paris, and when I tried this it was very similar but something about it made me want more, more, MORE! I just finished my tin of...” Read full tasting note
  • “My dog Spike died yesterday. It was such a hard day that I didnt even want to drink any tea. Today is going to be hard as well. Its going to be hard for a while. For today, anyway, nothing but my...” Read full tasting note
    92
  • “I am in deep danger of turning into Elliott Loudermilk (Scrooged. Bobcat Goldthwait.)Therefore, I am turning to comfort teas; gentle, reliable, sweet, no-stress prep. A little respite from the...” Read full tasting note

From Harney & Sons

Tower of London Blend is reminiscent of Elizabethan preserves, flavorful and tempting. We stir Chinese black teas with pieces of dried stone fruit, then finish the blend with oil of bergamot and honey flavor. Featured in our Historic Royal Palaces Collection, it has become one of our most popular teas, especially with its brilliant amethyst-inspired tin.

Ingredients: Black tea, dried stone fruit, bergamot oil, honey flavor

About Harney & Sons View company

Since 1983 Harney & Sons has been the source for fine teas. We travel the globe to find the best teas and accept only the exceptional. We put our years of experience to work to bring you the best Single-Estate teas, and blends beyond compare.

334 Tasting Notes

99
2201 tasting notes

I have had no tea for two days! It feels so nice to sit and have some tea, and it will feel even better to get home to my tea stash and drink some of my new Fauchon teas that I haven’t even tasted yet. However, Tower of London is certainly a lovely thing to have right now.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
TeaBrat

No tea for two days? shocking!

Ellyn

I don’t think I’d make it two days!

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3214 tasting notes

This is one of my favorite Harney and Sons blends. I loved drinking Paris, and when I tried this it was very similar but something about it made me want more, more, MORE!

I just finished my tin of sachets and I am well on my way through the one pound bag. I decided to give it the slow cold steep that was mentioned on here a day or two ago.

I put one tablespoon per eight ounces of water in my carafe and left it for three days. I know it is supposed to be four but I couldn’t wait!

And I was SO PROUD! My friend who drinks tea with me took one sip and asked if it was iced Tower of London! My tea proselyte, getting all grown up!

This is definitely delicious, and we drank it sans sweetener. I do want to try it with a hint of sugar next.

Rosehips

I love Tower of London, though I’ve never tried it iced!

Veronica

I really like Paris, but now I want to give this one a try.

Claire

Tower of London is so yummy. I need to get more one of these days.

caile

I have yet to try this – I think I will tomorrow. I like Paris also so maybe this will even be better!

TassieTeaGirl

Its awesome converting people isn’t it! Watching as they can pick things or enjoy things they mightn’t have previously wanted to try. :)

tigress_al

Oh man, apparently I need to try this one!!

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92
2964 tasting notes

My dog Spike died yesterday. It was such a hard day that I didnt even want to drink any tea.
Today is going to be hard as well. Its going to be hard for a while.
For today, anyway, nothing but my favorite teas. I need all the happy I can have.

JacquelineM

I’m so sorry. My Beni died almost two years ago, and I still have hard days. It’s because we loved them so much — we have to have this hard stuff because we had so much of the wonderful stuff. Be gentle with yourself and take all of the time that you need.

Sil

I’m so sorry to hear that! virtual hugs

yyz

So sorry for you loss, wishing you lots of love and support around you.

Ysaurella

so sorry to hear about Spike’s dead.

Veronica

I’m so sorry for your loss.

scribbles

I am so sorry for your loss.

Kat_Maria

I am so sorry to hear this… :(

moraiwe

Sider passed three years ago, and there are still tears to shed. I’m so sorry for your loss.

caile

I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you.

caile

I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you.

Tealizzy

I’m so sorry! That’s so hard!

__Morgana__

I’m so sorry to hear. :-( Comforting thoughts your way.

Roswell Strange

I’m so sorry to hear that :(

keychange

Oh no! :( that type of loss is never, ever easy. I’m glad you’ve got nothing but your faves lined up today.

TeaLady441

OMG. I’m so sorry. :(

Tabby

Oh, dear. That’s so sad, I’m sorry for your loss. :(

Fjellrev

Oh no, I’m so sorry, Rosehips. :(

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2887 tasting notes

I am in deep danger of turning into Elliott Loudermilk (Scrooged. Bobcat Goldthwait.)Therefore, I am turning to comfort teas; gentle, reliable, sweet, no-stress prep. A little respite from the blizzardy, horizontal wind outside and from the blizzard of paper dumped on my desk by those who don’t have to do a thing with it but dump. Shovel, shovel, shovel.

This is highly recommended. It takes sloppy steeping without complaining and yields soft, sweet candied fruit flavor along with the good black tea.

MsWhatsit

I love that movie! The tea sounds pretty good too.

Shmiracles

sloppy steeping and bill murray! it’s like a bandage to the heart!
harney has a reliable streak that definitely makes it ‘old friend’ material in my book.

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985 tasting notes

Tea of the afternoon…..

I can’t believe how long it has been since I last had this….. I seem to be gravitating more toward unflavored teas these days. However, this is a lovely honeyed berry flavored tea. Truly lovely with the holiday cookies my neighbor just brought over!

Usual parameters for the new mug! (2 tsp tea, boiling water, 4 minutes. Lightly sweet.)

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
teawing

I had to do a double take, it is still morning here… :)

Ah, the Tower is a lovely blend indeed.

SimplyJenW

And I have been up since before 6 so it almost seems like evening…. ;)

teawing

lol, maybe an afternoon nap is in order.

IllBeMother221B

This is one of my favorite blended teas from Harney and Sons. But like you I’m really favoring straight teas these days.

IllBeMother221B

This is one of my favorite Harney and Sons blends. But I’m really loving that I’m moving to straight teas too. I might have to have a cup of this when I get home, I haven’t had it in a month or so (I think).

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1112 tasting notes

Yum. This was another of my tagalong tin purchases from my recent order. Sweet and jammy, plus gooooood tea flavor. I thoroughly enjoyed two nice steeps. It makes me wonder if I should add honey instead of sugar to Paris…and also makes me wonder if I should order this instead of Paris when I run out, as it’s absolute perfection in its natural state.

P.S. – Tasting note number 1000 here!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec
LiberTEAS

congrats on 1000!

Ysaurella

happy 1000 notes !
The tin of this H&S seems really cute

Bonnie

Kidding? 1000? How on earth?! Wow! I’ll never get to that high a number! Congrat’s!

TheTeaFairy

Wow, congrats! Makes me want to ask: how long have you been on Steepster??

JacquelineM

TheTeaFairy — I’ve been here since December of 2009. It is almost my 3 year Steepsterversary :)

gmathis

(My 1000th just made me feel old and crusty ;) Perfect tea for a milestone, though!

ashmanra

Wow, Jacqueline! We must have joined at about the same time! You are sooo much better at tasting notes, though! Congrats on 1,000!

gmathis

Had to backtrack and look…my first posts, September 2009.

ashmanra

I went all the way back to my first but it just says three years ago. I think it was around September or October, though.

JacquelineM

ashmanra, When I’m on my dashboard, right next to my photo, it says: JacquelineM
Joined Dec 01, 2009 — see if your exact date is over there :)

gmathis, That sounds about right because I remember you being here as a regular when I arrived.

LadyLondonderry

Congratulations on reaching this milestone, Jacqueline! I love Tower of London, and yes, I think I do like it a leetle bit better than Paris. If only ToL came in a decaf version! But I suppose that’s a bit too much to wish for. :)

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88
1598 tasting notes

THIS is what I needed today. It’s sorta been a Monday to end all Mondays:

(tl:dr approved)

I left the house at 6:30 because it’s my day to take the baby to daycare, and by the time I hit the end of the block I was completely drenched. IT was crazy tropical-rainstorm time over here. So, being cold and wet for the next hour+ sucks, but at least the rain stopped when I got to my next bus transfer and I didn’t have to wait in the rain (wait – because my bus left early and I missed it).

Then I dropped her off at daycare, only to get a call half an hour after that I’d better pick her up because she’s sick. All that cold air or whatever just made her sinuses go into overload. So… back I go. And the bus website keeps saying my “bus is unavailable” when I try to find out when the next bus coming is, and then I end up getting flustered because I know I have to hurry up and get her because they can’t give her lots of extra attention when there’s 7 other toddler/babies there. So I’m flustered and I hop on the wrong bus, and realize my error and then just say eff it and walk 1.5 km back to the daycare. And I’m carrying my heavy purse full of tea (ha!) and my laptop because I worked from home Friday.

I get her, and take her home and it’s 10:30 by the time we get in and I get my laptop up and running so I can work from home. So… 4 hours to get Nowhere today. :P

The good news is that I saw a coyote in the rainstorm – he looked lost and confused by all this rain, but it was cool as I haven’t seen anything like that in our neighbourhood!

And this tea makes it all better!

The base is very smooth and rich. So very pleasant, and then there’s fruit and bergamot swirling around too. It’s not juicy fruity either – just notes of sweetness and fruit with honey. It’s very comforting on a cold frustrating day like today.

I guess I’d better try my Paris sample again and compare it with this one to see what I like better. I’m afraid I will want tins of both.

I have a feeling that 90% of my tea orders will now consist of Butiki, H&S, Della Terra and Verdant (maybe in that order?) as these companies all have niche areas for tea and I have been really happy with their offerings.

ETA: Now that it’s cooled, I’m getting creamy lemon notes too!

Tealizzy

Wow! What a morning! Coming home to that tea sounds nice though. I really should try that one!

ifjuly

aw, sickie chickie and busy times. I can def. see how this tea would make it a little more palatable; I’m a fan of its easy drinking but lovely qualities too.

Plunkybug

It was particularly awful weather here on the island too.

OMGsrsly

Yikes! That sounds like a ridiculous morning. I’m glad the tea made things better, though. :)

TeaLady441

Thanks guys! Lesson learned – a good tea can make everything better!

Ozli

Four hours of hassle!!! Augh.

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96
4163 tasting notes

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge Friday, March 5th: National Day of Unplugging Tea #2

Another comforting flavor profile for me.  Sweet fruits!   But to be honest, Harney’s Vieux Paris is probably a better choice for a comforting tea.  Maybe one day I’ll have that around. This is a short tea note sooo…  With unplugging/favorite tea day I feel like I should mention some other things that have helped during these crazy times: 
Comedies and especially watching any Marx Bros movies I haven’t seen yet.
Cheez-Its!  I am president of the Cheez-It fanclub, if there is one, and that Covid commercial with that guy eating Cheez-Its in the empty bathtub?  YUP. I get it.  I eat them almost every day.  Also, POPTARTS

edited: and “comedies” also includes The Guild reuniting to online game (check it on Youtube)… they are all a hilarious group of people together.

Mastress Alita

I’ve been on a Cheez-It craze lately too… it’s my go-to “late night” snack!

My decompression has been putting on crime dramas/mystery television shows and while I do adult coloring books, cup of tea on the side table.

tea-sipper

:D YEAH another in the Cheez-It club!

AJRimmer

Felicia Day seems like the loveliest person. I love everything she does.

Martin Bednář

Cheez-It? I had to search it and looks tasty. But of course, as not produced over here… expensive. 2.49 USD for 3 oz? Nah, I will stay with our snacks.

gmathis

Love the super-toasty Cheez-its..

tea-sipper

AJRimmer – yup I’m a Felicia fan!
gmathis – I always don’t like finding that ONE burnt cheez-it in the box, so I probably don’t like the “super toasty”. ha
Martin – I’m so sorry and sad you don’t have Cheez-its! 2.49 for 3 ounces is much more expensive than it is in the US. :/

Michelle

The problem I have with Cheez-its is the box really doesn’t last that long. And then I buy the family size and it doesn’t last long either. So then I stop buying Cheez-its until I forget how fast I eat them again. And then I’ll buy a box. repeat.

Mastress Alita

We need a Bag of Holding, filled with Cheez-Its, clearly.

Martin Bednář

tea-sipper: I bet we have another snacks that would be crazy expensive in the US :)

tea-sipper

haha Michelle & M A. and you’re right, Martin!

ashmanra

I do not like Cheez-Its yet still my kitchen cabinet is full of them because middle daughter stocks up every time they go BOGO.

Kittenna

Are Cheez-Its really that good?! I swear I tried them once and was unimpressed. Oh – I just googled and discovered that I barely scratched the surface and that is probably the reason. I have only ever had originals, I’m pretty sure.

White Antlers

I never got the appeal of Cheez-its-but then I am a Pringles addict, so therefore cannot judge anyone else. LOL!

tea-sipper

Oh no, I got everyone thinking Cheez-its! haha. White Antlers – there is still room for the Pringles for me! Pringles is about the only potato chip I will eat.

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65
545 tasting notes

Yesterday I was meeting my grandparents for an early lunch near where they live (about 20 minutes away). I didn’t have any breakfast nor had I had any caffeine yet so I made TOL in a car tumbler and took it with me to drink on the drive.

And omg, something about making TOL this way really worked. I mean, I like TOL, don’t get me wrong, I’ve just never loved it – something about the black tea being too overpowering or the flavor of the flavors becoming overwhelming, maybe as it cooled.

But oh my did it come out good this way. I don’t know if it was the larger tumbler size or the extra 30 seconds I gave it because of the larger size, but it was good. I’m going to have to try making it in a larger cup next time and see if I can replicate this.

Also, I only have two more bagged of this left. =(

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 30 sec
gmathis

I really, really, like this one too.

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1220 tasting notes

Bath and Body Works has all these extra Paris things now and one is a candle called Sweet Macaron. I’m burning it while drinking this and it’s kind of bizarre how it matches so well. Candle + tea pairings!

I have been wanting to try Tower of London forever. I finally caved when buying Fruits d’Alsace. This does remind me a lot of Paris but more like an Earl Grey, at least in the after taste. I think the black tea is a bit more robust or at least it seems that way. The fruit doesn’t taste much different. That’s why it reminds me of the candle, because the candle has raspberry. Stone fruits not so much…apricot, no. Peach, no. Plum, not too much. I guess maybe you could even call it a cross between Paris and Fruits d’Alsace?

It definitely tastes like something I’d expect from France, but the name throws it off. Who cares though, it’s still delicious. I don’t think I’d buy it again at this point because I’d prefer Paris. But for simplicity, this is not a bad choice!

Bonnie

I hope you are dressed appropriately. No tee shirts and flannel. This is serious. You should have flowers and chocolates also. I’ll stop.

Sare

I use to work for Bath and body works LOL As soon as i get my pumpkin chi i am SO burning my pumpkin candle with it!!!

momo

Oh no Bonnie! I am wearing my pjs, BUT I do have the flowers from last weekend, they are still alive and well! AND I did buy myself chocolates a week ago and I still have one left…

Dinosara

Uh oh, now I have to go to Bath & Body Works and see if they have a sweet macaron candle… I can’t resist!

momo

The worst part is there’s also a French baguette one. And the scent Sweet on Paris smells like cotton candy macarons to me. They are evil.

Sare, I’m usually not a fan of pumpkin but o m g I smelled the Caramel Pumpkin Latte candle and I am all over that. I only got a wallflower for now but I feel like once it’s actually fall I may want mooooore.

Bonnie

OK OK Now I have a plan. I go get the candle, have the tea, go to the French Bakery in Old Town and pick up the matching Macaron, go home and shut the curtains and…Watch an old movie probably in my satin robe…sounds about right, Cary Grant!

Tamm

Those candles smell amazing! I saw them just the other day. I was pretty tempted.

momo

Bonnie, I want to steal that plan. I’d choose North by Northwest!

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