Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Black Tea, Natural Almond Flavor, Natural Cranberry Flavor, Natural Vanilla Flavor
Flavors
Chocolate, Almond, Cranberry, Fruity, Cocoa, Creamy, Nuts, Caramel, Vanilla, Earth, Marzipan, Musty, Sweet, Tart, Wood, Cherry, Raspberry, Artificial, Candy, Smooth, Bergamot, Burnt Sugar, Berry, Berries
Sold in
Bulk, Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Kosher
Edit tea info Last updated by Shae
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 3 g 28 oz / 835 ml

From Our Community

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67 Want it Want it

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57 Own it Own it

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307 Tasting Notes View all

  • “My mom had another cardiac event this weekend, and is going to have some surgery today to see just what is wrong with her heart. I was looking forward to not spending more time in the hospital, but...” Read full tasting note
    96
  • “This is a good news/bad news sorta thing: my Harney&Sons order arrived today! Holy moley you guys. Everything smells so amazing! I guess the bad news is that I am UP to 145 teas, and some of...” Read full tasting note
    77
  • “Okay all, I am getting ready to preach! Three years ago this week I went for a mammogram. I was about a year late because I was too busy to get one and since I was the poster child for low risk...” Read full tasting note
  • “I was reading Rosehip’s review of this tea and decided it was exactly what I was in the mood for. Today the almond seems a bit stronger than usual, but I’m fine with that. It works well with the...” Read full tasting note
    86

From Harney & Sons

A flavorful blend of black tea, cranberry, and almond flavors, Boston tea was inspired by the famous bogs south of New England’s ‘city on a hill.’ Like other Back Bay pastimes, it’s acquired an ardent group of admirers.

Ingredients:
Black tea, natural cranberry flavor, natural vanilla flavor, almond flavor

Details: Our Founder ran the White Hart Inn in Salisbury, Connecticut for almost 25 years. And Holidays in the Fall were very busy. It was during that time that Mike fell in love with the tart taste of cranberries. And that is why he loves to make blends that incorporate cranberries.

Dry Leaves: China black tea are the base of this tea.

Liquor: This tea is a medium brown in the cup.

Aroma: This tea has hints of vanilla and almond and a more predominate aroma of cranberry.

Flavors: Like the aroma, this tea has multiple fruity and nutty flavors of almond, vanilla, and cranberry.

Caffeine Level: Caffeinated

Body: A medium body.

Brewing Time: 4 to 5 minutes

Brewing Temp: 212° Fº

https://www.harney.com/products/boston

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.

307 Tasting Notes

96
2964 tasting notes

My mom had another cardiac event this weekend, and is going to have some surgery today to see just what is wrong with her heart.
I was looking forward to not spending more time in the hospital, but that doesn’t seem to be in my cards just now.

Roswell Strange

Sorry to hear about your mom – I will keep her in my thoughts.

Evol Ving Ness

I’m sorry to hear this, Rosehips. How scary and worrying! I’ll be thinking of you both and sending good thoughts in your direction.

Kawaii433

:( So sorry to hear this, Rosehips.

Martin Bednář

Sorry to hear that! I hope everything will be alright soon!

Courtney

So sorry to hear! I hope everything will be alright.

gmathis

Oh, darlin’! Praying for you. You’ve had a bumpy, bumpy ride.

Dustin

Oh no! I hope all goes well with surgery!

ashmanra

So sorry you two have to deal with this! Praying for you both tonight.

tea-sipper

nine days behind on tasting notes but I hope all went ok with your mom…

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77
1598 tasting notes

This is a good news/bad news sorta thing: my Harney&Sons order arrived today! Holy moley you guys. Everything smells so amazing! I guess the bad news is that I am UP to 145 teas, and some of these are bigger quantities that I don’t want to sipdown. And I’m still expecting tea from TerriHarpLady, Kittenna, JustJames and one or two others.

Either way – Sil – I hope you like H&S, because if I’m as happy with these teas as I expect to be, I’m going to want a group order. :O

Now, onto THIS TEA.
Even though I wasn’t feeling so great I had to try SOMETHING, so here I am. Why not Boston? And it’s as good as I’d hoped for. It’s a strong black, without being bitter, and I can totally taste the fruit underlying it. I think I’m getting the almond too!

I’ll rate this another day as I have 4oz to drink up, and I don’t trust my taste buds completely yet.

ETA: Gaaaah. This is so good. Also, this office is freaking HOT. It’s 27C in here? I hope my tea will be ok in my metal cabinet…

Sil

Fine by me. Though I’m hoping toget to New York for a weekend to get some sample or smell stuff lol

Sil

Also…I apparently haven’t tried this one yet lol

TeaLady441

Would you like to? I’ve got lots of this, SoHo and Florence. Can’t remember which you’d sent me. I’d better get you hooked so I can set the stage for a group order in a few months!

Terri HarpLady

Is this the one with cranberry in it? I think I tried a sample of it awhile back & I recall thinking that cranberry wouldn’t be good, but it WAS!

Sil

Soho and Boston yes I’d love to. I enjoy Florence but obviously I’ve tried it before lol

ashmanra

I almost didn’t buy this one a couple of years ago because I already had Cranberry Autumn, but I bought it and found that it is totally different. I think I like this one even more than CA!

TeaLady441

Yeah it’s the one with cranberry. It’s much better than the description (but then again almonds don’t get me excited).

And Sil, I guess I already promised you the Vanilla Comoro and SoHo, so will add the Boston and ship some day. :)

Sil

oh yeah… sounds good madam. clearly no rush on my end lol

Lilysmom

Wow – sounds very nice! So, how quickly did you get your order exactly? I didn’t get any shipping confirmation for my Tuesday order yet, but maybe tomorrow……seemed like your tea came pretty fast!

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3218 tasting notes

Okay all, I am getting ready to preach!

Three years ago this week I went for a mammogram. I was about a year late because I was too busy to get one and since I was the poster child for low risk factor I really didn’t need to go, did I now? There was no lump, no changes. But it came back abnormal.

A second one was ordered, then a biopsy, and finally on December 21st I received the official diagnosis. I had cancer. The cancer it was impossible for me to have because I had four kids, I breastfed them, and there was no family history of it.

How does this apply to tea?

This is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and Panera Bread sells a special bagel in the shape of a ribbon. It is cherry vanilla flavored and I miss it when they quit making them.

Today I ground some wheat and made my usual buttermilk bread loaf, but this time I added some vanilla, Craisins, and chopped walnuts to try to recreate the taste of the bagel I love but can only buy one month out of the year. This loaf of bread is already history. Writer’s Group finished all that was left after tea time today! I also made a homemade version of Panera’s Cheesecake Spread, which is just cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon. (I left out the crushed graham crackers.)

What would be more perfect to pair with it than Mike Harney’s masterful Boston Blend? Everyone went so nuts over this tea that I made three large pots just for group, and one at tea time earlier. One group member who is crazy about green teas and jasmine teas said it was her most favorite tea of all the ones she has ever had at my house…and she isn’t even a huge black tea fan!

This is an intimate, cozy up tea. A quiet steady friend tea. A comfort tea.

Now, if you are female, make sure you have had your mammogram. If you are male, pester the women in your life to get one. My husband prodded me to go, “just to be sure.” I am thankful.

JustJames

in my opinion everyone EVERYONE needs to read this review and hit hit the like button. it’s important.

ashmanra, i am very glad you are okay. my mother is also a survivor.

ashmanra

Congratulations to your mom, JustJames! When I was diagnosed, my dear hubby was so rattled that when we went off he introduced me as “this is my wife who just got diagnosed with breast cancer!” At the car dealership, the receptionist called two other women to her desk and introduced them to me, saying they had all had cancer and were all survivors, and that I was going to be one, too. It was so encouraging.

JustJames

isn’t it strange and remarkable the places where people pull together when we need them? complete strangers, that share wisdom and become friends and supporters. these are the people that we didn’t know but that we never forget. i have a few of those too. xo

Angrboda

In Denmark we have a huge screening program for cervical cancer. All women are supposed to receive a letter encouraging them to have a smear test done when they are between I think 23 and 50-something. Recently it was discovered that due to a computer glitch at some point thousands of people had fallen out of the program and had been invited for many years. Quite a scandal over here. Last I heard there were 11 women who had applied for compensation. There’s a public screening program for breast cancer as well, but I can’t remember at what age that starts. I think around 40 or something.

keychange

What an incredible story. I am so relieved that it had a happy ending, and ama lso relieved that your husband prodded you to go. The realization that I could lose a loved one in an instant is never far from my mind (as gruesome as that sounds), and I’m glad that people are taking their health seriously.

tigress_al

Good for you, happy you are healthy now! And great job encouraging others!

Sil

Wonderful review and so happy to hear of the happy ending!

Stephanie

Thank you for sharing your story!

ashmanra

Thank you, all! It is so easy to get checked, and so important. Because mine was caught early, it greatly reduced the impact it had on my life. Please get checked out! :) maybe a bunch of female relatives should make it a yearly party! LOL! Get squished and then have a good time!

TeaKlutz

Preach!

Also, for women under 30, they don’t advise mammograms because of the radiation, but definitely keep on top of self-exams and have an ultrasound if there is cause for concern (I actually just had one – it’s benign, fortunately.) I’ve known grad students who have been diagnosed and gone through chemo.

ashmanra

Thank you for that reminder, self checks are vital and need to start early as well. If you have breasts, check them. A friend of mine who is a P.A. Had a clean mammo and five months later found a large lump – a fast growing, aggressive cancer. She is fine now, because she did her self checks. A student’s young grandmother told me she found a lump and wouldn’t go at first, and when she finally went she had stage four cancer. Check! Go! Do it!

yyz

True, I have a friend who got tested every year as her family has that gene focused on the French Canadian population that predisposes them to breast cancer. Her mother’s side of the family have lost a frightenly large number of women to it. Despite all this loss, her grandmother remains one of the singly most positive people I’ve met.

Terri HarpLady

Thanks for this post! My mom is also a survivor.
I like the ‘get squished party’ idea, as none of us enjoy these exams.

boychik

i scheduled my first one some weeks ago. Going on Monday

ashmanra

Great! and it really isn’t so bad, especially if you get the digital machines. The only one I really hated was two weeks after my first surgery they did one. OWOWOWOWOW! LOL! ,a inky because the plate was shoved into the incision under my arm. But other than that it has been fine. For the first few after the surgeries, and they do them more frequently then, I took ibuprofen before going and it really was no biggie.

boychik

Thank you for sharing you story. i really admire your positive attitude.

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86
1118 tasting notes

I was reading Rosehip’s review of this tea and decided it was exactly what I was in the mood for. Today the almond seems a bit stronger than usual, but I’m fine with that. It works well with the slight bready flavor of the tea. Add the tartness of the cranberry and I have the perfect cup to sip on while I put the fall decorations away and get ready to decorate for Christmas (Yay!).

Rosehips

Glad it hit the spot today!

Fjellrev

I think this one’s underrated. :)

Veronica

Yeah, I consider this one of those “hidden jewel” teas. It’s really good but doesn’t get talked about a whole lot.

Rosehips

Agree with Incendiare compleatly. Yum.

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93
2201 tasting notes

I am running around like crazy lately, so I don’t have time to say much more about this one than: every time I have this I am reminded at how freaking delicious it is, and how much it is like a fruity Coquelicot Gourmand (Dammann Freres). The almond is just amazing in this blend, sweet and creamy and almondy and fantastic. Love love love it.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
ashmanra

Same here! I understand this is one of Michael’s personal blends, and it is a favorite of mine. The almond feels like a long hug from a good friend. The cranberry is the friendship! This is my quiet, reading a book tea.

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513 tasting notes

Had this as my afternoon cup to accompany an apple pastry. The slight tartness of the cranberry helped to cut the sweetness of the pastry, although oddly, despite the strong cranberry scent that this tea has, the taste is very much an even balance between a vanilla-almond and cranberry, and i’d even say the almond is at the front end of the sip. It’s been a while since i’ve had this in my cupboard, and I’m glad to welcome it back for a season again. I am wondering what would happen if I added some vanilla sugar to this next time, or if that’d just clash with the almond-vanilla in the tea.

Preparation
0 OZ / 0 ML
Fjellrev

Drool, this is good stuff.

Rosehips

One of my favorites, easily. Lovely fall cuppa.

keychange

Mmmm definitely.

TeaTiff

I need to pull this one out again!

apieceofquiche

This sounds divine.

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93
15545 tasting notes

Sipdown (206)!

Tre’s being such a sweetheart since I’ve had such a poor week (well, let’s be honest – month). He’s been cooking for me on a regular basis, and not being an ass about all the tea I have, washing the dishes when it’s not his turn, and today he even brought me a bag of my favourite baked Ketchup chips.

Honestly, it’s starting to get a little suspicious! Might have to milk it a little more to see what the limits here are, heh…

Anyway, I received a nice one cup sample size of this from Kittenna that I had totally forgotten about prior to updating my spreadsheet. Of course, I couldn’t resist getting in the sipdown and trying another Harney tea.

Parameters: 1 1/2 tsp. of leaf in 8 oz. boiling water steeped for five minutes.

The smell is a light (and creamy?) black tea, with sweet and distinct cranberry notes. That’s much more than I got from the dry leaf – to me that smelled like just a plain black.

Taste wise, I was instantly in love from the first sip. It has a very smooth, silky mouthfeel and taste that fits the black base which is present but not too commanding. The cranberry taste is very fresh and present, and mostly sweet with just a tiny touch of tartness. That’s all it really needs though – too much tartness would throw off the balance here. There’s also a very rich and creamy vanilla flavour which I wasn’t anticipating but just adore and I think that it’s part of what is keeping the cranberry from becoming too tart. This is just topped off with some subtle background almond notes. As it cooled off, it acquired just the slightest bit of astringency, but in a way which worked.

I’m just so, SO in love with this! Thank God that I have some more on the way from Keychange! This is the first Harney tea I’ve found where I would gladly and confidently buy the 4 oz. tin of it.

__Morgana__

Shopping list!

Rosehips

This is one of my favs.

Dexter

Agreed this is a good one. :))

VariaTEA

I almost sent you a bunch and then I saw you had it in your cupboard so I didn’t. Had I known it was a cup size I would have sent more :P. Well, I have 4 oz of this so if you ever want more it shouldn’t be too hard to toss some into one of our many swaps.

Roswell Strange

I’ll keep that in mind for when I eventually use up what I get from Keychange. So far this is the only Harney tea I’ve found which I like, but I have a few more in my possession to try and some Fruits d’Alsace (sp?) on the way so I’m hoping there are a few more. I don’t want to pay the shipping price for just one tea…

Nxtdoor

Florence, soho blend, boston, all Harney keepers. I have a feeling caribe also, it’s on its away to me.

VariaTEA

Nxtdoor, I 100% agree on SoHo and Boston blend! We found more teas we can share :P. However, you lost me with Florence.

keychange

Oh, rs, I’m glad you love this. I’m going to send you lots now! and then it’ll be out of my cupboard and into yours, and this means i’ll be able to buy more tea, and everyone wins!

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2888 tasting notes

Have always wanted to try this one; Nicole gave me the opportunity. Without peeking at reviews, I remembered there was cranberry, but I couldn’t put my finger on the “other” I was tasting. Other is almond! And really, really tasty almond at that.

These are two flavors that can be used in interpreted really badly—way too tart on the cranberry, way too bitter on the almond, but this is a pretty perfect representation of both. I think I may need to try some on ice!

Azzrian

I do love this tea!

mpierce87

I miss having this tea in my cupboard! It is really good with a tad of milk and sugar too.

ashmanra

One of my favorites. This is a shelf requirement, should I ever actually succeed in paring down my collection.

gmathis

I wondered about the milk thing … I think there’s enough in the packet I can try it both ways.

Nicole

I love doing desserts with this. Steeping it in cream and using that to top things, creme brulee infused with this, ice cream… all yum. :)

gmathis

I am in awe of your foodiness! (I really do need to learn to cook with tea.)

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83
545 tasting notes

The July TeaLog Catchup !
(Formerly known as The Early July TeaLog Catchup !, but we have moved into teas I drank in mid to late July I think.)

So this was the last of my Boston Blend. I had a bit more than I needed to make the cup but I dumped it all in, and it was so good. I would definitely get more of this tea in the future as I like it very much.

2 steeps.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec
gmathis

This is a nice one. Always makes me think of fall.

I ♥ NewYorkCiTEA

Yes. =)

Idk what it is about it, but I will sip thru a cup like there is no tomorrow.

Anna

Definitely adding this one to the shopping list.

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88
6105 tasting notes

Another tea with just a single serving left now, yay! I quite enjoyed it this (second) last time. A black tea with all the right flavours to make it delicious. I can’t even really describe it, it’s just good.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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