whatshesaid

whatshesaid drank Florence by Harney & Sons

It makes me sad to rate this. Everyone else rated it so highly, but I find it absolutely does NOT taste like dessert. It’s bitter, and I have to force myself to steep it a second time just because I’m too cheap to throw out leaves that still have ‘juice’ in them. I want to swap this all away for something more on my page. I don’t taste any flavor in this.. if the bitterness is supposed to be hazelnut, yuck.

I will try adding cream and sugar I suppose. Otherwise I can’t see me willingly drinking this.
I’m trying really hard to be a tea person who enjoys tea for tea, and I suppose Harney & Sons’ teas are supposed to be of fair quality (am I wrong??) with subtle flavoring vs snowflake shaped sprinkles, fake flavoring and whatnot, but if this is what subtlety or quality tastes like then I’ll stick with the greasy sprinkles and chemical additives.

2013-03-17 16:26:13 -0400

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Sil 2013-03-17 16:33:41 -0400

Try steeping it with water just under boiling, and try 2.5 mins

Sil 2013-03-17 16:34:41 -0400

Also never be afraid to rate things the way you feel about a tea! Just cause others enjoy it doesn’t mean everyone will :)

whatshesaid 2013-03-17 16:37:09 -0400

I know, I just feel it’s because I’m not ‘qualified’ enough to be complaining about something just for being what it is! Or like everyone who ever reviewed it talked amongst themselves and decided to lie about how good it is so that I’d buy some and hate it. haha.

Marcel Duchamp 2013-03-17 21:10:12 -0400

Sil is right. Everyone has different tastes, never be ashamed of your opinion. To be honest, I think milk and sugar may help as well. I’m still learning about tea and sometimes I like what the majority likes and other times I disagree. And I’m sure you can swap with someone, if you still don’t like the tea.

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I love tea. Tea has always been part of my life but it has become an obsession. I blame it on DavidsTea for opening up in my city a few years ago.

I used to drink 1-2 coffees a day, but have mostly given it up save for the odd cup of decaf or very special seasonal treat on account of the havoc it wreaks with my insides.

I began using tea to fill the void and haven’t looked back. It does not make me feel terrible in any way, unlike coffee. I probably drink on average 5 cups of tea a day. Lately more like 6. I mean MUGS. Keeps me warm at my desk at work and in the evenings at home. I try to use it to stave off cravings for junk food.

Though Davidstea was like the gateway for me, I’m starting to tire a bit of the sickeningly sweet desserty blends and am working on trying to expand my tastes and try more straight black and green teas (the well rated ones) and oolongs. Della Terra Teas does dessert teas equally well if not better than Davidstea, so I have ordered a lot from them. I have also discovered a few other companies which make flavoured teas in a more subtle (and less chemical) fashion, like Harney & Sons, Kusmi, Mariage Freres (which I wish I could afford to order as there are some I would LOVE to buy), and ButikiTeas.

I love swapping!
Please note my Cupboard contains everything I have including minuscule samples of teas so it is not intended to be reflective of what I have available for swap…

When I rate, it goes like this:

85 -100 = WIN! awesome, I love this and keep it on hand
70 – 85 = pretty darn good but I don’t NEED to own it
55 – 70 = not necessarily terrible but not a tea for me!
30 – 55 = missed the mark as far as I am concerned. Wouldn’t drink it willingly.
0 – 30 = I likely won’t rate this low very often, so if you see it, consider the tea a great big FAIL and probably disgusting.