I really wanted to like this tea. Especially since I purchased a 4 oz tin. I love Florence and SoHo Blend and this was also a crowd favourite it seemed. Maybe I overleafed and steeped too long — it was too much bergamot and also bitter. No caramel, no vanilla, just bitter bergamot. The aroma of the brewed tea was also really strong, very Earl Gray like.
I am somewhat frustrated that Harney doesn’t provide much steeping direction aside from the general “black tea = boiling water for 5 minutes” which is way too long for me.
I’ll go for 2 minutes next time to see what happens. For now, thumbs down. Sorry, H & S!
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It is odd that they provide those instructions because in their tasting rooms they brew their flavored blacks at 200F for 3 minutes.
it’s odd. but it’s right on the tins. it’s not even a label, it’s printed on the tin itself, so they’ve commited :)
I hope it works out with the shorter steep time! And I think they just paste generic labels on some of their tins – I’ve got a few like that, but I ignore them and just steep for 3-4 min at under boiling, and it’s always flavourful and mild.
Fingers crossed for you!
It is odd that they provide those instructions because in their tasting rooms they brew their flavored blacks at 200F for 3 minutes.
it’s odd. but it’s right on the tins. it’s not even a label, it’s printed on the tin itself, so they’ve commited :)
I hope it works out with the shorter steep time! And I think they just paste generic labels on some of their tins – I’ve got a few like that, but I ignore them and just steep for 3-4 min at under boiling, and it’s always flavourful and mild.
Fingers crossed for you!