Harney & Sons

I finally ordered some of this. I am surprised it took me so long. I made this last night, so I am backlogging. I have to say that this might be the best smelling thing ever. I opened the tin and smelled it and then thought about it until later that evening when I could make tea.

It tastes pretty good, but sadly not as amazing as it smells. Even brewed, the tea smells better than it tastes. I smell the caramelly goodness, but mostly taste a mild black tea. It’s still fantastic, but I really really wish it tasted like it smelled. Perhaps a smidge more sugar next time?

I love tea (bet you didn’t know that). I also love my sleep. Sometimes these two passions do not get along so well. I generally don’t consume any caffeine after noon, so I’m always on the hunt for decaf blends (as well as rooibos and herbal blends). I kept seeing reviews of this one, and thinking that I had to try it. The lovely JacquelineM sent me a little tin full of it, and it arrived today (thank you soooo much)!!

The smell of the dry leaf is amazing…it smells like pull candy while it’s cooking!! So good. The smell of the tea after brewing is incredible; more like a vanilla poundcake baking.

Oh, my, is this good. Rich, creamy, and no chemically this-is-decaf taste. Seriously, are we absolutely sure this is decaf? I suppose I’ll know a definite answer to that later tonight!! It is starting to border on bitter, so I think next time I’ll reduce it to a 4 minute steep and see what happens. But I’m thinking this could end up being a regularly scheduled nighttime blend at my house!!

The Final Sipdown: Day 1.3

The smell of this is knock you out strong. I thought that lavender was supposed to be calming? This smells like walking into one of those stores that sells dried flower arrangements and hand-painted wood signs that say things like, “If you don’t like chocolate, get out of my kitchen,” except the heater’s been on the blitz all day and it’s made the scent of the lavender and cedar potpourris about 20 times stronger than they should be. You know, like g-ma’s closet sachets took steroids and are staging a world takeover. As a half-test and half-joke, I took the empty sample packet and held it in front of my sleeping dog’s nose to see if he would do anything. I scared the living poop out of him and he jumped off the bed. He’s back up there now and fallen asleep again, but I’ll admit that that was mean. Sorry, Tucker.

Moving on. Taking the smell as a very loud hint, I decided to steep this lower than I usually would an herbal. The tea [not really tea] itself seems to be comprised entirely of dried lavender blossoms. If you’ve ever had lavender-infused anything, you’ll be familiar with the flavor of this tea as it does, indeed, taste of lavender. It smells of lavender, too. I’ve never known anything involving lavender, be it soap, lotion, cookies, artisan chocolates, or detergent, to be subtle, and this is no exception. It really comes through when I swish it around or as it goes down. There’s also a hint of an almost bergamot-like citrusy flavor running through it as well. The aftertaste, however is almost…minty. Kind of strange, but extremely refreshing.

Anyhow, the description for this tea doesn’t joke around. It is strong. And, it probably goes without saying, but if you don’t like lavender, you probably shouldn’t even be reading this log. If you’re not opposed to lavender and are prepared for a tea saturated in it, or are up for a rather singular experience, then I would suggest picking up a sample. As for me, I’m not entirely sure I’ll want to be drinking this again anytime soon, but I will leave you with these last three things:

1. The aftertaste really is nice. I’m enjoying it quite a bit.

2. It could be the late hour, but I find myself slipping into a rather relaxed drowsiness [as opposed to the typical drooping fatigue I get when I need to go to bed] and this tea may be the reason. I might, just might have to eventually get another sample packet from Harney to test drive this guy on those nights when I am plagued by insomnia.

3. Pretty. | http://bit.ly/cs5l1d

Samples Downed: 3

Sometimes it’s great to go with a classic amongst all the glitz and glamour! Our Kenilworth’s smooth body and sweet apple notes are getting me going for the big weekend ahead! Only 3 more days!

-EWH

Finished off my last bag of this today. Made a small pot and sipped it whilst performing calculus. I will miss this.

The dry teabag smelt SUSPICIOUSLY like Paris. Probably the “fruit and bergamot” they both share. Brewed, it smells sweeter—less tart than Paris. Probably the drupe fruit used.

In the sips, I think I definitely get some honey. A deep sweetness not tied to any fruit. I can see why it’s gotten quite a few rave reviews. This stuff’s delicious. Although I’m sipping it after eating half a bag of salty chips, which really isn’t helping the taste buds. But even through that, this is rather enjoyable.

I got it from one of those Home stores, that sells kitchen supplies and interesting knick-knacks for the home. They recently started selling loose-leaf Harney and Sons as well (the ONLY PLACE in my area that does so), however they haven’t much to choose from at the moment (English Breakfast, Earl Grey and Bangkok only). The only tea they had that I pondered trying was Bangkok. But I opted for this instead. Next time!

There’s also a definite Parisy taste in it. But still delicious.

Steeped a nice pot of this for myself and the designer as we’re putting the finishing touches on the place. The smooth caramel flavors are slowly trickling in, getting us in the right mood to get ’er done!

Drinking this smooth, delicious green at midnight the weekend before we open is helping me keep my energy levels up!

-EWH

After sampling this tea months ago courtesy of Ashmanra, I now own a tin of my own. This is a great breakfast tea for me, as it has just enough juicy fruit, with a touch of bergamot and sweetness with a strong base. I haven’t tried this with any additives yet, it is just too good on its own, but now that I have a full tin it may be time to experiment. I bet the stone fruits would really taste lovely with a touch of honey mixed in. Yum!

Thank you Ashmanra for sending me a sample of this and two other Harney teas. The mail man delivered the goodies today and this had to be my first choice to sample.

The dried tea smells like sweet honeyed black tea and candied fruit. Maybe berries? Reminds me of candied fruits you find around at christmas time.

The taste is has a hint of bergamot, a great tea taste and hints of candied sweetened fruits as I sip. I can’t place any individiual fruit taste, but I really enjoy this tea. It reminds me of the likes of Dammann Freres and Mariage Freres teas. The tea tastes expensive…it is great tea with great flavoring added.

I’ll be heading to B and N to see if they have more of this tea, otherwise I will have to place another Harney soon! Thanks again Ashmanra.

This has been my afternoon pick me up for the month of November. I really love the tart cranberry with uplifting citrus. Great with milk and sugar, even better plain!

I had such a strong craving for this tea last night, but as this is caffeinated, I opted to wait until morning. This is such a delightful tea. I love the brightness. Made a big mug to enjoy while being lazy and watching a movie. I can be lazy now that I’ve done the dishes, 2nd load of laundry is done and a cake is in the oven, and it’s only 7:30!

Tried this with a few ounces of skim milk today and it wasn’t for me. Finished the rest of the pot off with just a pinch of honey, so much more to my liking this way. The tea seemed to fall flat on flavor with milk as an additive, whereas with honey the tart cranberries and orange flavor comes alive.

Tried with honey and more leaf as I needed something to awaken me before Harry potter tonight. So excited to see this and part two!

This tea has become my regular morning pot o tea. I was drinking it a cup of a time, the last few days I’ve been drinking a pot in the morning. I love the tart cranberries mixed with the black tea. I’m not sure if this tea goes away for winter, but I must get another tin soon if it does. I feel another Harney order coming on soon..

Had a big pot of this last night while watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We’re trying to watch all of the previous Harry Potter’s before the new one comes out. It’s so fun to see them so young again. I haven’t seen these beginning years since they first came out!

This tea kept me awake through the film, my hubby still fell asleep. I enjoy the tart cranberries in this tea so much!

I love love love the cranberry flavor in this tea! It is wonderfully bright, zesty and just tart enough to be the perfect cranberry flavor. It mingles with hints of orange and a great black tea base.

In the leaves their are whole dried cranberries! I was impressed to see the dried fruit in there…I wanted to eat them. I’m not sure if they add to the taste but they made the brewing experience enjoyable. This may be my go to morning cuppa for the rest of the month…or at least the week. Very good cuppa.

Ahhh, a great tea to pair with dessert. So sweet and delicous.

Ahhh…

Boy does it feel good to relax with a cuppa tea. This is one tasty evening treat. I am happy to have an enjoyable decaf black tea in my cupboard, especially one that smells like vanilla cupcakes. Yum.

backlogging from last night.

My Harney order arrived yesterday:) I didn’t get home until after 9 pm and really wanted to try one of my new teas, so this was the winner. I wanted to hit the hay after enjoying my cup of tea.

The aroma from this tea smelled like sweet cookies baking, lots of caramel goodness with wafts of rich vanilla. The liquor steeped up as dark as a caffeinated black tea, a nice amber. The taste was impressive. Sweet, but not overly fake and artificial, just a nice vanilla bean and caramel with a smooth and malty black tea taste. Very impressed by my first black tea from Harney. I am glad this tea lives up to what everyone has said about it! I found a new night time favorite.

I found this tea to be very well rounded not one flavor stood out the most, it was slightly bold as well. I am glad I got it but I am not sure if I would get it again. I will have to drink it again to be sure.

I was able to try this because LiberTEAs is so awesome! Thanks girl!

This was more smooth than I thought it would be and I think that is a plus! I could taste the cranberry – not very bitter cranberry, I might add, and a bit of citrus, too. 3

When I first smelled this right out of the package I thought I could smell grape in addition to Crans and Citrus.

I ended up liking this just fine and dandy! It’s yummy hot or cold!