Harney & Sons

Today I was introducing a good friend to some teas. She is the one who introduced ME to Harney and Sons tea as she is a devoted Hot Cinnamon Spice drinker. This tea got the honor of being her only refill tea, the one she liked best of today’s teas. This is a very good tea for people who like Paris or Earl Grey Supreme as there are similarities in body, aroma, and flavor. It is very drinkable for those who haven’t developed a taste for a lot of different teas yet.

This tea is so much more than the tin says! It says Chinese Black Tea with honey flavor, but the fine print says there is stone fruit and bergamot as well. This is delicious with NO milk and No sugar! So glad I got this one. The bergamot is mild and lovely, having none of the synthetic aroma that scalds your nose. If you like sugar in your tea (and I usually do) this would still be a delightful tea. I am thinking it would be great iced as well.

We haven’t had this one in quite a while. The tin is getting low, but I don’t think I will be ordering this one again. It is, as it says, a decent cup of tea, but it doesn’t ring bells for me. Youngest likes it more than I do, but she is such a fan of Irish Breakfast teas. We had this one for second breakfast. I took the first cup plain and the second with milk and sugar. It didn’t thrill me either way, though it wasn’t bad. I would just rather drink something that makes my eyes light up!

This was the second tea at tea party today, and I braced myself because I usually drink it with milk and sugar, and on Wednesdays we usually don’t add anything to our tea. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was smooth enough without additions, and held its own very well with the teas today. I like this better than I remembered! It is a breakfast style tea in the Irish tradition, but perhaps reminds me a little more of Irish Afternoon teas I have tried, or the milder Irish Breakfast from Southern Season, but I think I like it better.

Yummy, malty goodness this morning! I wanted something different to go with my whole grain bagel, something with enough strength to make itself known even with food. This fit the bill, as it is very similar to an Irish Breakfast tea. Sharing a pot now with my youngest as we work on algebra! Maybe I should I should make an extra pot…

Made a small pot of this to follow up my English muffin and get me kick started out the door to the gym. I added milk and sugar, because that is how Malachi himself would have drunk this! Aaaaaah. This was just what I needed this morning. Very similar to a good breakfast tea, strong enough with maybe only the barest hint of smoke if it is there at all. Maybe it is just the body of the tea that I am tasting. Good stuff!

Had this one side by side with Palm Court this morning. This tea is what it claims to be – a decent cup of tea and a good breakfast companion. Not pushy, pretty laid back, and nice to be with. Not a lot of smoky keemun flavor, definitely has the smoothing effect of the assam. A good keep-it-in-the-cupboard tea.

This is indeed a decent cup of tea! Thank you, TEAEQUALSBLISS for this sample! I was
expecting this one to be very like an Irish Breakfast since it is blended in honor of an Irishman. I would say it is a lighter, cleaner, crisper cup. Not weak, and not astringent though it did leave a tiny tingle on my tongue that I liked, and I DO NOT like astringent teas. The tingle reminded me of a lighter version of what happens when you drink Uva Highlands and get the mintiness after you drink it. Great with milk and sugar. Is that just a touch of Darjeeling in there?

Backlogging: Yesterday afternoon, I enjoyed a cup of this tea with Lemon & Mint Crackers from O Pair. A delightful pairing!

Here’s more about these delicious crackers: http://hungryinportland.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/lemon-mint-crackers-from-o-pair/

My Harney & Sons order arrived on Saturday (very prompt shipping!) – the only real disappointment was that there wasn’t a free sample. I know that I shouldn’t expect freebies or anything – however, in the past when I’ve ordered from H&S I’ve always gotten a free sample tea sachet. This time – not. Ah well… I’m still quite happy with the prompt service of my order, plus, I have some of my favorites from H&S on hand again!

One of the very first tea reviews I’ve ever written was for this tea:

http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=1025

It remains a favorite. Not too lemony, not too sweet, just right!

Lovely, chocolate-y stuff.

Still liking this one. A lot.

A stout, smokey Keemun. A good start to the day.

Lovely and smooth. A good idea for those who shy away from ham-fisted Assams.

Sipdown no 1 of February 2019 (no. 19 total for 2019, no. 507 total). A sample tea bag. I’m changing the way I keep track of sipdowns since I now have a monthly goal.

Yesterday, I didn’t do much tea tasting, mostly because I just felt out of sorts. I had one of the most stressful weeks I can remember having at work, and then Friday I went out with some friends and drank champagne. I woke up feeling like I’d been put through a wash ringer. I had to go get a haircut, and I spent most of the morning trying to get myself to a place where I felt like I wasn’t a towel with most of the moisture squeezed from it.

And so this was a particularly good choice. I hadn’t had an English Breakfast in a while, and this is what I think of when I think of English Breakfast.

Decided to try the last of this sample back to back with the LIT Keemun Black Tea Grade II.

Wow, glad I did this! Extremely interesting. They are very similar in some ways, very different in others.

There’s no initial sharpness with this one. The smokiness is different. I’d say the LIT has a little bit more, but the real difference isn’t in the amount so much as in the way the flavor works in the tea. In the H&S, it is more part and parcel of the tea itself if that makes sense. Whereas in the LIT, it seems a more separate flavor. I don’t really prefer one to the other, but I find the difference fascinating.

I think the LIT is a bit brisker. They have a similar flavor aspect that I’ll call the “woodiness” piece, but I’d say the H&S leans more toward fruity notes and the LIT more toward bready notes. Though they both have some of each.

I now understand part of my ambivalence on my earlier tasting of this. It had to do with how I was thinking about it. I was thinking about it compared to other things advertised as breakfast teas, most of which are breakfast blends of several teas, and are therefore somewhat fuller and (to use a word I have on my brain from an earlier use) stouter. In truth, for me anyway, English Breakfast is a little bit of a misnomer here. I’m drinking this in the afternoon and enjoying it quite a bit. I probably wouldn’t choose it as a breakfast tea. I’d most likely drink an Earl Grey or a blend. But (eureka) if I don’t have to pit this against other breakfast offerings, how I look at it changes entirely.

I can’t really say I strongly prefer this to the LIT. This has an edge, but they’re each charming in their own ways.

Now I really need to stop drinking black tea or I’ll never get to sleep tonight. ;-)

Apparently I’m on a bit of a Harney & Sons sampling kick. I’d like to say I’m going to be methodical about it and stick mostly to these for a while but that would probably be misleading. I have just as much of an urge to go on an Earl Grey, Breakfast Blend, or oolong or pu erh or chai comparison kick, or to do a methodical French tea sampling. I can see myself doing a lot of H&S for a while, but I doubt we’ll be in an exclusive relationship. ;-)

100% Keemun. Hmm. Not sure I’ve had that before? In the sample packet the dry leaves have a dark and sultry smell. Not sweet, more earthy or planty, at least to me. There’s also an interesting sharp note that seems like …. vinegar and salt? Seriously I’m having a flash to potato chip seasoning. I’m getting that note in the steeped aroma as well. Pretty interesting and not something I’ve experienced before. I’m intrigued.

With that aroma I’d expected a sharpness to the taste, but that’s nowhere to be found. It’s incredibly smooth! There’s a sugary sweetness in the finish that follows a woody flavor. No salt or vinegar in the taste. There’s a fullness to the mouth feel, though I wouldn’t describe it as quite full-bodied. Closer to medium. There’s an interesting, almost smoky note in the aftertaste. The tea is a little drying, but I kind of like that so it doesn’t bother me.

Hmm. Not sure exactly how I feel about this. It’s good, but I think I need more Keemun experience before I pass judgment. I’m not sure I’d pick it over a richer, fuller breakfast blend. But you never know.

I can’t believe I didn’t realize this sample was decaf until I came here to write a note about it. I must have known it a couple of months ago when I placed the order, but the packet doesn’t say decaf so I’d totally forgotten.

The fact that it is decaf is really good news. I’ve been looking for some good decafs to have on hand when my bagged starter stash runs out (which is looking like it will be pretty soon) for those times when I feel like having tea instead of a tisane.

In the packet, the leaves smell uber peachy. It’s a nice smell. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it fresh smelling, but it isn’t overly candified, it isn’t medicinified, and it doesn’t resemble cleaning solution. All of this is good.

The tea smells extremely peachy too, though the tea comes through as well. I’m liking this decaf! It’s not entirely without that “something is missing and it can’t be just caffeine” thing, but it is so much better tasting that the only other black decaf I’ve had. The peach flavor is sweet and strong without being overpowering, and the tea, though it isn’t a strong taste at all, isn’t bad. It’s fairly mild with some astringency.

I’m going to have to get some of this to start out my new black decaf category. Though I don’t think decaf will ever taste as good as the real thing, this one is pretty good.

This rating is not a comparison to caffeinated teas. It’s where I think this belongs on a decaf scale.

And now… I REALLY NEED SOME CAFFEINE!

This is a really nice oolong. Very well balanced and understated. Although I did detect slight floral aromas while brewing, the taste is more vegetal and buttery. Very enjoyable.

This sample is from the era I will call B.B.G.B.M., or before black/green blends moratorium.

In the sample packet it has an intense, fruit smell. I thought it was pineapple until I read the ingredients again. Now I’m fairly sure it’s guava. There’s a high sweet note that I’m thinking is the strawberry, and an undercurrent of hibiscus. I’m not smelling coconut, or much tea, for that matter.

The tea’s liquor is that sort of in between color that these sorts of blends tend toward. Not a deep black tea color, not a light green tea color, but somewhere between the two.

The aroma is primarily guava and strawberry, though I can smell black tea through it.

It’s actually surprisingly tasty, and I’d probably drink it again if I was offered it. But in truth, I drink guava flavored juice maybe once every year or three and I don’t think this tea, nice as it is, is enough to turn me into a regular guava consumer. That’s the primary flavor as well, though I can also taste strawberry, hibiscus, and a mixed black/green tea taste that is hard to explain. It’s fresh green but toasty, paradoxical as it sounds. It gets points for being well done and unusual, though.

Sipdown no. 27 of 2023 (no. 685 total).

Hard to believe this is one of the lowest rated items still in my cupboard until just now.

All of the Harney fruit blends shine as cold brews, perhaps even more in my opinion than when served hot. Because the base has a lot of hibiscus (which I am now a fan of after a fair amount of time shunning it), the fruit blends have a lot in common and the fruit that is the distinguishing feature is harder to identify, but once you realize that and focus in on the non-hibiscus backdrop, you can definitely get the peach. It’s not as strong as some others (mango for instance) but it’s there.

I could see maybe getting one of these gain. I’d probably do the strawberry kiwi or goji berry, but who knows, I might get a hankering for this one.

My original note on this was 8 years ago. That was around the time I joined Steepster.

That’s how long this had been on my wish list, and at long last, I’ve now got more.

I wanted to revisit this to see whether I still had the same feeling about it after all this time, and I think I pretty much do. It’s not the most stellar of the Harney fruit bunch, though it’s tasty enough, and it’s better than the rating I gave it previously so I’m bumping it a couple of points. The peach flavor is just a tad on the artificial side, at least in this batch.

I’m detecting a pattern here. Most of the Harney fruit blend ingredient lists seem to start with rosehips and hibiscus, and add from there. Often there is apple or orange peel, and then the flavor (and sometimes bits of) the fruit that gives the blend its name.

Basically, the base for all of these is rosehips, hibiscus, apple, and orange peel. In general, it works pretty well — though the sweeter the main event, the better it works, which is why the goji berry is winning, thus far, in my estimation.