Cranberry Autumn

There’s something very comforting and happy and warm about this tea. It is mildly tart without being sour, with nice spice underlying it. The tea base is strong but not at all bitter or astringent. A little sugar or sweetener definitely brings out the flavors more. It’s not necessarily refined and fancy, but very solid and cozy.

This may be my favorite Harney tea of the samples I’ve ordered (and tried).

I was planning to have this hot. I mean, c’mon, it’s called Cranberry Autumn. Doesn’t that just make you want to get into your waffle knit jammies, pull on some thick socks, and cozy up underneath a blanket? No? Well, that’s what I thought when I saw the name.

However, upon inspecting the ingredients and realizing there was hibiscus in the blend and no spices at all, I changed my mind. Iced tea it is. The first sip reminded me of a tea I loved from DT a few years ago, Pom Diggety. The two have a similar flavor profile – black and hibiscus teas and berry/pomegranate with a hint of citrus.

This is a simple tea. There’s no frills here, and that’s the beauty of it as far as I’m concerned. The combination of hibiscus and cranberry is just wonderful. Since there’s black tea as well, it’s a bit too tart and astringent for me without a touch of sweetener. With a few drops of liquid stevia, it’s lovely. I may give this a go hot, but I really love (strong word after just one, albeit tall, glass!) it over ice. This is definitely one to add to the list of teas to repurchase.

The subtle cranberry flavor has gotten me hooked on this one. At first I wasn’t sure if the black tea base was going to be overpowering so I made sure to steep this one at 3 minutes as too avoid any hint of bitterness. I’m also loving the orange aroma from the hot cup as it sits at my work desk this afternoon. It’s like having a comfy blanket at that dreaded 3pm lul.

A nice basic black tea with enough cranberry to give it some flavor.

I should have brewed this a bit stronger, using two sachets instead of the one, since my mug is bigger. I do like that this tea has a brightness to it, and I do get the cranberry, with it’s little bit of zing. But I can’t help wishing the black tea would come through a bit more, and I never really taste the orange, so every time I make this, it seems a little on the watered down side, even when it isn’t.

My last sipdown of this sample pack.I have the cranberry touch already in my tin of Boston from Harney, but may end up ordering a tin of this too at some point. This one is as good in a different way – it’s warming, calming, strong enough, not bitter, the cranberry is light but noticeable off the bat. It is not multi layered in taste but that fits this cozy blend. Great for evenings cuddled under a blanket by a fire reading.

I prefer this one steeped 3 1/2 – 4 minutes

Mmmm, cranberry. This tastes just like it, but isn’t too tart or sour. It also isn’t too sweet – cranberries aren’t sweet, so this is spot on. It is great hot, it is great iced. It isn’t bitter. I really have nothing negative to say about it.

Got a sample of this and ended up using it for iced tea. We drink a lot of iced tea with our meals, even in the colder months, and I needed a new flavor to try. This is really nice iced, although the fruity, berry flavor is not as pronounced as it is in the Boston Blend. I may get it again, if only to try it hot – I used up the entire sample just making one quart of iced tea.

Sometimes fruity teas are so tart that I can’t taste the rest of the flavor, but this tea has very little of that tartness. The flavor was a complex cranberry/orange cinnamon flavor; I added just a bit of sugar and it was perfect.

Hot, I did not like this at all!! How odd.
It was musty and a bit bitter, but not in a cranberry way.
Now that its cooled, I can taste the fruitiness a bit more while any must has faded. There’s also something mildly spicy in there, though I can’t figure out quite what.
In terms of a classic cranberry tea, it isn’t exactly what I imagined or craved, so I guess the perfect cranberry tea hunt must continue.
Overall, I’d say that it does evoke a theme of “autumn” so points for that.