Apricot

I don’t know. The scent of the steeping tea and the first couple of sips were promising, but now, false synthetic flavours are coming through on the pleasant true apricot. I don’t know whether this is contamination at the warehouse or during shipment, or if that is just the tea.

On the other hand, I used a DT’s perfect spoon, as I always do, to measure the leaf. Perhaps it was too much leaf. Though the tea does not taste too strong.

Or perhaps I am just spoiled with Anne’s teas. Maybe that’s it. But people seem to like H & S blends, so I don’t get it.

Sample from the tea box. It’s a nice balance between light black tea and juicy apricot. I expected it to be a little richer and more flavorful, but really, I quite enjoyed this cup.

This one is unmistakably apricot! The sweet, fruity, nutty and warm flavor of apricot combined with the background taste of black tea. There is also a flavor here that’s reminiscent of butterscotch or dulce de leche. It’s especially apparent in the aftertaste and when you smell the empty mug. It’s really nice and decadent.

The apricot flavor in this tea reminds me of a toy my sister had when she was younger. It was a furry apricot thing that you could open and use to store things (as far as I remember) and that was scented with apricot. This tea smells exactly like that toy did, so it brings back memories of those times (probably 10-15 years ago now).

The tea is medium-bodied and very smooth. The apricot doesn’t overpower the tea but complements it.

Now that I have tasted their pure apricot tea, I can definitely recognize this flavor in their Fruits D’Alsace tea – which also contains apricot.

I think Harney & Sons did an incredible job with this tea. It has an authentic, unmistakable apricot flavor that feels very natural. It’s both fruity and fresh but also decandent and nutty at the same time.

This tea has my highest recommendation. It’s a no-brainer if you like apricot.

Dry leaves, appearance:
Chinese black tea leaves with pieces of dried apricot.

Dry leaves, aroma:
The sweet, fruity, nutty and warm aroma of ripe, juicy apricots.

Liquor:
Medium to dark brown.

Packaging:
7 oz. loose tea tin.

oh, now, THIS is good! not quite a subtle as some other apricot flavored black teas i’ve tried, but more robust – i think the underlying tea might just be better. haven’t tried it iced, the others might be more for that. this one makes a lovely hot cuppa with a spoonful of sugar.

I bought a sample of this tea to give it a try. It smelled like butterscotch, with a hint of a fruit. However, once you add the water, the apricot aroma comes out of the tea a little more. The tea is like a dessert tea, though. It’s sweet, fruity, and does have a butterscotch-esq flavor.

(Side Note: I might purchase some more for my wife. She likes flavored teas more than I do, and this would be nice for her to have in the mornings.)

Straight up, I didn’t like this tea. The aroma was there, the colour was there, but the taste wasn’t. It kinda just fell flat. I added a drop of almond milk in it, and what a difference it made. The milk brought out the apricot flavour in the tea, and I actually ended up LOVING this tea so much! It’s fruity, but not too fruity. It falls just before the point where flavoured black teas start tasting artificial, and that is what makes a great tea. Balance. I haven’t tried this cold yet, but I can imagine already that it would be wonderful iced.

Three cheers for the sample pouches from Harney and Sons! I love that I can cheaply add a few very good sized samples of a tea I haven’t tried yet, and I’m mad for the sensible packaging. A resealable sample pouch? Count me in. Especially when the samples are generous enough for a few cups.
I’ve heard good things about this one, so was very eager to get my hands on it.
I’m enjoying this. Its a subtle fruity flavor, with a lovely aroma. I imagine this would be spectacular on a cool spring morning.
Its enjoyable now, too. I’m glad I have more to play around with.

This is another sample from the swap with Zack. Thank you!

I wasn’t expecting much out of this one, but this is why I keep trying teas. You find little gems you would have never thought you would have liked. When I opened the pouch the smell to me was very off putting, but when steeped this turned into a really good cup and I could see this being the perfect iced tea in the summer. It has a good black base mixed with a great flavor of apricot. In my cup the scent from the bag is not overpowering the drink, but blends well with the base to create a true to apricot flavor that is just perfect.

From the Round 3 Here’s Hoping TTB

Simple and good. The flavor is spot on apricot with a nice medium body black tea that has a slight biscuit note. I drank half of my cup unsweetened and then added sugar and cream to my cup. I enjoyed this tea both ways, and I’m thinking I’d love having this in cupboard as an afternoon tea.

I don’t really know what to think of this tea. I am a big fan of Harney & Sons and until now have not found a tea I didn’t like from them. I guess there always has to be one.

The smell of this absolutely socked me in the face the first time I opened it and I was not a fan of the smell. I didn’t even try it for a good month after we got it (my fiancé is the one who actually picked this one out). I finally got around to trying it this morning and I was pleasantly surprised by the scent once it steeped. It was much more pleasant and smelled like something I actually wanted to drink.

I grappled with how to even describe what it tasted like to me. The initial flavor I got was decidedly black tea and then it sort of moved on to what (and I really hesitate to call it this, but) tasted chemically. The finish was pure apricot to me and was a nice flavor to be left with, but in the end I actually poured out the last third of this cup.

I will let the fiancé finish this one, or pass it on to someone who will appreciate it more than me, as it does seem to get pretty high reviews from most people. Just not a tea for me.