Tower of London

I received this tea in sachet form from Harney. My first observation is that the aroma is very powerful and puts me in mind of candied fruits. Harney’s description alludes to preserves but these are sharper and more forward. Brewed per directions (212, 5 min) the aroma of candied fruit is still there but the tea itself comes forward and makes this a much more balanced blend than I would have thought. With a little milk, this was quite pleasant.

This tea is a really great afternoon tea, I always have it with me when I’m traveling because it’s a nice pick me up without being too caffeinated or too strong. Now that it’s winter I will always drink it hot but I’m interested in trying it cold.

For all of the wonderful smells this tea emits no matter how long I steeped it, it never quite got flavorful enough for my personal liking. It’s very pleasant if you want a light tea to wind down the day with.

I am likely not going to be able to adequately describe how much I love this tea blend, but I will try. I am a fan of Harney’s blends in general, and I bought the five sachet tagalong of Tower of London at a local gourmet market just to try it out. Now, it is by far my favorite Harney blend. It’s like a really nice mix of Fruits d’Alsace, Earl Grey, and Paris. I blew through my five sachets (each steeped twice) in just a couple of days.

The smell of the dry leaf in the sachets is a little strange, rather perfumey and a little intimidating. The taste, however, is extremely well-rounded and not at all flowery. The black tea base is a perfect setting for the addition of stone fruit, bergamot and a slight sweetness that livens up the other ingredients. I have read a lot of complimentary reviews of the Paris blend, and while I like that as well, this one is superior while retaining many of the same qualities.

I am anxiously awaiting a sale on Harney’s website so I can place an order that includes more Tower of London – my only gripe is that they don’t sell it in 4oz tins, just in sachets or by the pound. :/

Smells of black currants and vanilla. Has a sweet and fruity taste. I get the flavors of lemon, vanilla, black currants, and a little bit of bergamot oil. They jammed a lot of flavors into this tea, reminds me of Harney’s Paris tea without the caramel flavor.

Whoops, I finished this ages ago and forgot to decupboard it. Apparently I forgot to write a note of it. :( I remember thinking it was tasty, though!

Its an alright brew, but to be honest I find the mixture of bergamont with various other “flavors” off putting. The honey like flavor at the end reminds me more of a soap detergent. Alright, but not ranking high on my “order again list”. What are the other flavors? I really wish harney had told us.

Another smooth tea that is lightly flavored. Reminiscent of Lady Grey, but not as full flavored. I prefer the stronger favors in my black tea.

I was happy to discover that the smell of this tea (dry) is much stronger than how it actually tastes and that it has a nice aromatic balance. Other folks have described the tea quite well, with smooth bergamot undertones, and long lingering vanilla overtones at the end. I don’t taste much other fruit on it. I am usually vanilla-averse but this one is pleasant.

Super tasty! The fruity flavours are very present, but without killing the black tea flavour as well.