French Super-Blue Lavender

Tea type
Herbal Tea
Ingredients
Lavender Flowers
Flavors
Floral, Lavender, Mint, Peppermint, Sweet, Pineapple, Salt, Spices, Perfume, Sage, Salty, Soap
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Caffeine Free
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by joshuasbones
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 30 sec 13 oz / 377 ml

From Our Community

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30 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Sipdown no. 80 of the year 2014. I am trying to keep hitting at least one sipdown a day, but I notice that I’ve been slowing down a bit. It’s a combination of not wanting to part with some of my...” Read full tasting note
    62
  • “GOOD GOD IS THIS LAVENDER. Holy… what the… oh em gee. First off, my hat’s off to Harney for the sheer beauty of this. The lavender blossoms are an absolute joy to look at. Seriously. The prettiest...” Read full tasting note
    15
  • “So, this tea was what made me sure I wanted to place my newest order with Harney & Sons instead of the four or five other companies I had been waffling between. I love just about any tea that...” Read full tasting note
    94
  • “I’ve always liked lavender—it looks and smells sweet. When I saw this tea on their website, I just had to have some. The dry purple buds smelled fantastic! Steeped for ten minutes, I was expecting...” Read full tasting note
    86

From Harney & Sons

This traditional herbal has a dark-blue color and intense floral flavor. It is prized by Brigitte, Mike’s French wife. The lavender flavor in this tea is quite strong, so if you are a huge fan of lavender, then this is the tea for you.

About Harney & Sons View company

Since 1983 Harney & Sons has been the source for fine teas. We travel the globe to find the best teas and accept only the exceptional. We put our years of experience to work to bring you the best Single-Estate teas, and blends beyond compare.

30 Tasting Notes

62
2036 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 80 of the year 2014. I am trying to keep hitting at least one sipdown a day, but I notice that I’ve been slowing down a bit. It’s a combination of not wanting to part with some of my easily sipdownable stuff (like a lot of these Harney samples) and not having made enough headway into some of the older, open teas of which I have more than sample sizes. I need a better strategy. (I can’t believe I’m actually considering spending time on a sipdown strategy. Ugh, I must really be bored. LOL)

In reading back over the notes on this I was laughing over the color controversy. I am pleased to report that this time, my liquor is unmistakeably PURPLE! A nice, reddish violet. No hint of the grey I had before. Query whether this is a function of age (its or mine), oxygenation, or flower mix. In any case, I am delighted I finally got to see the purpleness in all its glory.

Despite the age of this sample (which at least one other person mentioned made a difference in the flavor for them) I am getting pretty much what my original note reflected in terms of aroma and taste. Alone, it’s rather an intense drink. I definitely prefer the Yellow and Blue. The douse of camomile takes the edge off the lavender and vice versa. Would I drink this again? Yes, I can see it happening, but very rarely. I don’t think it’s enough to justify buying a tin of this, but perhaps having a sample packet on hand isn’t beyond all reason.

caile

haha, this was a sipdown that you want to be able to sipdown again sometime. Perfectly reasonable! ;-)

Ysaurella

lavender teas are sometimes too much “lavendery”
complicated to get the right balance with this kind of teas

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15
187 tasting notes

GOOD GOD IS THIS LAVENDER.

Holy… what the… oh em gee.

First off, my hat’s off to Harney for the sheer beauty of this. The lavender blossoms are an absolute joy to look at. Seriously. The prettiest tea I’ve laid eyes on. They feel silky and petal-like, as if they were just plucked. A gorgeous, violet color. And the smell… it’s so in-your-face lavender that it’s almost spicy and pungent. I used a scant teaspoon for fear of my life.

So I steeped this one up, expecting the water to turn a brilliant lavender-blue, as shown on Harney’s website. Blue is my absolute favorite color. Instead, sadly enough, the tea remained very, very clear. Only when I poured it into my porcelain mug did I see that the clear-looking water was actually tinted purple. Hilarious-looking. And smelling ridiculously of lavender.

Don’t think this is some dainty, lady-like tea. It seems like it at first glance. You’d picture this tea as a beautifully dressed Victorian woman, nibbling on crumpets and flouncing around the town square. Well, if you thought that, YOU’RE WRONG.

This is STRONG. This is so strong it’s practically manly. It could probably drag freight trains by its teeth alone. So fearsome that it would guzzle Everclear – straight. And wear a lumberjack shirt. And possibly appear in Inglorious Basterds. It’d best Rocky in a fight. It farts in bacon and beer’s face. That brawny. The lavender gives you a one-two punch of spicy floral insanity. This lavender means business. Serious business.

I mean, for as clear as it looks, it’s just lavender. Very, very lavender. The spicy, heady beginning fades into a taste that’s akin to… lavender bath products. And then that fades into an overall very sweet floral note. We’re talking chamomile sweet here.

I’m so fascinated by it. I keep taking sips and mentally going “WOAH” and then shaking my head, trying to clear the taste out of my mouth. It’s almost peppery at points. It’s intense.

I have no idea where to go with the rest of the review. This tea is ridiculous. I doubt I could ever stomach another cup again, but if I decide to get in the ring with this beast again, I know for sure that it’ll win.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

Manly lavender? Interesting. I love jasmine and rose when I never thought I would, but I don’t think I’m sold on lavender yet.

sophistre

That is…completely bizarre. I mean, I like lavender, but do I really want it that intense, in a cup of tea? …I’m not sure. I can’t even imagine what that would be like.

Ricky

I want a cup! =]

LENA

I do not like lavender flavored or scented ANYTHING…but this tea looks so pretty. I was laughing out loud reading this at my cube. :) This is a review you will NEVER see on H&S’s website or catalog. HAHA! Especially the farting in bacon and beer’s face! LOL! Holy crap, dude.

Samantha

I feel like this would burn my nose or something.

Ricky

After a review like this, who doesn’t want to try it? Keywords >> Purple, Strong, Fascinated, Ridiculous That sounds amazing! =]

Cofftea

Great idea Ricky.

Ricky

Keyword reactions? I know! A few words to summarize a tea. For the quick casual reader =P

teaplz

Hahahahaha. Those are pretty good keywords, Ricky!

I’m glad I could make you laugh, Lena! It was that insane. I was giggling through what I drank of the cup. And through most of my review.

Samantha, this almost did. It was pretty crazy, honestly.

sophistre, yeah, it was like… FLOWER POWER.

Glamorosi

I cannot breathe from laughing so hard at this review!
(And of course now I have to buy it)

ambientqueenie

(Very) late to the party here; as a fan of lavender, the scent, and lavender, the occasional ingredient in the great carousel of dessert, I was curious about purchasing this tea, and so I looked it up on Steepster, and, lo, I found your review, which may be the most amusing tea review I’ve ever read, and so madam, I doff my hat to thee.

Please excuse my long, 1800s-inspired sentence. :)

Seri

Similar to ambientqueenie I was looking at this tea to buy it…then I read your review. Congratulations, the first time I actually laughed out loud at a review. I need to go see your other tea reviews now haha. I might still consider buying this though, just for fun.

Ze_Teamaker

Your review was awesome…. it gave me giggles. I know have an image of a personified lavender man who is overly muscular going around asking people if they even lift….

Suzanne

Oh man, this was one of the funniest reviews I’ve read of anything, ever! Having actually tried it out of curiosity after reading this, I actually didn’t find it that strong, I might not have used enough lavender. It definitely is an odd kind of herbal taste going on though, like really weird floral mint. And it puts me right to sleep, like insta-nap, more than chamomile ever could. You mentioned that it was similar to chamomile, maybe there’s something to that? :P

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94
735 tasting notes

So, this tea was what made me sure I wanted to place my newest order with Harney & Sons instead of the four or five other companies I had been waffling between. I love just about any tea that has lavender in it, and the idea of a pure lavender tea excited me. I’ve had plenty of blends before, but this tea is just fluffy dried lavender buds and a few pale green leaves.

Now, the official website shows the tea as brewing up to a pretty shade of purple. I can tell you right here that it does not. This stuff is a strange, kinda sickly gray. I mean, it’s sort of purple tinted, but it’s nothing like the picture. And it’s like nothing I’ve ever drank before. But the aroma is heavenly. Deeply soothing, floral, and clean. Lightly sweetened, it’s exactly what I was hoping for. A very bold and slightly buttery, tingly lavender flavor.

But I understand that this is not for everyone. If you don’t like herbals and don’t like lavender, stay far away. But I’m definitely going to re-order and blend it into stuff. Yum.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
ashmanra

I should try this again I liked it okay but I wanted the brilliant color and read that lemon would make it pretty. Lemon makes it evil. Don’t do it,

Tabby

Thanks for the heads up! Lemon seems like a good idea, but I’ll take your word for it.

Ellyn

This is on my it’s but ohh so many teas in the cupboard already so little time..

gmathis

I bought several ounces of bulk lavender from little local health food grocer…you’re right; it’s a wonderful blending ingredient.

Tabby

That sounds like a better idea than getting it from Harney & Sons, now that you mention it. I bet it would be a lot cheaper for the exact same thing.

gmathis

Looking at the H&S description, it looks like there’s nothing in it but the lavender. I paid, oh, a buck and change an ounce; something like that.

Tabby

Haha, that’s awesome! I have a friend that works in a health food store, so I will be stopping by tomorrow after work!

ashmanra

Tabby, I think I will do the same! I need some sea salt. I think I will add lavender to the list!

ScottTeaMan

Tabby, I just read this Jan. 2107. I still like this lavender, and I was wondering if you ever added this to your Earl Grey Supreme? I’ll bet with the right (smaller) amount of lavender, it would be very delicious! :D I haven’t added my own lavender, but my sister, bought me some Earl Grey with Lavender years ago for Christmas and it was awesome! I can’t remember the company or the name of the tea anymore, but it was really good.

Tabby

Hi Scott! Yes, actually, I do that all the time! It’s a wonderful combination, but you have to be light-handed with it. Just a sprinkle is enough!

ScottTeaMan

That’s Jan. 2017, of course (hahahaa)! Do you add a small amount per single cup, or a larger amount of tea? Did you ever find that lavender at your health food store, and does it have the quality of H & S French Super-Blue Lavender, when mixing with your Earl Grey?

Tabby

Haha, I didn’t even notice! My brain autocorrected it for you. I add like a 4th of a teaspoon per 16 ounces. And I did find that lavender! But it definitely wasn’t as high quality as H&S. It was sharper and had a kind of grassy aftertaste. It was still good, but not like the calming, perfumey goodness of Super-Blue Lavender.

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86
111 tasting notes

I’ve always liked lavender—it looks and smells sweet. When I saw this tea on their website, I just had to have some. The dry purple buds smelled fantastic! Steeped for ten minutes, I was expecting a deeper color, but didn’t see it. This is straight lavender tea, so the wet tea buds smelled awesome!

In the cup I noticed a darker purplish color with a strong lavender aroma, although not as strong as the wet buds. Others have noted a soapy quality in the cup flavor. I can understand that description, but do not consider it soapy. That is just how lavender is…….some things are what they are. The aroma was awesome and the flavor was smooth, perfumey lavender goodness. I really enjoyed how it soothed my throat and stayed with me in the aftertaste.

If you don’t like lavender or scented teas you probably wont like this tea. For me it is soothing, smooth and delicious! A high quality, super lavender tea. This is a perfect herbal at night, when I sometimes avoid caffeine. A truly satisfying tea! :)) The tea still lingers on my palate—now—long after the cup is gone.

Cupped and Reviewed: Wednesday, December 21, 2011.

NOTES**** Tried steeping this at shorter periods. First cup about 200 degrees for 3.5 minutes, which resulted in milder flavor and perfume aromas. Second cup, 212 degrees for seven minutes, still very flavorful and aromatic. I think two shorter steeps is the way to go on this one, especially if you are overwhemed by the flavor and aromatics of lavender tea.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone!!. Here’s a video if you care to watch it. It is one of my favorites! I just love her voice. :))

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF70A6t4EiU

Cupped:Thursday, December 22, 2011.

Reviewed: Sunday, December 25, 2011.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more
Ellyn

I love lavender. I am adding this to my shopping list!

ScottTeaMan

Have you ever tried straight lavender tea? This was my first lavender tea. As you can tell I really liked it! :))

TeaBrat

I looked at that and was wondering if it would be any good!

ScottTeaMan

Later today I’ll be posting an update to my review, Amy.

ScottTeaMan

Amy would you like some?!

ScottTeaMan

Review updated.

TeaBrat

I am not sure if I would like it!

Ellyn

I have tried lavender tea – and loved it! When I make my harney order or visiting their ship in millerton (hopefully soon!) I will be adding this to the list.

ScottTeaMan

Ellyn, will they let you sample this per cup or pot? I would go that route first.

Amy & Ellyn: This is not an everyday tea for sure, but I like lavender’s scent & so I do like the tea. Now a White Jasmine or Jasmine Pearls, I COULD drink that 2 or 3 days a week, but then it wouldn’t be as special. I do consider these Jasmine teas to be special.

Amy, while I was going through my tea Stash, I found some hand rolled Sencha!It is probably a couple years old, but in a sealed sample bag (Harney & Sons). I ‘ve gotta use it soon, so I think I treat myself this week. If it’s not stale and still worthy, I can send you half?! :))

ScottTeaMan

Hehehe, Who can refuse hand rolled Sencha. :)))

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80
336 tasting notes

CRYYYYYYYYY! This tea was supposed to be BLUE! The picture on the website showed it being this pretty purple color. Some of the user reviews mentioned it being a bluish-gray.

It’s YELLOW! It started out being a nice, tasteful light sunshine color. Then I tried steeping it longer and it came out more like amber. It looks like pee!

CRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

That’s what I get for believing advertising.

… At any rate, I normally drink tea for the taste, so I might as well review for the taste. I like lavender; for some reason, it reminds me of the trip to Ireland we took the summer of 2001. And it’s certainly lavender! If you like lavender, be prepared for a lot of it! If you don’t like it, DON’T DRINK IT! It’s thick, husky lavender, not dainty and not for the faint of heart. It is assertively floral. It will CALM YOU THE #$%& DOWN. But I like it.

So, all in all, I give it a thumbs up for its unflinching lavender and the associated nostalgia. But be warned.

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56
260 tasting notes

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

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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81
175 tasting notes

I’ve had this particular batch almost two years, maybe. I’ve essentially been hoarding it because it’s one of the few herbal teas I enjoy(ed). Unfortunately it is not, I’d argue, a tea that ages very well. It now tastes only vaguely of it’s original glory. Drink it up if you’ve got it.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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98
892 tasting notes

So I was expecting BAM STRONG LAVENDER FLAVOR EVERYWHERE. But instead I got a lovely, relaxing, floral flavor. After reading reviews I thought this one would be too much, but it’s very soft and sweet. I’m slightly disappointed that the liquid in my cup is gray/blue and not a purple. But I feel this is the perfect tea to drink before bed. I’ll be sleeping good tonight!

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67
564 tasting notes

Incredibly fresh lavender. The smell is so intense it’s like someone crushed up all the flowers, but they are all whole. My mother loves lavender (this is the third herbal I got for her), and when I let her smell it she jumped back several inches in surprise. It’s really strong.

The tea is a delicate purple color as it steeps—as others have noted, it looks nothing like the picture on the site, tut tut, Harney’s. I can actually see the oils coming out of the blossoms. The end result smells like a bubble bath I have, which is not necessarily a bad thing but also not necessarily something I instinctively want to drink!

Straight up this is a little too herbal even for me. I love flowers, I love lavender, and I love herbals, but there’s a medicinal feeling to it that isn’t my favorite. Once I added some honey it became exactly what I was looking for from a lavender tea! Somewhere in between sharp and medicinal and candied flower petals. Realistically I’ll be mixing it with other things, but this is a good thing to know.

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3224 tasting notes

I can not believe I have only reviewed this tea one time, and it was a frightful review about how adding lemon to this tea made it turn vicious.

What a different day! You see, after I tried that sample, I bought a one pound bag of lavender from Harney and Sons. I was planning to use it for the occasional cup of tea, for adding to other teas or tisanes like tulsi, and for making sachets and such.

I recently got the idea that since I like rosemary water very much, I might like lavender water. I simply put about two teaspoons – maybe a tablespoon – of lavender blossoms into a carafe and filled it with cold water and put it in the fridge. At first the water stayed clear, for hours and hours. By the next morning, it was yellow. I poured it through a strainer and tasted and found it a bit strong, so I drank it mixed half and half with cold water. It was perfect! This also stretched my carafe and gave double the cold tea I had anticipated. I think this will be a regular thing to alternate with my rosemary water, since I don’t have quite as much rosemary growing as I used to have. It is so relaxing and I really slow down and breathe when I drink it.

Evol Ving Ness

It sounds like a lovely thing to have on hand.

ashmanra

I gifted some to some of my student’s today. I am eager to see how they like lavender tea, hot and cold!

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