Holiday Tea Alert! Holiday Tea from Harney & Sons!

by SuperStarling

The holidays have begun. Christmas music has begun creeping into the edges of our collective unconscious. I haven’t yet heard the dreaded “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”, but it’s only a matter of time.

During the holiday season, Michaels (the craft store) gets a smell. A distinct scent. I don’t know if there’s some “holiday smell” that they’re pumping in. Maybe it’s like Abercrombie & Fitch, where they dump perfume through the vents.
If you’re not familiar with that smell, and don’t have a local Michael’s, I will attempt to describe it to you as gingerbread-y. It has a chai-and-clove, spice-and-sugar vibe. It’s a delicate balance of every gingerbread house and Christmas cookie tray you’ve ever eaten. It feels like something your grandma made.
When you smell it, you have a manic desire to make your very own from-scratch Martha Stewart holiday for yourself. You do not sleep for days, considering how gold-foil could best be used in an array of handmade ornaments.
Holiday Tea by Harney & Sons is Christmas music and that smell stirred together into one kit-and-kaboodle. It’s like they ground down Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer’s very essence for you to boil and sip.
Maybe Harney & Sons’ murdering of Rudolph to make this tea was an act of vengeance.
Maybe it was Grandma Harney that was run over by a reindeer.
I smell a conspiracy.

 

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Flavored Black Tea
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Description

Holiday Tea – spiced with citrus, almond, clove and cinnamon – has become a year-round favorite black tea. Delicious hot or iced, it’s a wonderful addition to a holiday table, served piping hot on a cold winter morning, or anytime you crave a holiday-inspired brew. Kosher

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

SuperStarling

"Hey, everybody! I'm Leah, a graphic designer from Pennsylvania, United States. I live with my husband and rescue mutt in a house with colorful walls. I love fonts, colors, animals, flowers, novels, illustration, geeking out, and -- obviously! -- tea. I've only been heavily into tea for about a year, but I've found I tend to prefer loose blended black dessert teas. I normally drink them hot western style without anything added; if I add in some vanilla almond milk or honey, I promise I'll mention it! When I'm not blogging here, I'm blogging at leahlucci.com/starling or posting to Instagram (super_starling), so come say hi!"

This post was posted in Black Tea, Harney & Sons

Fall Blend Alert! Cranberry Autumn from Harney & Sons

by veronica

Ah, fall. Cooler weather signals the slow switch from iced or cold brewed teas to hot cuppas throughout the day. I find myself excited about teas that are fruity but earthy, deeper but still bright. Happily, Cranberry Autumn from Harvey and Sons perfectly fits that description.

Cranberry Autumn has light, citrusy notes from the orange as well as a good bit of tartness from the cranberry and hibiscus, but the base tea keeps the other flavors grounded. It has a good bit of depth with a slight woody note that works well with the other flavors.

This tea is a fall go-to for me. It’s something I will happily steep in my cup again and again as the days get shorter and my need for something to warm my hands and spirits gets stronger. Cranberry Autumn has earned its place in my tea cabinet.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Flavored Black Tea
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
harney-sons-logo-1Description

Ideally sweet and tart, our Cranberry Autumn is a black tea artfully blended with cranberry and orange flavors. You’ll find it a full bodied brew that is exceptionally smooth and delicious in fall, or anytime if you’re a cranberry fan. Kosher.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

veronica

This post was posted in Black Tea, Harney & Sons

Hunan Mao Jian from Harney & Sons

by scheherazade

hunan_mao_jianTea Information:

Leaf Type: Green

Where to Buy: Harney & Sons

Tea Description:

While looking for the best teas in Changsha, we found this organic green tea. Not every occasion demands the best tea, so this is a nice one to drink more often.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Mao Jian has become one of my favourite green tea varieties over the last year or so, and I’m always pleased to try one that’s new to me. This Hunan Mao Jian from Harney and Sons looks pretty much as I’d expect – thin, wiry leaves that are a little curly and twisted, a fairly uniform dark green in colour, and pretty long (most around 2cm, but some more like 5-6cm). Dry, it doesn’t seem to have a great deal of scent. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in water cooled to around 170 degrees.

 Once brewed, more variegation in terms of colour is revealed. The wet leaves are a mixture of bright grass green at the tip and a darker kelly green towards the stalk. There are a few yellowish tinges, and the odd patch of brown. The scent is delightful, like freshly steamed green vegetables. Really fresh, vegetal teas like this one are what finally won me around in terms of green tea, and this is a perfect example. The liquor itself is a very pale green, with a mild vegetal scent.
 To taste, this is beautifully sweet and delicate, and very reminiscent of freshly shelled peas. It’s a pretty mild flavour all told, but smooth and buttery with absolutely no bitterness or astringency. There’s a slightly stronger vegetal flavour in the mid-sip, reminiscent of green beans, but it doesn’t linger very long and it’s still very much at the mild end of the flavour spectrum. The aftertaste contains a hint of floral, although it’s not too perfume-like or overpowering. It reminds me a little of lillies. As it cools, I’m picking up an edge of sharpness that puts me in mind of lemon zest. It adds a savoury twist to an otherwise relatively sweet ensemble, and works well as a refreshing, clean tasting element of the overall flavour.
 I’m enjoying this one for its fresh, sweet flavours, and ultimately clean, refreshing flavour. I actually think it’s a green tea I’d enjoy drinking most in summer, possibly cold brewed or iced. It’s good hot, too, and it’s really making me think of warmer days while I sit here in the middle of my centrally-heated winter. This is a really great green tea, and one of the most unique Mao Jian’s I’ve tried. Delicious!

scheherazade

Hi! I'm Sarah, and I live in Norfolk in the UK. My tea obsession began when a friend introduced me to Teapigs a good few years ago now. Since then, I've been insatiable. Steepster introduced me to a world of tea I never knew existed, and my goal is now to TRY ALL THE TEAS. Or most of them, anyway. I still have a deep rooted (and probably life-long) preference for black tea. My all-time favourite is Assam, but Ceylon and Darjeeling also occupy a place in my heart. Flavoured black tea can be a beautiful thing, and I like a good chai latte in the winter. I also drink a lot of rooibos/honeybush tea, particularly on an evening. Sometimes they're the best dessert replacements, too. White teas are a staple in summer -- their lightness and delicate nature is something I can always appreciate on a hot day. I'm still warming up to green teas and oolongs. I don't think they'll ever be my favourites, with a few rare exceptions, but I don't hate them anymore. My experience of these teas is still very much a work-in-progress. I'm also beginning to explore pu'erh, both ripened and raw. That's my latest challenge! I'm still searching for the perfect fruit tea. One without hibiscus. That actually tastes of fruit.

This post was posted in Green Tea, Harney & Sons, Tea Company, Type Of Tea

Gielle 1st Flush Darjeeling Black Tea from Harney & Sons

by scheherazade

gielle_1st_flushTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy: Harney & Sons

Tea Description:

This beautiful estate is set off to the side, away from most other Darjeeling estates, and this discreet locale aptly suits the owners of Gielle. They do what they think is best – in particular, to use the old “Chinese” tea bushes and to make an older style First Flush Darjeeling. Our tea mentor, Bernd Wulf, helped to develop this older style back in the 1960s. It was less oxidized than the Darjeelings of that time, thus lighter and greener, yet still with enough body to handle milk and sugar. Bernd was the father of our tea supplier Marcus Wulf – a cornerstone of our Tradition of Tea that ensures you excellent tea, produced and sourced with great care over generations.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I should probably say upfront that first flush Darjeeling is one of my favourite varieties of black tea, so this one is preaching to the converted with me. The dry leaf itself is a thing of beauty – light and medium green leaves, and some downy silver-white buds. They’re a little twisted, and of about 1-2cm in length. The scent is mildly grapey with hints of stone fruit. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in boiling water. The resulting liquor is a medium golden-orange.

To taste, it’s pretty much perfection. The main flavour I can discern is dried apricot – quite rich and fruity. It lingers beautifully right until the end of the sip. There’s a very light hint of muscatel grape, which develops primarily at the end of the sip and in the aftertaste, and something that’s reminding me just a little of frangipane – a sort of nutty, almondy sweetness. It pairs beautifully with the apricot. There’s the slightest touch of what I can only describe as briskness – not bitterness or astringency, but a slight sharpness that takes this tea to a whole new level. It seems to enhance the grape notes a little, cutting through the initial rich sweetness. Certainly no bad thing!

This is a fine example of a first flush Darjeeling – clean-tasting, and beautifully light and delicate. Each one I’ve tried seems to have a slightly different character, and drinking this cup has been another pleasant experience. I’d not hesitate to recommend it to Darjeeling fans.

scheherazade

Hi! I'm Sarah, and I live in Norfolk in the UK. My tea obsession began when a friend introduced me to Teapigs a good few years ago now. Since then, I've been insatiable. Steepster introduced me to a world of tea I never knew existed, and my goal is now to TRY ALL THE TEAS. Or most of them, anyway. I still have a deep rooted (and probably life-long) preference for black tea. My all-time favourite is Assam, but Ceylon and Darjeeling also occupy a place in my heart. Flavoured black tea can be a beautiful thing, and I like a good chai latte in the winter. I also drink a lot of rooibos/honeybush tea, particularly on an evening. Sometimes they're the best dessert replacements, too. White teas are a staple in summer -- their lightness and delicate nature is something I can always appreciate on a hot day. I'm still warming up to green teas and oolongs. I don't think they'll ever be my favourites, with a few rare exceptions, but I don't hate them anymore. My experience of these teas is still very much a work-in-progress. I'm also beginning to explore pu'erh, both ripened and raw. That's my latest challenge! I'm still searching for the perfect fruit tea. One without hibiscus. That actually tastes of fruit.

This post was posted in Black Tea, Harney & Sons, Tea Company, Type Of Tea

White Vanilla Grapefruit from Harney & Sons

by teaequalsbliss

Leaf Type: White

Where To Buy: Harney & Sons

Company Description:

White teas enriched by vanilla and brightened by grapefruit bring forth the cleansing White Vanilla Grapefruit tea. Each refreshing brew reveals light and smooth citrus tones. The indulgent vanilla aroma, pleasantly surprising and suggestive of chocolate, engulfs the white tea in its sweet embrace. The whimsical fusion of white teas, vanilla, and fresh citrus makes for a complex yet wonderful equation.

Taster Review:

Recently I tried Harney & Sons White Vanilla Grapefruit Tea.  I have heard mixed reviews on it and wanted to try it out for myself.  I LOVE Grapefruit!  I’m not a vanilla freak but am getting to where I appreciate it more when done right – in a tea, that is.  I generally enjoy white teas and flavored whites.  So, I figured I would at least find this one acceptable.

But, I will tell you – if was more than acceptable in my book!  I actually really liked it.  The scent is pretty and delicate yet refreshing. It infuses darker than I anticipated for it being a white.

I could smell and taste both the vanilla AND the grapefruit.  This is a good flavored white if you don’t mind grapefruit or if you are one of those people who try anything with vanilla in it.  I really did find the grapefruit and vanilla partnership to be a winning combination.

You’ve heard the saying…”You don’t know unless you try”…and I’m glad that Harney and Sons did.

teaequalsbliss

Co-Founder/Co-Creator of Sororitea Sisters at Sororitea Sisters Jennifer (TeaEqualsBliss) is in her upper 30s and lives in the eastern snowbelt area of the US with her husband, 3 dogs, and cat (however the number of furkids can change at anytime as she LOVES providing a forever home for many shelter animals. Her several interests include music, movies, veganism, sports, traveling, collecting Baseball Cards and Unicorns, Radio, Computers, Crafting, and of course…TEA. She started drinking tea at the tender age of 3 thanks to her Grandmother and her love for tea has gotten stronger with each year! In addition to being a co-founder/co-creator of Sororitea Sisters - her main site is MyBlissfulJourney.com. Find out more about Jennifer on MyBlissfulJourney.com.

This post was posted in Harney & Sons, Tea Company, Type Of Tea, White Tea