985 Tasting Notes
Yayyy! My first taste of Tower of London loose leaf. Thank you to the Harney Millerton Shop for getting this in stock for me, so I did not have to buy a whole pound!
Berry and honey notes with a rich black tea base. What more could I ask for? I definitely like the loose over the sachets. Not as convenient, but I like having control over the amount of leaf. 2 level tsp. of tea in an infuser, 16 oz freshly boiled water in my jumbo mug, 4 minutes.
Preparation
My evening cuppa, and the main reason I wanted to go to the Harney shop in Soho several weeks ago. I finally got my hands on some of this tea in loose leaf! (Without having to buy an entire pound!) This is probably my second favorite decaf black tea, with Vanilla Comoro in the lead. Now that I know I can purchase loose leaf of these two in smaller amounts than an entire pound, I am ecstatic. 4 ounces at a time for this variety is sufficient, and a half pound of Vanilla Comoro will hold me for quite a while.
I did find it needs to be light on leaf and have a short steep, but I am pretty sure that is mostly due to the base being decaf. And I have had this at least three times since my trip to Soho, but I guess I didn’t have much more to say about it until now….. Yum!
Preparation
Another add on to my Millerton Shop order…..I was intrigued by the honey flavoring in Tower of London (yes, I got a half pound of it!), so I thought I had better try this one.
The smell of honey is wonderful in the dry tea…..but I am sure I was not quite prepared for the light bite of the Assam in the tea base. It is a good tea, but I am thinking it needs to be a morning tea for me, or maybe iced. The Assam is not overpowering, but I can definitely taste it. It did mellow significantly with the second brewing, and I rather enjoyed that cup. I am currently thinking this is not a repurchase for me, as I tend to lean more toward smoother teas, and there are so many options. I will play around a little with steep times and see if that makes a difference.
Preparation
I am envious, I want to go to the Millerton shop… :)
I want to go there, too. (And I could if I could convince the hubster to drive 45 minutes out of our way on a long trip to Boston…but he’d rather pay for shipping!) I just emailed them an order, we settled up with a CC by phone, and they shipped it. [email protected] I imagine you could call, too.
I was confused…oops. Must be the heat down here.
I will do that. Insider trading like? :)
It was funny how it all came about. I was emailing through the website asking questions about what was availble loose at the shop, because I did want to stop on our Boston trip. They forwarded my message to the shop, and the shop said they could also ship. $4.50 for up to $25, $5.50 for up to $50, $6.50 for up to $125 and free after that. It is cool because their ounce price is based on the lb price on the website.
This will change things for me too, makes it much more cost effective.
Yesterday I got an order from the Harney & Son’s Millerton Shop….. I added a few ounces (they have a 2 ounce minimum) of this on to my order and I am not disappointed. I have been on the search for a good blueberry tea that is readily available, but I am thinking this tea works well for my berry flavored tea. The tea base is rich (which is usually what dissappoints me in most flavored teas) and complements this black currant flavoring well. I have no idea what real black currants taste like, so I can’t say if it tastes like it should. I just know really I like it!
Packaging from the shop is in foil lined zip bags that have a brown kraft paper outside. Everything was well packed. They enclosed a hand written note which was a nice touch, and from looking at my receipt, it looks like they have some kind of frequent buyer program at the shop. (I have 68 more points to go! Whatever that means… :) ) I do like getting a few ounces to try rather than just a few cups like on the website. And for some teas, the cost is similar. I think this one was $2.46 for 2 ounces, rather than the $2 on the website for 4-5 cups worth. (It is also really cool that the return address on the box has Brigitte’s own name…..as you are getting a package from Brigitte Harney herself!)
Preparation
I MUST place an order with them! As for the points – for every dollar you spend you get one point. When you get one hundred points (spend $100) you can redeem your point for $5 off your next purchase. You can save up your points, too. I have received….and used!….about $25 worth of points in a year and a half, but I place orders for three people on my account which makes it add up!
It looks like the website is a little different….there I get one point for every $100 spent, and each point is redeemable for $5 off. The shop and the website look to be separate for points, but maybe I will have to ask next time….
I had a sample of this a while back. Good stuff.
I didn’t realize about the points! I went and looked at my account and I have a point – meaning $5 off! Horray! I will redeem it when I do my Fall order!
My evening cuppa, curled up with a good book. I probably have about one cup left, but this is definitely something I will buy again from a different vendor once the tea cupboard calls for more vanilla rooibos (this currently requires drinking two small tins of something similar first, though….).
Preparation
Trying this one iced today…….yep, pretty good. I am thinking I would like something a little bit smoother, but it is good to know this one works well for me as an iced tea….refreshing without additions.
5 tsp in 40 oz teapot, brewed for 4 minutes. cooled to room temp and put in the refrigerator. At some point I need to try the cold brew method!
My morning tea…….after drinking my morning coffee! My family is so relieved I will be in a better mood today!
Something about the Queen just gets you going in the morning. It is a great anytime of the day blend, though. How many times have I said something similar?
Preparation
The first of several teas in a wonderful swap with Uniquity. Thank you! This was my tea of distraction this morning to make me forget my coffee! I was interested to find this tea was an Assam as yesterday I was looking for an Assam to try to see if that was where the punch in my usual breakfast blend originated. Bingo! This tea definitely answered my question.
Onto this tea itself. I did rather enjoy this. It packs a little more punch than I am used to. For the first several minutes, the cup was smooth and earthy (but no where near that of puerh!), maltey and slightly smokey. As the cup sat (yes, I may have to start brewing certain teas in smaller amounts than 16 oz.) it got more bitter and astringent with time. I am pretty sure Assam is not my favorite, but I do see where it fits into my choice for a breakfast tea blend. At some point, I will try a few more, but I am pretty confident that I have at least an idea of the flavor profile for Assam tea.
Preparation
I completely forgot to drink my coffee this morning. I was trying a sample I received in a swap early this morning and completely forgot my coffee. My single, lonely, necessary cup of coffee. Needless to say, I have had a caffeine headache all day, and it finally dawned on me where that headache came from…at 8:30 pm at night. Yes, life is getting a little too hectic. Time to slow down and ‘smell the roses’.
Anyway, since it is now around 9pm at night, and a light amount of caffeine will likely help, I settled on this choice as it has a white tea base. This one is pretty amped up as far as the blueberry notes, and the hibiscus from the Berry Blues is strong enough to taste and see, and definitely strong enough to add a little bit of sour with the sweetness of the blueberries. When the tea is prepared hot, the white tea base really does not come into play much, as I think the hibiscus might be just a little too intense. I may change the ratio slightly next time, but it really is quite refreshing iced just the way it is.
4 tsp in my jumbo mug with 16 oz water.
