So Harney’s seasonal promo came just in time; I tried a bunch of sample sizes of Steepster faves way earlier this year (March maybe?) and loved just about all of them but it’s only been lately I’ve been like “Oooh I need me some Tokyo/Boston/Florence/Tower of London/cold steeped Fruits d’Alsace” only to realize oh yeah, they were SAMPLE sized and I have none left. D: Knew I’d restock eventually but didn’t do so immediately because I had so many other teas to try first…but the time has come! I restocked my faves, was delighted to see their black tins are back in stock, and picked up lots of new stuff to sample, mainly breakfast-y black blends (How did I miss the first time that they have about a zillion?! All with neat names too…guess I was still in “exciting-sounding flavored tea” mode) as I’ve had a craving for them lately (have only recently switched to “really well done straight blended tea” mode).
I was also excited in a new way this go-round ‘cause this is the first time I’ve checked the site out and ordered after reading Michael Harney’s tea book (which was a very useful companion as I tried lots of different teas and needed a tetherline to help me map each’s place in the broader spectrum of tea around the globe). I did a good job of knocking out my to-try list of just about every major type of tea he describes (I love that he placed them in order of flavor strength too, helped a lot especially with oolongs which completely confounded me at first…I understood the different types but the way some are Taiwanese and some are Chinese and there’s overlap with the methods and names there but not entirely…well, let’s just say I was overwhelmed!), with a few straggling exceptions which I remedied this time (couldn’t find tencha easily from a source I felt confident ordering from, but H&S carries it…ditto old skool Formosa Oolong, the heavily oxidized kind that Rachel was nostalgic for…they carry every type he mentions naturally as it’s a guide for their line of teas not just tea in general).
This one had so much to live up to (there are some diehard fans on the site), and I think it does! Yay! I was very surprised how sweet this smells steeping; I could swear I smell vanilla in there but no one else mentions it in their notes so maybe I’m just hallucinating. Still…so strong, that rich sweet aroma. Sipping I’m pleased to find this is wonderfully smooth while still delivering that breakfast blend “TEA!”-flavored boldness. There’s also a wonderful subtle spiciness, nothing you can precisely put your finger on but it’s there, nice and rounded out by that smooth sweetness. At first I didn’t get any of the smokiness people keep mentioning, but then it comes out near the end of the sip and lingers—it’s a sweet smokiness that pairs perfectly with the initial vanilla aroma, not acrid at all. Delicious. I was skeptical of Harney’s ratings (they’re awesome BTW, wish more tea spots attempted to pinpoint their teas along those lines though I can understand how time consuming it’d be, and tastes vary), particularly the one that indicated very little astringency, but he’s right. Somehow you get all the classic black tea flavor but none of the astringency; it’s like a phantom where you sense the component out of remembering it tends to be inevitably linked to the other flavors, but it isn’t actually there. So this has a lot of the qualities that make me love Tower of London, the way it’s so easy-going to drink but still packs a ton of great intertwining flavors, but it feels stronger and a bit more complex, with deeper sorts of flavors. At the end you wind up with a mouthful of lingering “TEA!” taste, the sort of thing that lets you know you’ve had classic black tea and reminds you of why that’s so delicious. Satisfying and invigorating like breakfast blends should be, but also complex enough to make you dwell on all the flavors you’ve tasted like a good meal.
I’m inclined to agree with the folks who’ve mentioned Harney seems particularly good at doing breakfast-y black blends. Now I’m one of y’all and can invite Catherine over whenever I want, which pleases me to no end.
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It’s nice when something lives up to its hype!
Definitely! :D
my favorite. Just restocked last Monday
i think it’s become one of mine too. like when the black lotus is too fancy for my zombie taste buds on rushed mornings, this is gonna be my go-to. we must have similar taste in morning blends!
It’s nice when something lives up to its hype!
Definitely! :D
my favorite. Just restocked last Monday
i think it’s become one of mine too. like when the black lotus is too fancy for my zombie taste buds on rushed mornings, this is gonna be my go-to. we must have similar taste in morning blends!