Paris

So with my last Harney order, I ordered their K-cup style Paris and Earl Grey Supreme to take to my parents house. My parents don’t have a decent way to make tea at their house, but they do have a Keurig. I used to carry a large box of tea making supplies and teas with me, but had finally just settled into drinking Keurig style Twinnings Earl Grey, or coffee.

So I thought I would give these a try. The Paris k-cups are fairly decent. Of course, not as good as a loose leaf brewed with appropriate parameters, but it will do, and it is better than what I was drinking before. The Earl Grey Supreme was also pretty good. They both had that tinge of coffee flavour as that is what the Keurig is mostly used for.

I think Harney did a good job creating these k-cups as the flavours are pretty decent and very similar to the loose leaf versions, but I think after these boxes are done, I will just stick with the cheapy cheapy teas, as it is not worth the price, in my opinion.

I also asked my parents to hide this tea so that no one else would drink it up before I visited again. Hehe.

I think it strange that some of the teas that I love the most, I hardly ever review.
I think it overwhelms me of what to say.
Oh, Paris, you are one grand lady!
This tea just envelopes me.
I adore it.
Its a lovely blend of vanilla, notes of caramel and a sultry bergamot.
There is a tinge of sweet berry like fruits in amongst the tea as well.
Scent is divine and so is the taste.
I order this by the largest tin and am considering ordering it by the pound.
It is strange, although I absolutely adore this tea, sometimes I go weeks without drinking it.
I feel as if it should only be drank for special occasions.
But, even when I am not drinking it, just the fact that it is in my cupboard where I can open the tin and take a whiff whenever I want, brings comfort to me.
This morning I am throwing caution to the wind and drinking a pot of this,just because its Monday.
If I start the week with this tea, how can it be anything but a lovely week, right?

Made two mugs of this for me and my mother, except that I couldn’t even take a sip of mine. I was reduced mostly to a small amount of gingerale at a time with a drool-cloth held below my chin. So my tea went completely cold. I microwaved it (I hate microwaving tea, it gives it a funny taste), and have been sipping it now. Slowly. Just because I’ve got a little more feeling back and it’s easier to handle now.

See, I just got all four wisdom teeth out. I’ve got a mug of tea and a mug of chicken noodle soup. The soup is still very hot (although I can’t tell when I drink it due to numbness) so I’m letting it sit until it seems cool enough to drink. Until then, mmm Paris tea. It still tastes delicious even through the numbness and the taste of blood and gauze. Isn’t that a pleasant image? I think it is.

My tin of bags is almost out too, aaaah. I need to pop over to Chapters and pick up another tin. If they aren’t sold out. They sell out quickly. If only Chapters sold loose-leaf tea to go with all their loose-leaf tea accessories, but no. They sell loose-leaf tea accessories, and only bagged teas.

This is a fantastic tea. The Harney & Sons store site says this tea contains black currant, vanilla, bergamot, and caramel. I get different notes each time I have this tea. I guess it depends on the steeping time and the temp of the water. I always have this tea in my cupboard. The smell is like vanilla caramels over fruit. The taste is mellow and leaves a dry fruity taste in my mouth. No bitterness or astringency, just a delicious cup of tea.

I think my taste buds are a bit off today. While I really enjoyed this flavor, I kept getting an after taste of hotdogs. Obviously something weird is going on with me. Unless somebody is secretly putting hotdogs in my tea stash :( I also accidentally let this steep a minute longer than I had intended and I could taste some bitterness coming out, especially as it cooled. However, as I said, the tea itself was great.

As mentioned this morning, it’s a special occasion day for me. I have resolved myself to ONLY do things today which are fun. Logging a new tea for the first time is fun and lucky for me, I have a huge supply of those.

I am also resolved, as you may have guessed from the Aijiao, to only have awesome teas today, which made finding an untried one rather challenging. Eventually I found this one in the basket and was drawn in by the ‘fruit and caramel’ description. It seemed just the thing, so if it’s not awesome now the entire day-plan will be in shambles.

No pressure, then.

So, currant, caramel and citrus. Bergamot, in this case, if I’m not mistaken. Yes, it smells like all three. The caramel makes the aroma feel all thick and gooey, while the fruit, both kinds, adds freshness to it and sweetness that isn’t just sugar. It smells very much like sweets. I’m trying to pick up some actual tea aroma as well, but I’m not having much luck. It’s not overwhelmed completely by the additives, but it’s sufficiently camouflaged that I can’t tell anything about it.

Yes, that is definitely bergamot. And caramel. What a bizarre combination, really. I know Kusmi utilises it as well in their St Petersbourg blend, but it still strikes me as odd. And yet, somehow, it just works.

The bergamot is in the forefront here, which is something I tend to have a problem with. Bergamot has this old, dusty and somewhat perfumed flavour that I’m not generally that fond off, but the addition of caramel seems to keep the worst of that in check and makes it bearable.

And then on the next sip, it’s changed completely. Now there’s a ton of berries, pushing the bergamot towards the back of the flavour. I can only imagine that this is caused by the tea having cooled slightly in between these two sips and the berry flavour has been allowed to develop properly.

The caramel isn’t very clear in the flavour. There’s a lingering sweet aftertaste that reminds me of the first time I had fudge caramels (this is not common in Denmark. Are caramels tends to be extremely chewy. Watch your tooth fillings! You can find fudge like caramels, but the other sort is far more common) that the boyfriend had brought home from England. It’s creamy and seems to put a very very thin layer of aftertaste on the tongue, much the same way as that fudge did.

I’m still not sure I can really pick anything up about the base tea. The flavour that I think I’m getting makes me lean towards Ceylon, but I can’t tell if that’s not just the bergamot notes playing tricks on me.

As mentioned, I’m quite reminded of Kusmi’s St Petersbourg here, which I quite enjoyed. I can’t say if this one is worse or better or the same, really. It’s been too long since I had St Petersbourg, and the choice of fruit in the blends vary a little as well.

Quite nice. I could have lived without the bergamot and just had the berry and caramel, but you can’t have everything.

Thanks to SimplyJenW, I was able to give this a try today. It is appropriate to me that a tea named for the city of light lights would be bright and clear. I have been wanting to try this and compare to Tower of London, a new favorite, and there are some things they share yet still have personalities of their own. The fruit seems to me to be a little more forward in Paris, the black tea base is the same in both I suppose. The honey in TOL overpowers the other flavors. (not a problem with me, mind you) but Paris is a little lighter and more subtle. I think some have called this “Tower Light” and that is my take as well. While writing this it is cooling a little and the caramel notes are coming through. They were hidden when it was first steeped. All considered, I really like this, find it a close relative of TOL, and yet ANOTHER Harney & Sons Tea I enjoy.

No meh for me ya’ll :)

My boyfriend made me a cup this afternoon, though we shared the sachet so it wasn’t steeped for very long. Oh well, it’s still a happy cup of tea. :)

I can’t believe that I haven’t rated this one yet. It’s one of my favorites! The dry leaves smell like sweet black currant and bergamot, and the tea liquor aroma is of fruit and sweet caramel. The flavor is malty with caramel and vanilla notes. There is a light, sweet black currant aftertaste. I could drink this tea all day long, and sometimes I go through phases where I will start every day with a cup of this tea. I like that you can taste the black tea base and the pops of fruitiness and sweet caramel and vanilla. It’s a perfect cup of tea to me!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs.
-Dry leaves smell strongly of sweet black currant and bergamot. Tea liquor aroma is of fruit and sweet caramel.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark brown color.
-Malty caramel and vanilla flavor and finish. Light sweet black currant aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Excellent tea. A perfect balance of flavors.

Blasting Skyrim music and playing with power tools. While sipping tea of course.