Harney and Sons Paris Flavored Black Tea

 

So, I go on Reddit's /r/tea fairly often and one of the companies I see mentioned fairly often is Harney and Sons with the Paris blend being the blend I hear about the most.  I've seen some of their teas at Macy's but they are way too expensive and in bags anyway.  However, Amazon has a good selection of the loose-leaf tins and you can even buy by the pound if you like it.  Paris sounded particularly interesting because it's a blend of black currants, vanilla and bergamont.

Outsides:  This particular tea was in a 4 oz black tin, which is actually quite informative.  It tells you the caffeine level, how strong it should taste, what it really is supposed to do (relax or wake you up), so I thought that was really cool.  There's only the tin protecting the leaves.  The initial smell you get is very heavy on the berry and vanilla with an interesting tartness mixed with the sweetness.  I brewed 1.5 teaspoons on 8 oz of 95 degree Celsius water for about 4 minutes.  The brew is a darker black tea color and doesn't have as strong of a scent but is still strong.

Insides:  First off, I've tried drinking this with milk and sugar, but I prefer reducing the amount I add from 2 teaspoons to 1.5 and just drinking it plain.  There isn't a really pronounced bergamont flavor despite it being in the list of the ingredients.  Rather, it's a hint that brings a nice citrusy zest to the berry vanilla flavor that's going on.  I think this tea tastes a bit like a berry mouse or some kind of berry desert.  It's pretty naturally sweet so you can definitely drink without sugar.  The tea seems to be a blend of ceylon and is strong but not overpowering to the blend.

Tilt:  So, the tin it came in is really good quality and the label design is simple yet classy.  The tea is pretty unique and is hard to give a real food analog, but is also pretty drinkable and something that I personally reach for.  This would be nice to drink in the fall since the berry flavor is a bit reminiscent of summer but the vanilla flavor gives it a bit of extra richness that would be a bit more appropriate for this time.  I've heard people describe it as tasting like pipe tobacco, but since I don't know what it tastes like, I would still say some kind of berry desert.

Overall:  It's unique but still something you might grab for.  It's a unique bergamont blend and I'm really excited to try more from Harney and Sons.

My Rating:  Buy it!

Harney and Sons is a British tea company.

Yorkshire Breakfast Tea

As you may know, I try to not buy too many teabags because they are expensive for what you are getting and usually not the best quality.  However, I've been craving a good black tea lately and have heard great things about Yorkshire.  This box of 20 tea bags was $2 at Big Lots, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Outsides:  I have no idea what kinds of teas are going into this breakfast blend, but they're typically largely made up of Assam and this one smells like it.  I really appreciate the packaging on these.  The sachet is inside of a nice foil/cellophane packet that will keep it waterproof and the actual tea sachet is very large and gives tons of room for the tea to expand.  I was making a pot of O'Sullivan's favorite so I just used the leftover water (it's probably 98 degrees Celsius or lower) and let it steep for about 4 minutes.  The color is a rich reddish brown and it smells like a strong breakfast tea, a little citrusy and a little sweet.

Insides:  First off, this tea is incredibly smooth.  There's a bit of bitterness, but it's not really a problem since the tea itself is rather crisp and sweet.  The quality used here is good and I feel like the bag's design helped it develop a full flavor with sweet notes and more citrusy notes while not tasting as acidic as a lot of cheaper teas tend to be.  The finish is nice and smooth too, no bitter aftertaste.  I've been drinking this a lot between classes in order to pep up a bit, and it's great with sugar and cream (I'm drinking mine with honey and lime right now).

Overall:  I'm glad I bought this tea.  It's a great bagged black tea

My Rating:  Buy it!

Yorkshire Tea is a fun little English tea brand that is owned by Taylors of Harrogate.  You can probably find this at Big Lots but I've seen it at local grocery stores.

TasTEA Time: Justin Lloyd Lavender Earl Grey.

First off, sorry for not writting any posts in a month.  It's been extremely hectic between the 50 hour workweeks, getting everything ready for school (OMGOMGOMGOMG) and me esentially being quarentined from my room.  Heck, I even have a couple half-written reviews but just didn't have time or forgot or whatever.  Anyway, I'm back.  I may not be as active as I was in November but I still will try to post more often.

What:  (another) Lavender Earl Grey tea

Where:  I'm assuming England.  There is no website for this tea and the box suggests England

Why Should I Care:  It's snowing here in Pittsburgh.  It's pretty substancial too which is great because I need to have at least one good snow in the winter (A personal story:  I used to live in Meadville PA, which is farther north and close to a late, meaning they would have snow from the end of October to the beginning of April.  There would be at least three feet of snow for about 4 months of the year.  Now, I love snow but it's like having your relatives over for the holidays:  it's great to see at first but it overstays its welcome fast).  This is the time of the year where I prefer drinking the heartier teas (black and herbal tea) so it was between this and the Fiery Rooibos Chai (I swear I'm going to review that soon).  

Packaging:  IFWS.  The outside packaging is nice too and makes it look more bohemian and adventurous.  

Non-Taste Senses:  It looks like normal black tea and smells like a slightly more floral Earl Grey.

Taste:  There are two types of Earl Grey (and Chai for that matter) that I like:  relatively mild and ridiculously strong.  This falls into the former category.  It's fresh and the spicy part does tingle your mouth a little, but i don't feel the need to add milk or sugar.  The tea itself is decent quality, not bitter but not strong either.  Like I said, I don't think this would really hold up well with milk, but I don't think it would completely fall flat either.

Overall:  I like it more than the Revolution one.  I mean, it's drinkable and the other one...wasn't.  I think there are better Earl Grey teas out there but this one was cheap and it's organic.  If you get this for a gift-basket, you won't be disappointed by the extras.  

My Rating:  Pass.  It's good, but there are better brands out there.  I really have not found an official website for this so just try your luck Googling it.  

TasTEA Time! Twinnings Herbal Revive Blackcurrant Vanilla

What:  Something that sounds really delicious

Where:  Britain/England

Why Should I Care:  I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty excited when I saw this tea.  Even though Berry Vanilla type things are fairly common, it's hard finding tea with that flavor combination and Blackcurrant is pretty much the perfect match with Vanilla.  Plus Twinnings is generally pretty good at combining flavors so my hopes are high.  Oh, and it has Ginseng too meaning it's a nice alternative to coffee in the morning.

Packaging:  IFWS

Non-Taste Senses:  The tea is this reddish pink color that most hibiscus teas are.  It smells nice, like berries and herbs.

Taste:  I think this would work a lot better as a black or oolong tea, the herbal tea is almost a little bit too busy. It's not bad, you get a hit of berry and the orange peel gives a little bit of spice.  The thing is, the blackcurrant and vanilla isn't in the forefront.  That being said, it's nice with sugar.  This probably wouldn't make a good iced tea.

Overall:  It's not a bad herbal tea and it's definatly worth getting if it's cheap, but be warned that the blackcurrant and vanilla aren't the only flavors in there.  This is on the lower end of try for me.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site.

TasTEA Time! Twinnings Herbal Revive

My assistant is back from catching mice and chasing tail.

What:  Not a tea in the typical sense, but a blend of ginger, lemon and other herbs

Where:  England/Britain

Why Should I Care:  Today, I went to this Indian buffet called India Garden in Oakland (if you live in Pittsburgh, you probably know about it since it's walking distance from the University of Pittsburgh).  It was delicious, but I ate way too much and now my stomach hurts.  What are the best herbs for a tummy ache?  Ginger and Mint.  You can actually get powdered Ginger drink from any Asian-type store (this includes Indian markets) but I like this because it's generally a lot cheaper (and possibly tastier) to get ginger tea than plain ginger drink.

Packaging:  Good for the go, individually foil-wrapped tea sachets.

Non-taste Senses:  I held the cup differently to accentuate how opaque the liquid is.  It's also this weird light-yellow color that I haven't seen before with "tea".  It smells strongly of lemon and ginger.

Taste:  Nice and spicy!  It's definatly strong and the addition of lemon adds a nice touch of citrus to break up that ginger.  I don't think someone could honestly drink this at a meal, but if you like ginger then you will love this.  It's nice with sugar and if you're going to drink it, you should drink it warm.

Overall:  It's not a typical tea but if you're looking for a ginger experience, check this out.  If you don't like ginger or lemon, I don't know why you'd want to drink this.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's Twinning's site again and you're right, I DO deserve a better cup of tea.  We ALL deserve a better cup of tea.

TasTEA Time! Twinings Pure Peppermint

What:  A Peppermint drink

Where:  England/Britain

Why Should I Care:  Mint tea is that go-to drink when you're sick.  It's great for soothing stomach aches, numbs your throat a bit and opens up your airways.  Mint's also nice for freshening your breath and just being pretty tasty.  Twinings Pure Peppermint is nothing but peppermint (no tea, nothing) so I figured I'd get some because it's nice to have some mint tea on hand.

Packaging:  All the sachets are individually wrapped and you can order a variety of sizes.

Non-Taste Senses:  I like the amber color and as expected, it smells minty.

Taste:  I'm not sick now but if I was, this would be fantastic.  It's strong, minty and because it doesn't have tea, it isn't bitter.  The sensation of coldness is rather invigorating plus the natural sweetness of mint comes through.  I think that if you really love mint then you could easily drink this as a cold drink or add some honey and lemon for an even better experience.

Overall:  If you like mint, you'll like this.  If you don't, you really should still get this for when you get sick.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here

tasTEA Time! Heath and Heather Night Time Tea

Sorry about the crushed box.  

What:  A tea that (naturally) helps you fall asleep

Where:  England/Britain

Why Should I Care:  We all adjust our diets in order to achieve certain moods.  We drink coffee to get energy, we eat meat to feel full, and we drink things like chamomile tea to relax us.  The thing is, I don't like chamomile.  I'm not completely against it but it's just...eah!  This tea is a nice blend of herbs so if you're not crazy about chamomile but stupid over spearmint, you can also rest easy.  Heath and Heather is a strictly herbal brand that specializes in making tea that promotes wellness and gives you the mood/energy you want.

Packaging:  I got the 50c which was tucked away in a foil bag within the big cardboard box.  The sachets are in paired disks within the foil bag.  It's honestly pretty meh.  The herbs pictured on the front are nice, though.

Non-taste Senses:  Chamomile is yellow in color so it's not surprising that this tea is a lovely golden color that's halfway between green tea and ceylon tea.  Also there is much rejoicing that it smells like spearmint.  Oh, there's some chamomile in there too but spearmint completely dominates.

Taste:  This is pretty much a light mint tea.  I tasted the chamomile in there but that was more of an afterthought than an initial taste.  The thing is, I don't think most people would use this as an iced tea or something meant as a delicious experience.  This particular animal of herbal tea is meant to relax your body and mind to the point of you being able to fall asleep better.  Does it work?  Yeah, I feel relaxed.  It's kind of an added bonus that it really tastes pretty good, especially compared to a couple of the other herbal teas that do the same thing.  It's fine with sugar so it's really all up to your preference.

Overall:  It's honestly a little tough grading this.  It does its job if we're talking about helping relax someone and if you like mint, then the taste is fine.  On the other hand, this isn't something you can sit down and drink with dinner.  I think it's all up to preference and if you're a normal human being that isn't overly sensitive or unhindered by herbs, try it out if you need to sleep.

My Rating:  Try it (or if you need something to help you relax, Buy it)!  I really want to try some of their other flavors (Nettle or Lavender).

TasTEA Time! Twinnings Chai

What:  Chai Tea from one of the most well known tea companies in the world.

Where:  England

Why should I care:  It's starting to get chilly and to me, nothing beats the chills quite like chai tea.  Chai Lattes are one of my favorite drinks but it can be hard finding a ready-made chai tea that is flavorful enough to withstand the barrage of half-and-half and sugar I throw at it.   Twinnings is generally a good brand, has strong flavors and is widely available.

Packaging:  Each sachet is individually foil-wrapped which is awesome because you want your chai tea to be as fresh as possible for as long as possible.  It also has a nice little dispenser box for if you're a food service person who likes to display their tea.

Non-Taste Senses:  The tea is your typical black tea color.  It smells really spicy though.

And then I added Half-and-half and spices on  top.  If you have access to a milk foamer, USE IT!!!!

Taste:  The thing about chai is that it really doesn't matter how it tastes until you add milk so I tried it both ways.  Without milk, I honestly couldn't drink it because of how spicy it was.  With milk, it still hold up.  There's actually a tingle on my tongue from the spices.  I don't think it's strong enough to make a chai milkshake to, but this is good for those chilly days when you need something warm and comforting.

Overall:  Honestly, if you want good, strong, spicy chai tea then you should just make it yourself using whatever spices you want and black tea (time to make a recipe!).  However, not all of us have the time or the need to buy cardamon  Twinnings Chai is good for when you need chai in a pinch and is a great fall beverage drunk with a bit of milk/creamer/soymilk/half-and-half/whatever.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the Chai page (If anyone really loves me, you should send me some of the other flavors preferably pumkin spice.  One or two bags would be nice).

TasTEA Time! Ty-Phoo Black Tea

What:  A Truly British tea.  Strong, black, and probably should be drunk with a bunch of sugar and milk

Where:  Jolly ol' England

Why should I care:  What really caught my eye wasn't actually on the box but on a website.  Ty-phoo tea was developed to aid digestion and ease stomach ailments and is made a bit different by using parts of the tea leaf instead of the whole one.  Ty-phoo actually translates to doctor in Chinese and all the brands under its name are meant for your health.

Packaging:  I wasn't surprised that the tea itself wasn't individually wrapped but i was surprised that there were two separate foil-wrapped bags containing 40 sachets each.  It's not much, but it means a lot when a company at least attempts to make it so the tea won't lose flavor within two months of opening the box.  Plus, I got the 80 count box and being able to split it up so your tea corner doesn't turn into a tea-disaster is pretty pleasant.  It would be better if the sachets were individually wrapped, but for the price I paid for it, you can't ask for much.

Non-taste senses:  The color is really dark and kinda murky.  There isn't much of a smell past black tea.

Taste:  The tea itself has a strong flavor.  Like most black teas, it is a little bitter but that taste seems to pull back before it hits you and the bitterness isn't as bad as some of the more generic brands.  You also can really taste that they didn't add any chemicals and used a slightly higher quality tea that what you're paying for.  It's a decent iced tea and takes sugar and milk really well.   This isn't for people who dislike strong black tea but it's versatile and better than your generic brands.

Overall:  When I was looking online for info, I saw the 80c box for as low as 5 bucks.  That's cheap especially for something that really is above average quality wise.  If you don't like it hot, serve it cold.  If you don't like it plain, put some sugar, milk, or (if you're really feeling daring) Torani Sugar Free Vanilla syrup.  It's a breakfast tea so it would go great with pastries, jam and bread, and things that are sweet.

My Rating: Buy it!  Here's a place.