drank Black Currant by Harney & Sons
109 tasting notes

Wow, so I found a second coffee shop in town that carries Harney & Sons tea!

Unfortunately, only in bags. I wonder if H&S sells the teas to shops as a package because it looked like the exact same list I saw at the other coffee shop. I was hoping to try their Golden Monkey, but I guess they think it’s too expensive for people to buy-or because they sell their teas in one price package to shops and it’s too expensive for Harney to include it. The choices are mostly not interesting, but Black Currant was new, so I tried that.

It’s really hard to give a number rating because they put in just one bag for a 12 ounce cup, which is a little watered down from what I’d have at home (8-10 ounces in a cup). I don’t think that I’ve ever had a black currant tea, so I was mystified as why the black currant taste in the tea was so familiar. Eventually, I figured it out-they must put the black currant flavoring in their Paris tea! I don’t know if that’s well-known or not. When I got home, I opened up my Paris and took a whiff-definitely some blackcurrant in there. Anyhow, this tea is okay. I’d be willing to buy a sample from Harney’s to make at home under controlled conditions, but I won’t buy it again at a shop where their cup sizes are too big and they dilute the bags. Maybe they could just sell me a bag to take home? It was only $1.75. We’ll see. I’m not exactly excited enough about this to run out and do it. Maybe next time I’m out that way.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Alphakitty

One of my local grocery stores carries H&S teas, but just bagged in the pretty colored tins. I think loose-leaf is online/in-store only. And yes, blackcurrant is the flavor in Paris!

Scott B

I’m not sure how it all works. There’s a tea shop near where my parents live that sells Harney loose-but it’s just a shop, not a place to drink tea. I’ve never been fortunate enough to find it in a grocery store near me-just these two coffee shops. I’ve never even had a Harney tin.

Yeah, I was really surprised when I started thinking Paris! I thought that many earlier reviews of Paris were unsure what made it so distinctive. Berries and citrus usually work pretty well.

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Alphakitty

One of my local grocery stores carries H&S teas, but just bagged in the pretty colored tins. I think loose-leaf is online/in-store only. And yes, blackcurrant is the flavor in Paris!

Scott B

I’m not sure how it all works. There’s a tea shop near where my parents live that sells Harney loose-but it’s just a shop, not a place to drink tea. I’ve never been fortunate enough to find it in a grocery store near me-just these two coffee shops. I’ve never even had a Harney tin.

Yeah, I was really surprised when I started thinking Paris! I thought that many earlier reviews of Paris were unsure what made it so distinctive. Berries and citrus usually work pretty well.

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Bio

Started drinking tea for health benefits maybe 5 years ago-exclusively bagged tea. Usually went for various Celestial Seasonings type of stuff. I bought a tea infuser at a gourmet shop once and then I realized there was almost no loose tea available. Eventually tiring of bags, I started ordering loose tea online and I have never gone back. Initially, I was exploring all the wild and exotic flavor combinations, but now I mostly drink straight teas. I still enjoy blended teas-but prefer those without “flavoring”. Hope to learn here and find some new teas I might not otherwise find. Am a vegan, so “milk” generally means “soymilk” to me. If it’s almond, rice, or coconut, I will mention that fact.

I am new here, and new to reviewing tea. Many of my initial reviews will be from memory and may not be very detailed at all. I hope to write more informative reviews on current and future teas.

I won’t let external factors affect my rating of the tea-such as slow shipping, too expensive, etc. I’ll mention any customer service problems in my reviews. I also won’t let my mistakes in not following the seller’s recommended parameters affect a rating. I can’t believe people who say “I forgot about it and oversteeped it” and then give it a rating. If I brew outside the parameters, I will wait until I brew it right before I give it a rating.

TEMPORARY RATING SYSTEM- Don’t hold me to these numbers and descriptions-like George Bluth, I like to tweak.

90+ It’s awesome, right?? I’ll probably try to keep it on hand.

80-89 – I really like this and will buy it again at some point, but there are so many teas to try!

70-79 – This is a pretty good tea and I may buy it again based on my mood, what tea store I am buying from, and what kind of deal I can get.

60-69 – This is okay. I finished the bag. I would drink it again if offered, but would not buy it again.

40-59 – IF I finished the bag, I recall this tea thinking “Why in the hell did I finish the bag?”

1-39 – Did not finish the bag. Maybe not even the cup. Tea was given away or discarded.

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