GOOD GOD IS THIS LAVENDER.
Holy… what the… oh em gee.
First off, my hat’s off to Harney for the sheer beauty of this. The lavender blossoms are an absolute joy to look at. Seriously. The prettiest tea I’ve laid eyes on. They feel silky and petal-like, as if they were just plucked. A gorgeous, violet color. And the smell… it’s so in-your-face lavender that it’s almost spicy and pungent. I used a scant teaspoon for fear of my life.
So I steeped this one up, expecting the water to turn a brilliant lavender-blue, as shown on Harney’s website. Blue is my absolute favorite color. Instead, sadly enough, the tea remained very, very clear. Only when I poured it into my porcelain mug did I see that the clear-looking water was actually tinted purple. Hilarious-looking. And smelling ridiculously of lavender.
Don’t think this is some dainty, lady-like tea. It seems like it at first glance. You’d picture this tea as a beautifully dressed Victorian woman, nibbling on crumpets and flouncing around the town square. Well, if you thought that, YOU’RE WRONG.
This is STRONG. This is so strong it’s practically manly. It could probably drag freight trains by its teeth alone. So fearsome that it would guzzle Everclear – straight. And wear a lumberjack shirt. And possibly appear in Inglorious Basterds. It’d best Rocky in a fight. It farts in bacon and beer’s face. That brawny. The lavender gives you a one-two punch of spicy floral insanity. This lavender means business. Serious business.
I mean, for as clear as it looks, it’s just lavender. Very, very lavender. The spicy, heady beginning fades into a taste that’s akin to… lavender bath products. And then that fades into an overall very sweet floral note. We’re talking chamomile sweet here.
I’m so fascinated by it. I keep taking sips and mentally going “WOAH” and then shaking my head, trying to clear the taste out of my mouth. It’s almost peppery at points. It’s intense.
I have no idea where to go with the rest of the review. This tea is ridiculous. I doubt I could ever stomach another cup again, but if I decide to get in the ring with this beast again, I know for sure that it’ll win.
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Manly lavender? Interesting. I love jasmine and rose when I never thought I would, but I don’t think I’m sold on lavender yet.
That is…completely bizarre. I mean, I like lavender, but do I really want it that intense, in a cup of tea? …I’m not sure. I can’t even imagine what that would be like.
I want a cup! =]
I do not like lavender flavored or scented ANYTHING…but this tea looks so pretty. I was laughing out loud reading this at my cube. :) This is a review you will NEVER see on H&S’s website or catalog. HAHA! Especially the farting in bacon and beer’s face! LOL! Holy crap, dude.
I feel like this would burn my nose or something.
After a review like this, who doesn’t want to try it? Keywords >> Purple, Strong, Fascinated, Ridiculous That sounds amazing! =]
Great idea Ricky.
Keyword reactions? I know! A few words to summarize a tea. For the quick casual reader =P
Hahahahaha. Those are pretty good keywords, Ricky!
I’m glad I could make you laugh, Lena! It was that insane. I was giggling through what I drank of the cup. And through most of my review.
Samantha, this almost did. It was pretty crazy, honestly.
sophistre, yeah, it was like… FLOWER POWER.
I cannot breathe from laughing so hard at this review!
(And of course now I have to buy it)
(Very) late to the party here; as a fan of lavender, the scent, and lavender, the occasional ingredient in the great carousel of dessert, I was curious about purchasing this tea, and so I looked it up on Steepster, and, lo, I found your review, which may be the most amusing tea review I’ve ever read, and so madam, I doff my hat to thee.
Please excuse my long, 1800s-inspired sentence. :)
Similar to ambientqueenie I was looking at this tea to buy it…then I read your review. Congratulations, the first time I actually laughed out loud at a review. I need to go see your other tea reviews now haha. I might still consider buying this though, just for fun.
Your review was awesome…. it gave me giggles. I know have an image of a personified lavender man who is overly muscular going around asking people if they even lift….
Oh man, this was one of the funniest reviews I’ve read of anything, ever! Having actually tried it out of curiosity after reading this, I actually didn’t find it that strong, I might not have used enough lavender. It definitely is an odd kind of herbal taste going on though, like really weird floral mint. And it puts me right to sleep, like insta-nap, more than chamomile ever could. You mentioned that it was similar to chamomile, maybe there’s something to that? :P
Manly lavender? Interesting. I love jasmine and rose when I never thought I would, but I don’t think I’m sold on lavender yet.
That is…completely bizarre. I mean, I like lavender, but do I really want it that intense, in a cup of tea? …I’m not sure. I can’t even imagine what that would be like.
I want a cup! =]
I do not like lavender flavored or scented ANYTHING…but this tea looks so pretty. I was laughing out loud reading this at my cube. :) This is a review you will NEVER see on H&S’s website or catalog. HAHA! Especially the farting in bacon and beer’s face! LOL! Holy crap, dude.
I feel like this would burn my nose or something.
After a review like this, who doesn’t want to try it? Keywords >> Purple, Strong, Fascinated, Ridiculous That sounds amazing! =]
Great idea Ricky.
Keyword reactions? I know! A few words to summarize a tea. For the quick casual reader =P
Hahahahaha. Those are pretty good keywords, Ricky!
I’m glad I could make you laugh, Lena! It was that insane. I was giggling through what I drank of the cup. And through most of my review.
Samantha, this almost did. It was pretty crazy, honestly.
sophistre, yeah, it was like… FLOWER POWER.
I cannot breathe from laughing so hard at this review!
(And of course now I have to buy it)
(Very) late to the party here; as a fan of lavender, the scent, and lavender, the occasional ingredient in the great carousel of dessert, I was curious about purchasing this tea, and so I looked it up on Steepster, and, lo, I found your review, which may be the most amusing tea review I’ve ever read, and so madam, I doff my hat to thee.
Please excuse my long, 1800s-inspired sentence. :)
Similar to ambientqueenie I was looking at this tea to buy it…then I read your review. Congratulations, the first time I actually laughed out loud at a review. I need to go see your other tea reviews now haha. I might still consider buying this though, just for fun.
Your review was awesome…. it gave me giggles. I know have an image of a personified lavender man who is overly muscular going around asking people if they even lift….
Oh man, this was one of the funniest reviews I’ve read of anything, ever! Having actually tried it out of curiosity after reading this, I actually didn’t find it that strong, I might not have used enough lavender. It definitely is an odd kind of herbal taste going on though, like really weird floral mint. And it puts me right to sleep, like insta-nap, more than chamomile ever could. You mentioned that it was similar to chamomile, maybe there’s something to that? :P