Tower of London

John Harney Appreciation Tea #7

One fruity black blend leads to another—well, it did in my case! I ordered the beautiful Historic Royal Palace tin of Tower of London Blend after speaking with a customer service representative at H&S, who observed that this tea was often enjoyed by Paris fans.

Speaking of H&S customer service: their invitation to call and chat is no joke. All of the reps with whom I have spoken are eager to talk about tea, and they also know a lot about it, too!

Drinking this one now! My friend had placed a H&S order after I did so I got her to stick this on her list for me and paid her back. Just got it, YUM!

I am a HUGE fan of their ‘Paris’ tea, and this is a damn close second. Very fruity and the honey flavor is super obvious. I got the tin as pictured above, which is lovely to look at, but sachets, which doesn’t really bother me. Quick and easy!

I think Paris still maintains first place on account of the vanilla (LOVE vanilla everything), but this is really good. (Technically Vanilla Comoro would be second place, and so this would have to be third… one day I will try the Vanilla Black though)

I think I remember that someone said something about fruit cake in an earlier review… I’ve never been a fruit cake person and this isn’t cakey at all, but it’s really good. It’s got the bergamot in it, since I love Earl Greys I’ve got no beef with that! I am really enjoying this thickbodied, rich and fruity tea.

Oh, as an aside. Today I learned that the pronounciation of ‘BERGAMOT’ is way different than I’ve been saying it in my head. I’ve never actually said it out loud. Since I live in a bilingual province, to me, it’s always “Berg-a-mo”, but the girl at Davidstea earlier today pronounced it “berg-a-moTT”. I didn’t like that at all. It does not sound as fancy as how I always said it in my head. Anyway now I’m glad I’ve never had to say it out loud before. Sure beats looking silly ‘WHEW, close call!’

I just confirmed this on Dictionary.com….it definitely sounded lovelier my way. Now I have to re-teach myself how to say it! UGH!

Really though, when would anyone have ever said that word out loud in my presence before? That would have been nice. Thanks girl at Davidstea for saving me from a serious faux-pas.

Anyhow.

The Harneys make good teas! (Minus Florence, but everyone else loves that and I desperately want to)

Sipdown!! (212 – as fast as this went in, it went out)

Canada Post has tricked me today. Early in the afternoon a truck drove by but no delivery. Then I heard the postman at my door and when I opened it, he did not have my kettle which says it is out for delivery. He did, however, have a very generous sample from Josie Jade. So much for being under 200 but the teas all sound awesome and at least she sent me manageable sample sizes.

This was one of the new teas, and it is one I have been interested in trying for a while. Unfortunately it is not the flavorful cup I was expecting. To me, any fruity flavors that are supposed to be present are drowned out by bergamot. Thank you Josie Jade but this tea fell short of my expectations. I am glad I got a chance to try it though.

And, of course, bergamot is not a flavor option.

I got a tagalong of these to bring to school. The tea at my college is sad. So, so, very sad. Neglected bags of tea sit in glass jars exposed to light and with the lids off for most of the day. Typically I bring some kind of bagged tea from home that is unremarkable but at least not blech, and help myself to the hot water in the cafeteria dispenser.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is quite delicious. It’s not bitter at all, and I’m sure the pyramid tea bags help quite a bit with the flavor and quality. The best part, though, was it reminded me of being a kid and chomping on giant slices of toast liberally slathered in apricot preserves (and butter of course, don’t forget the butter). This reminded me of an Earl Grey, but with more of a “jammy” flavor.

I just realized that Terri Harplady logged this yesterday, and she also thought of toast and jelly!

The aroma of this tea is wonderfully enticing. I gave it 2.5 minutes to steep and got a wonderful rich amber liquor. Closer to brown than anything, really. Steeped, it smells super sweet, not like a china black but more like a tea that has been dosed with honey. I take my tea unswetened but enjoy naturally sweet teas so we’ll see what I think of this.

First sips are really wonderful. More honey flavor and aroma than black tea taste but I can sense it hidden underneath. I’m off my black tea kick (though they are still favorites) but this is a wonderful treat. Many thanks to Ruth for having given me this sample months ago. If I happen upon this in my tea travels I will be sure to stock up! Mmmm..

Ps – I am on my iPod so I can’t rate this but it will get a solid 85 when I am on a real computer again.

edit: as it cools, it gets less obviously sweet and the black tea flavour really develops. Very very nice.

Tastes like Earl Grey with a touch of honey, smells like a fruitcake.

I’ve only logged this once?!?

I had a sachet of this at work today; I would have made a second steeping, but then I absentmindedly thew away the sachet like a moron and I only have one left (CRYYYYYY!) This tea has grown on me A LOT. The more I drink it, the more its soft fruityness reminds me of H & S’s Paris. In fact, it seems like it’s somewhere between Paris and an Earl Grey; citrusy and maybe a bit floral, but with a tastefully done, rounded sweetness to the flavor. It is exactly the right balance of “wake up” and “comfort.”

Which I will need, because my boss is going to be out of state for the next 2.5 weeks – the longest I have ever been in charge of the store. Gulp.

Maybe I’ve had a sachet of this at work every day since my order arrived, and maybe I only have one left for tonight. And maybe I ordered a whole tin of Tower of London five minutes ago instead of waiting until payday on Wednesday because I have a problem with impulse control.

And maybe I’m bumping up my score because there is only one other tea (Paris) I have gone through so quickly and re-purchased with such reckless abandon, and I gave it 100, too.

Maybe.

Either way, between this yummy tea and the Caribe I threw in because why not? work is going to be delicious for the next month or so. No maybe about that one.

of all the samples i ordered from Harney, this one did not really stand out.
but i really think i understand tea better now, and i’m not speeding through my tastings the way i used to. these days i take more time. which is important. SO when i do decide to order from Harney again i will probably throw another sample of this in the cart and give it another whirl.
cuz a jammy and honey kissed chinese black sounds like a very good idea.

-Silk pyramid teabag.
-Teabag smells malty and of honey with a hint of fruit. Tea liquor smells malty with a faint honey aroma.
-Tea liquor is a very dark brown color.
-Slightly bitter with a flavor reminiscent of coffee. Light honey and fruit finish.
-Best with sweetener. Milk optional.
-Excellent tea. Rich, strong flavor, like coffee. Perfect as a morning tea.