Sally's Secret

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Bergamot, Earl Grey, Rose
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Jason
Average preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec 5 g 11 oz / 315 ml

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28 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I am trying to accomplish some more sip downs, especially of older teas. I do not list my samples in my cupboard, so what you see does not include the three boxes of samples that are lying...” Read full tasting note
  • “I love the aroma this tea produces while steeping. It smells like walking into a high end spa. The rose is fragrant and mixes nicely with the bergamot. The bergamot surprisingly doesn’t take on...” Read full tasting note
    78
  • “Yay! Harney and Sons samples came in today! I think at this point I have hyped Florence up so much in my head that there is no way that it can ever live up to it, so I’m putting off trying it for...” Read full tasting note
    67
  • “I love Harney’s earl grey, and I LOVE roses in my tea, but in this case they kind of cancel each other out. I prefer just the earl grey or just the rose scented (ooooh), but it’s still nice.” Read full tasting note

From Harney & Sons

Sally’s Secret is our celebration of life, love and fine tea. We present this aromatic blend in memory of our co-worker Sally, whose expert blending, steady friendship and love of all things pink we miss each day. Enjoy a cup of this lovely blend of our Earl Grey and pink rosebuds with a friend.

About Harney & Sons View company

Since 1983 Harney & Sons has been the source for fine teas. We travel the globe to find the best teas and accept only the exceptional. We put our years of experience to work to bring you the best Single-Estate teas, and blends beyond compare.

28 Tasting Notes

3224 tasting notes

I am trying to accomplish some more sip downs, especially of older teas. I do not list my samples in my cupboard, so what you see does not include the three boxes of samples that are lying about.

This seemed a good one to use today for one last cuppa hot, and then ice the rest.

I maintain my earlier statements about this tea. This is not the same base as Harney’s Rose Scented, which is my favorite rose tea, but rather this is more like Upton’s Rose Congou with a hint of bergamot added. Good stuff, a little more gutsy than Rose Scented, and with a little more morning “Oomph.”

MsWhatsit

Sounds nice.

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78
558 tasting notes

I love the aroma this tea produces while steeping. It smells like walking into a high end spa. The rose is fragrant and mixes nicely with the bergamot. The bergamot surprisingly doesn’t take on any over the top floral notes, it plays nicely in the background. The rose is a beautiful rose. I enjoy sipping on rose teas when I need a nice relaxing “me” break. This tea definitely provides that relaxing metaphorical sigh of relief my body needs. Ahhhhh.

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

I had a sample of this in my cart on Harney and Sons. Based on this review I am now changing that to a tin!

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67
382 tasting notes

Yay! Harney and Sons samples came in today! I think at this point I have hyped Florence up so much in my head that there is no way that it can ever live up to it, so I’m putting off trying it for now. (maybe later on today, although I have to admit, ever since figuring out how to properly make 52 teas’ coconut cream pie, I’ve been kind of craving it)

The idea of adding rosebuds to Earl Gray appeals to me a great deal, it seems that, like with Earl Grey Blue Flower, it would add another dimension to the Earl Gray that would allow me to indulge in my favorite tea but with some variation. Now I associate rose with a pretty strong scent and flavor, but this tea seems to be lacking both. Perhaps it’s just that I’m eating curry and this tea is too delicate for it, but I am not really getting ANYTHING out of it except an odd spiciness.

As it cools, I start to get both aroma and flavor, so perhaps I was just being too impatient. At the moment, it is being a pretty standard earl grey – although the spiciness is making me suspicious that there is secretly lavender inside. There IS something else there, but I can’t quite pin it down. Is it fruity? Is it floral? Is it both? Is it neither? Dunno!

The tea grows on me as I drink it, but the flavor continues to be a coy little bugger. My mum wanted to know if it was any good since she’s also been looking for some variations on the theme of Earl Gray, but right now I don’t know what to tell her. I’m glad the sample has enough for several cups!

Next time hopefully I’ll remember to try and make this stronger.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
__Morgana__

I came v. close to trying this one this morning. Tomorrow!

Ewa

Oh good, I’d love to get someone else’s take on it.

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103 tasting notes

I love Harney’s earl grey, and I LOVE roses in my tea, but in this case they kind of cancel each other out. I prefer just the earl grey or just the rose scented (ooooh), but it’s still nice.

Shmiracles

i know what you mean. nice idea, but sometimes simple is better.

Shmiracles

maybe this opinion is shared by many and that’s why they gave us an extra free one hah!

oddree

I got tea for a gift at work today. English Tea Shop. More tea!

Terri HarpLady

I do like roses, but not so much earl grey. :)

Shmiracles

oh that’s cute! that means we both got tea for a gift today. so in both of our offices we have a tea reputation.

oddree

Must be our loud electric bubbly pots.

Sil

welcome to the madness oddree!

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81
985 tasting notes

It is too funny that as I am in the process of using this one up…I am growing to like it more. If it just did not smell so soapy dry, it would be on the repurchase list. At least I have several more afternoons of this tea left……

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
ashmanra

I think I bought a sample of this once, but I don’t remember it. I will have to throw a sample in my order! I did buy Rose Scented Black and I like it quite well.

SimplyJenW

Or someone could send you some!

ashmanra

Someone could, indeed! :)

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812 tasting notes

my first of 5 tea orders arrived! between all the orders PLUS 2 new tea cups i’m obviously preparing for the coming winter months. tea and kindles is all i ever need. ever.
i’m so in love with this stuff.

i ordered this one especially for my sister. and lucky her, they sent me two 3oz tins for the price of one :) she loves earl grey and she loves rose teas and i just know for sure that she’s gonna love this one. i anticipate that half of it will be gone within 2 weeks time, easy.

IDK why but i added honey and milk to this first cup. things are going to crazy!

i have all this new tea to taste and i finally figured out how to get steepster working on my work computer again. everything has fallen into place.

here is a list of other things i want to tell you
- i am still reading all the Avengers and Sherlock fan fic
- i got into the Berlin Marathon so i will be going back to Europe in september
- at the encouragement of a friend, i now get monthly massages

tea-sipper

I’m the same way… I just need my tea, books & music.. and maybe my favorite TV shows.

MissB

Congrats!

TeaLady441

The Berlin marathon sounds like quite an adventure! That’s great.

<3 Sherlock and the Avengers
Well maybe not Sherlock AND the Avengers. I haven’t looked into that one.

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82
2036 tasting notes

I’m a sucker for anything roses, and the idea of rose + Earl Grey seemed interesting to me. It works with lavender so why not rose?

The roses sure make the tea look pretty. :-) The contrast between the dark tea and the pinky/red rose petals is lovely. It reminds me a little of a fancy dress for a little girl, dark velvet with tiny pink rosettes.

I don’t smell rose in the sample pouch, though. This makes me wonder whether that means the rose is decorative only? I just finished trying the Upton Earl Grey Blue Flower where that was true, so I suppose it is possible. I do smell bergamot in the dry tea, and I do smell something else, but I can’t identify it.

I think I may be getting some rose fragrance in the aroma of the tea, but perhaps it is just wishful thinking. The bergamot isn’t at all strong. The tea smells mild and slightly sweet.

As I drink, I get a rose note in the aroma. It isn’t very strong at all, but it is pretty. It is harder to identify in the taste, but I do believe it is there around the edges of the sip. I had expected it to be stronger, but now I’m thinking maybe the reason it isn’t is because it wouldn’t work that way? When I tease out the rose in the aroma and the flavor, I can also get a hint of how easy it would be for a stronger rose to overpower everything else at work in this tea, and how having to increase the bergamot would lead to escalating the rose flavor and so on until the end result was mutual assured destruction.

So it’s subtle. But I think it is because it has to be, not because of a failing in the blend. As with the Upton Chocolate Earl Grey, I really like the idea of this tea. The question I need to answer for myself is whether for my own palate it’s too subtle to be worth it, and I’m not ready to answer that yet. Even as I write this, I’m tasting the rose a little more as the tea cools, and the more I taste it, the more the answer leans toward yes.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Ewa

Phew, glad my taste buds aren’t broken! I hope SOMEONE has figured out a way to balance rose and bergamot…

__Morgana__

Yeah, it really does sound like a great idea, too good for it not to be able to work.

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92
4843 tasting notes

Trying this blend for the first time. It is so good. A remarkable blending of flavors – the rose and the bergamot compliment each other very well.

The black tea is delicious – brisk, not bitter, and very little astringency. The rose and the bergamot are in lovely harmony here, with the sweetness of the rose softening the bergamot just so, and the bergamot enhancing the qualities of the rose. I like this very much.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Brian

is the flavor too strong? I’ve found a lot of Harney’s flavored teas that I mix with regular ceylon because they are too heavily flavor…..y :P

LiberTEAS

Brian: I am finding the flavor to be just right for me… but, we all have different palates. I really like this one though. My favorite from Harney will probably always be the Indian Nimbu, but, this one is right up there in the top 5!

Brian

yea, I have a ton from them I need to try, although they are sometimes strong, they are the best flavored teas I’ve had!

TeaEqualsBliss

WOW! Sounds great! I haven’t tried this one yet!

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94
871 tasting notes

On first smell, this tea is a strong Earl Grey. It smells very similar to Harney’s earl grey supreme. I was a little disappointed as I was waiting for the secret part to jump out. After brewing, the tea smelled of very sweet bergamot, almost a fruity pebbles/fruit loops kind of smell. On first sip it was simply an earl grey. A good earl grey but I still wasn’t getting the secret part of it so got disappointed. After the tea cooled for a few minutes, the flavour profile definitely changed. There was a bold black base, with a medium strong bergamot taste, and this different kind of sweetness to it. It wasn’t the usual bergamot sweetness. After a few more sips the sweetness became floral. I found the secret! The sweet rose petals mix very nice with the bergamot and black base. It is not a super strong earl grey, so for anyone that is scared of the earl, it is a good one to start with as the rose really mellows the bergamot.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec
Sil

this is where i jokingly say… oh goodie! an earl grey that’s mellowed out by…..florals! haha my other favourite! :)

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62
2201 tasting notes

This is a tea that I was dying to try. I love Earl Grey, I love rose, what’s not to like? So I got a sample pack from Harney and tried it… and I didn’t like it at all. This was before I figured out that if I put 2 tsp instead of 1.5 tsp in my 12 oz Kati cup, Harney black teas taste way bitter to me no matter how long the steep. This time, with my proper brewing parameters, it’s much better. There’s still a hint of bitterness (I think I might drop the temp on my Harney blacks and see if that takes care of it) and astringency, but now I can actually taste the rose and it seems to play well with the bergamot, but I don’t get a lot of citrusy bergamot from this one. Overall a decent tea, but not my favorite Earl Grey blend. There are some Harney teas that I love love love, but I’m finding there are others (like this one) where the black tea base just isn’t right for me. Oh well, I guess rose and Earl Grey is one of those combos I will be looking for in other places.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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