Sampling Four Harney & Sons Tea Varieties
Realfoodtraveler.com editors had the opportunity to try four Harney & Sons teas: English Breakfast; Paris; Hot Cinnamon Spice; and Peppermint herbal. All the teas came in tins containing 20 tea sachets. Unlike many companies that use paper tea bags, Harney & Sons offer satiny, pyramid-style tea sachets. Each tea tin offers brewing directions, a description of the tea and storage. Additionally, Mike Harney has rated each tea on its Briskness ; Body ; and Aroma .
English Breakfast: This is a robust China black tea. RFT Editor Anne Weaver is an inveterate black tea drinker so I knew shed be the one to evaluate Harney & Sons English Breakfast tea. Anne says, This is a nice, smooth tea with excellent flavor. Its a strong and simple tea that makes a great morning beverage.
Rich deep flavor of Harney & Sons English Breakfast tea is a great start to the day.
Harney and Sons Paris Tea: This is a blend of black teas with natural vanilla, fruit and citrus flavors. It has a fruity flavor with notes of fragrant lemony bergamot orange and vanilla undertones.
Flavorful teas are a specialty at Harney & Sons
Real Bottom Line: Harney & Sons is a premium tea company that is proving American companies can make terrific tea. We found the Harney & Sons teas we sampled were fresh with distinctive and bright flavors. This is truly tea for tea lovers. We love it. Bobbie Hasselbring, Former RFT Editor; photos by Anne Weaver, Former RFT Editor
Harney & Sons: Best Black Tea
A family business fuelled by a true passion for all things tea, Harney and Sons continue the legacy developed by their founder, John Harney.;
The eponymous sons of Harney and Sons now work tremendously hard to comb through and discover the worlds finest tea plantations. Mike Harney, who goes by the enviable title of Master Tea Buyer and Blender previously held the equally enviable position of hobbyist sommelier .
As such, this mans taste buds are second-to-none. Expertly crafting both traditional and exotic tea blends is the order of the day, every day at New York-based Harney and Sons.
With over 300 different blends, including several matchas and a new hemp range, even the prissiest of tea drinkers are likely to be appeased with the formidable tea selection.
FairTrade Certified, Harney and Sons endeavour to shoulder some responsibility for the welfare of the tea-growers. What is more, their decade-long partnership with 1% for the Planet is a commitment to donating 1% of their profits to environmental causes around the globe. Respect.
Our favourite tea blend: Hot Cinnamon Spice
The bestseller of the brand is also one of the oldest, developed by John Harney in 1980. The enticingly-named Hot Cinnamon Spice tea is a warming brew that is black tea-based, with orange peel, sweet clove and three types of cinnamon.
The conjunction of these complementary flavours results in a sweet, rich flavour palate which is oh-so-comforting.
Price $$
Growing Hemp In Connecticut & New York
Matt Baum:My conversation today is with Mike and Paul Harney of Harney & Sons Tea Company. And full disclosure here, we already did this interview once and something happened with my computer and I ended up losing the whole interview, so we had to do it again. And were going to joke about it during the interview. So I just figured why not come out and let you guys know? Stuff happens, right? I had a great time talking to these guys and youll hear it. We laugh through pretty much the whole thing. I caught up with them both after a day where they had been planting more hemp on their mothers property in Connecticut. And thats where we start off talking. They were a riot to talk to. And I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did talking to them. Heres my conversation with Mike and Paul Harney.
Matt Baum:So today you were at moms place in Connecticut from what I understand, with a backhoe tearing up some soil that has not been turned over for 100,000 years.
Paul Harney:Yes we were. It was a little I dont think technically, its hard pan. I dont know what it is.
Mike Harney:It doesnt look like anything because it was a doctors house, so it wasnt probably a working farm back in the day. I mean, maybe it was, but in 1830 the doctor started to assemble it. So its in the middle of town, so a doctor, lawyer, whatever. It was a bookstore when my parents bought it.
Matt Baum:Okay. How much land does she have out there?
Paul Harney:
Matt Baum:Oh, youre kidding me.
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Learning To Grow Hemp For Cbd Tea
Matt Baum:How does it go from traveling all over, looking at these leaves, understanding tea mixes and stuff like that to growing your own hemp? You just threw it in the ground and went for it or did you watch a YouTube video?
Paul Harney:We threw it in the ground and went for it, yeah. We didnt know a lot.
Mike Harney:We did ask somebody. Yeah, we asked somebody who knew a little bit more than us, but I think she was only one page ahead of us, frankly. And it was an expensive textbook, just like in college.
Matt Baum:Of course. An expensive one page anyway.
Mike Harney:
But sometimes thats good too.
Mike Harney:So we did that and we learned a lot. We learned a lot. I mean, I think we said we planted it all in one day, so that was a hot day in July. July 8th.
Paul Harney:Yeah, that was early July. And I think we have about, on a shift, somewhere around 150, 160 people. Plus my mother whos
Matt Baum:And you just grabbed him and said, Everybody out, were planting. Lets go. Put on your gloves. Hope you didnt wear nice clothes today.
Paul Harney:Everybody went out there and popped some in the ground. And I think we didnt even start early. We started at 10:00 and I think by 6:00 PM we were done.
Matt Baum:
Im from Nebraska
Paul Harney:But she wasnt good, Mike. She really just sits around and talks to people and I think she was putting in the little, what type of tea plant or what type of hemp plant it is.
Mike Harney:She puts in the card, she puts in the stick.
Youve Got Hemp Questions Weve Got Hemp Answers
Send us your hemp questions and you might hear them answered on one of our Hemp Q&A episodes. Send your written questions to us on Twitter, Facebook, matt@ministryofhemp.com, or call us and leave a message at 402-819-6417. Keep in mind, this phone number is for hemp questions only and any other inquiries for the Ministry of Hemp should be sent to
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Harney & Sons Paris Review
Harney & Sons describes its Paris tea as having a caramel and fruity black currant taste with a hint of vanilla. It also has a mild astringency, strong aroma, and light body.
Interestingly, Paris also includes oolong tea, giving it a much lighter feel and taste than, say, an Earl Grey even though Paris also contains bergamot oil.
I found the oolong to be definitely noticeable, with the fruity taste overpowering the caramel and vanilla undertones. However, those dessert-y flavors popped out and tied the whole tea together when made into a latte .
This tea has a delightful blend and balance of flavors that you dont grow tired of. Ive drank it for a week straight and cant get enough!
My Paris rating:
The King Of Online Tea Merchants
I have had nothing but excellent experiences ordering from Harney and Sons for more than half a decade. They offer a great variety of premium tea at relatively fair prices. Recently, their timely move to offer free shipping on every order has made them my number one choice for tea of any kind. Their products always arrive well-packed and in great condition, and they will often throw in a few sachets of teas you didn’t order just for you to try. While I have always loved ordering teas in the Historic Royal Palaces collection, I have recently been interested in their teas themed on holidays. Among all their flavors, I can give my highest recommendation to their Blood Orange and their Earl Grey Supreme.
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Common Tea Questions Answered
by Emeric HarneyMarch 15, 20194 min read
What is tea?
Tea is an infusion made from the dried leaves of a flowering evergreen plant camellia sinensis. Originally native to Eastern and Southern Asia, it is now grown successfully in Africa and South America, the Middle East, parts of the United States and even New Zealand. Of the four major types of teas, China is the country the produces them all, while Japan produces large quantities of green tea, Taiwan makes extravagant oolongs, and Sri Lankan & Indian estates yield great crops of black teas.
What are the different types of tea?
There are many different types of tea, but we can categorize them into 5 major categories – Black, Oolong, Herbal, Green and White tea. However, Herbal tea isnt technically tea at all, but herbs brewed in the same way that tea is brewed. Herbals, sometimes referred to as tisanes, never had any caffeine in them. Additionally, some might named Matcha as its own category, but in the end it is still a powdered green tea. You can learn more about the different types of teas we sell and how to brew them by reading our Ultimate Tea Brewing Guide.
What is a tea blend?
Tea blends are made by combining different teas or by adding fruit, herbs, oils and spices to produce a unique flavor. Tea blends sometimes contain mildly less caffeine than non-blends because the tea leaves that are usually present in a non-blended tea have been replaced with fruits, herbs and spices.
A Focus On Organic Growth
Organic search is one of the best-performing channels, with many campaigns and optimizations benefiting from SEO research. By performing keyword research and focusing on a blog strategy, Harney saw a 15% YoY gain in site-wide organic sessions, 17% increase in ecommerce revenue and organic page views of blog content grow a staggering 177% YoY.
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How Is Matcha Different Than Other Teas
In addition to how it is processed into a powder that is stirred into water rather than steeped, there are other ways that matcha is different. With a cup of matcha, you are drinking the leaf, which many believe is a benefit. When you drink the tea leaf, you are consuming 100% of the leaf and all its nutrients. Many believe there are benefits to drinking matcha tea because you are consuming all its nutrients.
Matcha is also a seasonal tea, meaning that only new spring buds and leaves of the shade-grown tea plants are harvested for matcha production. The best time to harvest is when the plant has three to five new leaves. If harvested too early, the yield will be small; too late and the quality is compromised. This presents a narrow window for harvesting and production and is another reason matcha costs more than many other teas.
Finally, in addition to a wonderful cup of tea on its own, matcha is well-suited for making smoothies, ice cream and baked goods, making it one of the more versatile teas available.
Why Should You Buy Harney And Sons Tea
Harney and Sons Tea comes with a lot of benefits to its customers. Here are a few benefits of drinking Harney and Sons tea;
Their Tea Dont Cost Much
Harney and Sons tea offers the cheapest tea on the block. You can easily get Harney and Sons tea when you want because it is pocket-friendly. If you are looking for a tea that is not expensive and offers quality, then you are looking for Harney and Sons Tea. With their customers in mind, they decided to make quality tea available at the lowest price possible.
Convenience
Harney and Sons tea is very easy to use. Harney and sons sell tea in the form of tea bags, all you need to do is put do the tea bags in water and wait, and you have your healthy cup of tea. Portability is another benefit of purchasing their tea. You can easily carry the number of teabags you feel will be enough for you in your purse or bag. This also means that you can get tea for your guests at any time without having to bother about running down to the tea shop to get tea for them.
Unique Flavors
Health Benefits
Side Effects of Harney and Sons Tea
Even though Harney and Sons Tea are made with natural ingredients, they may have side effects. Commonly known side effects that come with drinking tea may include:;
- Diarrhea
- Nausea in rare cases
It is advised that before you decide to start taking Harney and Sons Tea for medical use, you should consult with your doctor.;
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Looking Forward To The Harvest
Matt Baum:So tell me about, youre going to harvest next, hopefully early October.
Paul Harney:Yeah.
Matt Baum:You had mentioned that you were going to do stuff with every aspect of the plant, like youre going to try grounding up the roots and stuff.
Paul Harney:We are. We had some roots this year. We did not get very far, but obviously, roots is considered also a very medicinal piece of the plant.
Matt Baum:Right.
Paul Harney:And its something we tried to get to last year, but roots obviously need to be cleaned quite well if youre going to try to use them later on.
Matt Baum:Of course.
Paul Harney:So that was a bridge too far. So this year, we hopefully will get there and dry them out and grind it into something, and see if we can figure out a use for it.
Matt Baum:See what it does, basically?
Paul Harney:Yeah. Its been fun. Its been a great project and were definitely enthusiastic about it. And were fully involved in all aspects of it. Were out there planting ourselves and all that sort of stuff, so its been a fun ride so far.
Mike Harney:Actually, we just did a video well have to send to you where its a planting from last week.
Matt Baum:Oh yeah, please. Ill add that to the post. Definitely.
Mike Harney:But yeah, so youll find that fun.
Matt Baum:Thatd be a riot, yeah.
Mike Harney:Paul, I know youve got it.
Matt Baum:Definitely. Thatd be
Mike Harney:Its got Paul. Its got a little surprise thing with Paul in there. I dont want to ruin it for you.
Types Of Harney And Sons Tea
Harney and Sons have a lot of tea on the market available for purchase, but here are the commonly known Harney and Sons tea products in the market;
Harney and Sons Organic Tea with Coconut
John Harney started making organic tea many years ago because he thought that people loved it. It has since then become a signature of Harney and Sons, knowing that their customers prefer organic tea to normal tea, they made this product. This organic tea is a blend of Organic Tea and Coconut and is one of the very unique flavors in their tea line.
The Organic tea with coconut comes in a glass bottle for easy storage, and it also combines ginger, coconut, vanilla, and lemongrass. It is best served with hot tea.
HRP Victorian London Fog;
This is another special tea on the Harney and Sons tea line. It can be said to be among the special ones as it won an award in the customer creation contest organized by Harney and Sons Tea. The tea is an Earl Grey tea. Earl grey tea originated during the Victorian Era and has since then gained ground among tea flavors around the world. The tea was inspired by the then British prime minister, Earl Grey.
It comes in a well-designed tin that is easily noticeable anywhere. It is sweetened with cinnamon and made to give you that taste of earl grey tea.
Hot Cinnamon Spice
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Republic Of Tea: Best White Tea
Encouraging a sip by sip culture rather than gulp by gulp, is Republic of Teas mission statement. They endeavour to uphold the gracious ceremony of tea-drinking, gently inspiring the drinker to appreciate the subtleties of their teas harvested from the worthiest tea gardens.
Perhaps the best part of all things Republic of Tea is their decision to behave as a true independent republic might, and dub their employees ministers, their stores embassies and their customers citizens. Well, even if they sold substandard tea this is pretty cool.
Substandard is the antithesis of Republic of Teas national product; their whole leaf teas, unbleached bagged teas and decaffeinated blends are, in fact, award-winning. So, there.
As a highly philanthropic nation , the Republic of Tea is committed to distributing some of its profits to various charitable organisations around the globe.
Being an ever-inclusive and benevolent leadership, Republic of Tea offers over 300 varieties, so theres something for everyone.
Our favourite: White Emperor
Grown exclusively in the Fujian Province mountains in China, Republic of Teas White Emperor Tea promises unparalleled flavours to a majestic degree. Its harvesting time is as specific as its region: the leaves are picked on only two days of each year in the small window when the tea flowers are on the cusp of opening.
Predictably, the unique and time sensitive method of harvesting means this white tea is one of the rarest in the world.
Vahdam: Overall Best Tea Brand
For premium tea blends hailing from India, you cant beat Vahdam. The tea brand is shaking up the industry with a refreshing approach. They source their teas directly from farmers in India and cut the middlemen to sell exclusively online. This ensures that you get the best prices and the freshest premium teas. Even cooler: The brand also cares for its producers, with 1% of its revenue going towards the education of its farmers children.
A celebrity favourite think Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres Vahdam is one of the buzziest tea brands of the moment with a growing number of new customers signing up to their subscription service to get exotic Indian teas delivered to their doorstep.
By applying organic principles to the companys ethos, Vahdam prides itself on supplying some of the worlds finest organic and speciality teas.
We warmly recommend Vahdam for yourself, of course, but also as a beautiful gift for the tea-lovers in your life. The brand makes exquisite gift boxes with an array of delicious gourmet blends that are sure to be, well, their cup of tea. Adding to our checkout cart as we speak.
Our favourite tea blend: Earl Grey Citrus Black Tea
You simply cant go wrong with any of Vahdams tea blends. But if we had to pick one for you to discover the brand, we would recommend the fruity and fragrant Earl Grey Citrus Black Tea blend.;
Price $$
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