Harney & Sons: Ginger’s Oolong
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007First off, I would like to congratulate Harney & Sons for their role in helping the Dorchester Hotel in winning the Top London Afternoon Tea Award of 2007. Harney & Sons is an American based tea company. The company has been around since 1983.
One of my last purchases from H & S was a tea called Ginger’s Oolong. I really didn’t have any expectations of the tea. It wasn’t recommended by anyone. Basically, it was a random purchase. When the tea arrived, I quickly popped the lid off of the large tin. Their tins are black with a gold label and gold trim. The tins have a signature style to them. The tea had an incredible scent to it. The ginger spice mixed with the aromatic oolong made for an exceptional fragrance. After I steeped the tea, I noticed the great scent was retained throughout the process and into my cup. However, upon my first sip it was safe to say that the tea was actually bland in flavor. I was confused as to how something with such a powerful scent could be so weak in flavor. I’ve tried about 10 or more cups since the first cup. I’ve tried adding more tea leaves and cooler water temperatures to see if I could get more flavor out of the oolong. I’m going to keep trying to make this tea enjoyable. Now, I want to stress that the tea does not taste bad. It just doesn’t have the body and flavor of a lot of other oolongs I’ve tried.
marTEA
A while ago, I wrote about how much I enjoy green pekoe. Nothing special, usually the cheapest or best value at most online stores. That said, I purchased 4 ounces of Bancha from Harney & Sons. Bancha is a late summer, last harvest, lower-grade tea. Don’t let that description scare
you. I really enjoy