Harney & Sons English Breakfast Tea (review)

October 26, 2008

Greetings! My name is Lainie Petersen, and Jeff was kind enough to allow me to guest blog a review on my favorite beverage– tea! Enjoy!

Tea Name: Harney & Sons English Breakfast Tea

Brand: Harney & Sons

Type: English Breakfast (China Black, 100% Keemun)

Form: Paper tea bag, individually wrapped.

Source: My mom’s pantry.

Cost: 50 Teabags for $9.50

Review: Harney & Sons is generally a safe bet for any fine tea, and their English Breakfast Tea is no exception. This is a straightforward China black which looks, tastes, and smells like “proper tea”: Medium brown in the cup, rounded nose with a bit of spice (a very little bit of spice) in the back, and a soft, yet distinctive taste.

Where it really shines, though, is with the addition of some full-fat (i.e. whole) milk, and a stick of rock candy sugar. Oh my stars…this is just the sort of tea one wants on a cold morning! So yummy, so comforting. The addition of the sugar and milk, incidentally, bring forward the latent spice notes. Remarkable.

Recommendation: This is an excellent and convenient English Breakfast tea, particularly when prepared with sugar and a bit of milk. While I am not normally a fan of either in my tea, the qualities of this tea are actually amplified by these ingredients.

More reviews, tea news, and commentary can be found at my tea blog: LainieSips.com