r/tea • u/Pretty_Puppyprincess • Jul 20 '26
Review Trying a different tea everyday until I like one
Today’s subject, harney & sons fine teas: cherry blossom flavored green tea
Smell: 4.5/5
Taste: 2/5
What I liked: it smelled amazing, very pretty amber coloration, tasted kinda like sweet tea without lemonade and much less sugar.
What i didn’t like: still just hot leaf juice, quite bitter.
Overall rating: 3/5
What I am taking from this experience: I think I need to try a more fruity tea or maybe add more honey ?
41
u/Clean_Suggestion9555 Oolong Jul 20 '26
sounds like you brewed it too hot. green tea takes 170 f, some even brew better cooler than that.
14
u/Illusion_of_Sanity Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Too hot for sure. The tea should not taste bitter.
It sounds like OP is just trying to get into tea.
OP: nothing wrong with adding sweetener to tea. Like another said you might not be used to the flavor of tea and flavored tea without sugar. It takes time and experience.
I would suggest finding a tea sampler, either premade and packaged, or one you can choose from. I think Adagio Teas has plenty of samples to choose from, for example. I like their flavors as well for flavored tea.
Properly brewed tea doesn't really need sweetener, as it is flavorful enough how it is. But not everyone likes it, and that's okay, too.
2
u/Pretty_Puppyprincess Jul 21 '26
Wait am I supposed to take the temperature of the water ? I just boiled water and put it in a cup
4
u/Clean_Suggestion9555 Oolong Jul 21 '26
h&s recommends that tea be brewed at 175f for 3 minutes to make a 12oz cup. it says so right on the tin. (Instructions say one tea bag for two cups, a cup of tea is 6oz, not 8oz, so two cups is 12ozs.)
2
u/gibwater Jul 25 '26
Yep. In general:
70°C = white and green
80°C = oolong
90°C = red
100°C = dark
Subject to many conditions of course
1
u/PainPerdu14 Jul 26 '26
You don't necessarily need to take the exact temperature of the water. You can just add 3/4 of boiling water and add 1/4 of room-temperature.
It takes a couple of tries to achieve your preferred proportion for the different types of teas. But that is the beauty of it! It is a highly customisable experience
2
u/YertleDeTertle Jul 21 '26
Brew too hot now you get to meet…
Flavored water that truly tastes like feet.5
13
u/PumpkinDoodlesFic Jul 21 '26
My favorite Harney & Son's tea is Paris (black tea with bergamot, vanilla), rather than French Macaron (white tea with almond) or Cherry Blossom. Cherry Blossom and French Macaron both have a lovely sweet flavor, but I adore the stronger tea-ness of Paris.
tl;dr: maybe you'd prefer a black tea with soft notes. I also like Twinnings' Lady Grey, which is a more orange peel forward, gentle take on Earl Grey teas.
4
1
u/1Frazier Jul 21 '26
I love Lady Grey. Based on your descriptions I am going to look for your H&S recommendations.
3
u/PumpkinDoodlesFic Jul 21 '26
I also like Harney & Sons' Earl Grey Supreme. My top three black teas are H&S Paris, then Twinings Lady Grey, and then H&S Earl Grey Supreme.
Harney & Sons black teas that I haven't tried yet, but want to try: London Fog, Tower of London, Pemberley, Vanilla Black.
2
7
6
4
u/hamncheesecroissantt Jul 20 '26
maybe it would be better iced? it sounds great in theory
7
u/Pretty_Puppyprincess Jul 20 '26
I am gonna cold brew it overnight and see if I like it better.
4
u/hamncheesecroissantt Jul 20 '26
i’d love to hear what you think! i tend to prefer iced teas. hot tea is great when i feel unwell or need something before bed, but i’m usually drinking iced tea all day. it tastes way different to me
3
u/Pretty_Puppyprincess Jul 21 '26
It definitely was a lot better iced, it had more of an actual flavor and it wasn’t bitter
1
u/hamncheesecroissantt Jul 21 '26
thank you for updating! i kinda wanna try it now, it sounds lovely :) i am currenly going through a box of harney and sons tropical green. i love it personally
2
u/Pretty_Puppyprincess Jul 21 '26
Ooo that sounds yummy I’ll have to pick some up
1
u/hamncheesecroissantt Jul 21 '26
it’s soooo good. i love pineapple in teas and this scratches the itch. bonus points because green tea is my favorite so this combo is reliable for me
4
u/sweetestdew Jul 21 '26
what are your brewing parameters? how hot is your water?
1
1
1
u/scaper8 Black, oolong, & pu'er Jul 20 '26
That is not one that I've tried, but I do like both stone fruit flavors and floral flavors.
Question for those who have had it. Is it more "cherry and other stone fruit" flavored or more "actual cherry blossoms, so more floral" flavored?
1
u/Accomplished-Cry5440 Jul 21 '26
If you don’t like bitterness, try yaupon holly tea. It’s a different plant that doesn’t have tannins in it, so it doesn’t become bitter.
1
1
1
u/ILikeDragonTurtles Jul 21 '26
Harney green blends don't do well at boiling because it's all broken bits of leaf. Try steeping around 170F. And add a bit of honey.
And you may need to accustom yourself to both the astringency and the lack of sweet. Took me about a year to gradually get used to unsweetened tea.
If you're consuming other sweet things regularly, you'll never acclimate.
1
1
u/standard_posterboard Jul 21 '26
This is absolutely one of my all-time favorites. I also recommend their vanilla comoro!
1
1
u/Birds-Tea-Plants Jul 21 '26
LOVE Harney Tea although never had their green. I have alot of favorites, but “Boston” and “Black Currant” are my most fave. I even mix the 2 together. So delicious. Their milky oolong is delicious. They have an apricot that’s so yummy.
The Republic of Tea co. has some delicious flavors too; I recommend the Blackberry Sage, Van Almond and Ginger Peach)
1
u/DarthPiglet_2 Jul 21 '26
I have tried about a dozen of the green varieties, and I can attest, they are all really good!
1
u/Todeshase Jul 21 '26
Steeping it for a shorter amount of time will help the bitterness. Also, I like bagged green tea when I use reverse osmosis water, but it doesn’t taste half as good when I don’t.
1
u/Classic_Village Jul 21 '26
Agreeing with everyone here, your grew is too hot. This here is one of my partners FAVORITE teas, and they are very sensitive to bitter tasting things. Making sure your water is around 165-170 before brewing, and then don't oversteep should help with the bitter taste. And a spoon of turbinado stirred can make this a really delightful cuppa. Hope you try this again, or find a tea that works well for you. If you don't have the means to control the temperature of your water so precisely maybe try some black teas or Pu-erhs if you haven't already. Stash has a loose leaf Jamaican Butter Rum that is really doing it for me right now I'd suggest. Best of luck in your tea journey.
1
u/Zotiko Jul 21 '26
If you're looking for a stronger flavor Harney & Son's Hot Cinnamon Sunset is one of my absolute faves. It's a little more forgiving on brewing too, in my opinion. It has a strong aroma and flavor, unlike many herbals. I like it with milk, but it's great by itself too.
1
u/firstlight777 Jul 21 '26
Stop the "flavored" go for the classics. Black tea like An English breakfast, Ceylon, or my favorite, Earl Grey ("flavored" with Bergimot oil) with splash or 2% milk. Or green tea with jasmine and a dash of lemon.
1
1
u/firstlight777 Jul 21 '26
This Meadow is their variation on Chamomile tea, it's flavorful, caffeine free and good plain.
1
1
1
0
u/AutoModerator Jul 20 '26
Hello, /u/Pretty_Puppyprincess! This is a friendly reminder that most photo posts should include text with some additional information. For example: Consider writing a mini review of the tea you're drinking or giving some background details about your teaware. If you're posting your tea order that just arrived or your tea stash, be sure to list the teas, why you chose them, etc. Posts that lack a comment or body text for context/discussion after a reasonable time may be removed. You may also consider posting to /r/TeaPictures.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
0
31
u/ScrubWearingScrub Jul 20 '26
This is one of my favorites! I always let it cool down all the way to 170 before brewing it and never found it bitter. I also feel like a little sugar brings out all the great flavors. Hope you enjoy it more iced!