I had this in a bar with friends and the non optimal preparation might explain some of my disappointment.
I obviously could not smell the dry leaves but only got the teapot. The loose leaves were swimming freely in the teapot. The water had been poured boiling on the tea and I could not drink my first cup (a bit underbrewed – probably around 2 2 and half mibutes, as I could realize at the first sip) for a few minutes. It was nice but a bit too mild; I liked the body given to the tea by vanilla, though could not really identify the other flavors, a bit fruity but not too sweet, rather pleasant. The second cup (steeped for 6 mn I guess, maybe a bit more) allowed me to realize the tea base was indeed rather nice tasting, though coming out a bit strong. The third and fourth and last cups were unfortunately rather bitter and not so pleasant any longer.
I’ll have to try it out in better conditions, but however I’m not sure it’s going to be a complete love story between me and this tea.
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This has been one of my disappointments as well – I got a sample and kept trying to love it with no luck. But my theory is that this and Kusmi´s St Petersburg are twins and siblings to Dammann´s Paul&Virginie!
Given the review and overall rating, I guess my expectations were too high. I’ll definitely will not deliberately look out for more and especially not to buy a full bag. I’ll have to remember to check all your reviews before splurging on my next purchases in Europe to avoid any undue disappointment. Anyway it should not be before next Christmas, as I promised to empty my cupboard first.
I have tried a few Harney teas and apart from the bagged sencha which was IMO absolutely lovely, I was meh about them all (be really careful with the very popular hot cinnamon spice!). But the tins, oh I crave the tins.
I know the feeling about the Christmas purchase, my tea buying season seems to be October-December! I have also promised myself to just go on finishing things. But if you are going to order from Europe and you can find it without the shipping being too exhorbitant try Theodor – really good quality fresh interesting blends. In fact I can send you some samples while I still have those (Thé du Loup is disappearing very fast, and Mélange de Galice is one of those subtle things which has became a huge favorite as well).
I could take you up on your swap offer. However despite my good intentions, I guess I’ll buy out a few more teas this week-end, from TWG (I realized last WE that they sell by 50g and wanted to try them out). I’ll definitely stick with their lower prices blends first and will anyway never try their ultra-expensive ones (S$850 or Euro 510 for 50 g!!! I guess it’s something ultra rare and precious, but no way could I pay this price!).
The shipping price from Theodor was hefty (25 euros for 6 bags). Doesn’t matter I buy them directly in the shops when I come over at Christmas or have them delivered there and pick it up when coming.
My cupboard should otherwise be more or less up to date, if you feel like looking through it.
oh wow those TWG special ones are indeed pricey! The normal ones smell lovely, though here they are pretty expensive (21 euros for 100 gram tin) and the only place which sells it does not sell by the weight – when spending money on tea, I tend to make my money last longer by buying by the weight and Theodor and Mariage I can get by the weight!
I will send you a mail about a swap then! Smallish one OK’
Same price her for the tins (from $36, hence Euro21.
Loose: the prices vary widely but many are ok – a lot of them being around Euro 4 to 6 for 50g; a few are mid-priced around Euro 10 for 50g, and a few others (mostly white or single origin) are between Euro 40 and 45; I’ll definitely wait before trying those. The one I mentioned above at $850 just caught my eye, which could not go away from it as I could hardly believe it.
I’ll come back to you regarding the swap. Fine with a small one too!
This has been one of my disappointments as well – I got a sample and kept trying to love it with no luck. But my theory is that this and Kusmi´s St Petersburg are twins and siblings to Dammann´s Paul&Virginie!
Given the review and overall rating, I guess my expectations were too high. I’ll definitely will not deliberately look out for more and especially not to buy a full bag. I’ll have to remember to check all your reviews before splurging on my next purchases in Europe to avoid any undue disappointment. Anyway it should not be before next Christmas, as I promised to empty my cupboard first.
I have tried a few Harney teas and apart from the bagged sencha which was IMO absolutely lovely, I was meh about them all (be really careful with the very popular hot cinnamon spice!). But the tins, oh I crave the tins.
I know the feeling about the Christmas purchase, my tea buying season seems to be October-December! I have also promised myself to just go on finishing things. But if you are going to order from Europe and you can find it without the shipping being too exhorbitant try Theodor – really good quality fresh interesting blends. In fact I can send you some samples while I still have those (Thé du Loup is disappearing very fast, and Mélange de Galice is one of those subtle things which has became a huge favorite as well).
I could take you up on your swap offer. However despite my good intentions, I guess I’ll buy out a few more teas this week-end, from TWG (I realized last WE that they sell by 50g and wanted to try them out). I’ll definitely stick with their lower prices blends first and will anyway never try their ultra-expensive ones (S$850 or Euro 510 for 50 g!!! I guess it’s something ultra rare and precious, but no way could I pay this price!).
The shipping price from Theodor was hefty (25 euros for 6 bags). Doesn’t matter I buy them directly in the shops when I come over at Christmas or have them delivered there and pick it up when coming.
My cupboard should otherwise be more or less up to date, if you feel like looking through it.
oh wow those TWG special ones are indeed pricey! The normal ones smell lovely, though here they are pretty expensive (21 euros for 100 gram tin) and the only place which sells it does not sell by the weight – when spending money on tea, I tend to make my money last longer by buying by the weight and Theodor and Mariage I can get by the weight!
I will send you a mail about a swap then! Smallish one OK’
Same price her for the tins (from $36, hence Euro21.
Loose: the prices vary widely but many are ok – a lot of them being around Euro 4 to 6 for 50g; a few are mid-priced around Euro 10 for 50g, and a few others (mostly white or single origin) are between Euro 40 and 45; I’ll definitely wait before trying those. The one I mentioned above at $850 just caught my eye, which could not go away from it as I could hardly believe it.
I’ll come back to you regarding the swap. Fine with a small one too!