Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Tea Store’

This summer I had the pleasure of having a personal tour of the Harney & Sons factory and warehouse in Millerton, New York by Michael Harney himself! I was vacationing about an hour away in the Berkshires, MA with friends so visiting the famous Harney & Sons Tea Tasting Room was a must on my itinerary. One beautiful, sunny afternoon, my friend Lisa and I embarked on our journey through the picturesque mountains in western New York to the quaint little town of Millerton. Our plan was to have lunch in the tea room, shop in the tea store and of course taste some teas in the tea tasting room. As the tearoom is quite small, it turned out that the only seats available were at the bar. We took them and enjoyed our lovely lunch and tea selections. At some point during our lunch, Lisa struck up a conversation with the couple beside us and our server and one thing led to another and we discovered that our server was Alex Harney, the grandson of John Harney who started the company and the son of Michael Harney who now runs the company with his brother Paul. When he found out that I am in the tea business, Alex asked if we would like a tour of the factory with his Dad and we of course accepted! Anyway, as you can imagine, I was in heaven! I enjoyed the tour immensely and loved the whole experience of being there in little Millerton, New York on that sunny summer afternoon. It was definitely one of the highlights of our vacation.

When I returned home, I realized that I had a Harney & Sons sample waiting for my review and I thought it would be appropriate for me to make that one my next review.

Matsuda’s Sencha is a Japanese green tea. For a long time, I was not a lover of Japanese green teas because I was not knowledgeable about the proper preparation methods. Arguably, Japanese green teas are the most finicky of teas and if you do not prepare them correctly, you will be disappointed. It is easy to create a bitter tasting cup if you do not use the correct amount of tea, proper temperature of water and steep for the just the right amount of time.

The Matsuda’s Sencha dry leaf is a lovely dark emerald green colour and the leaves are silky to the touch. There is a mix of long leaves, broken leaves and some fannings. You can tell by looking at the colour and shape of the dry leaf that this is a premium sencha tea. I used 2.5g of tea to approximately 4 oz of 175° water and steeped it for 1 minute (you could even use slightly cooler water). The wet leaves were a beautiful bright green colour and had a sweet aroma. The liquor was a bright yellow/green shade and the taste was mildly sweet, slightly vegetal and very well rounded on the palate.

For the second steep, I used the same temperature and quantity of water, but I only steeped for 30 seconds. I did the same for the third steep. Subsequent steepings can then be increased to 1 minute intervals and you can probably get four or five steeps this way.

You will notice with many Japanese greens, that the liquor is cloudy and the second and subsequent steeps of Matsuda’s Sencha were especially so. The colour also becomes more of a bright green shade after the first steep. You will even notice residue in the bottom of your cup depending on how quickly you consume the tea. The residue occurs because the tea leaves are so fine that some of smallest particles end up in your cup. Don’t be afraid of a little residue in your cup of Matsuda’s Sencha because it’s filled with antioxidants and is good for you, so bottoms up!

In conclusion, I quite enjoyed this tea and found it to be a high end Japanese green. Compared to other Sencha teas that I have tried, this one is superior. I can see why this tea is Michael Harney’s favourite Sencha!

You can purchase the Matsuda’s Sencha directly from the Harney & Sons website.

On a recent trip to Banff, we passed this quaint little tea store. There was no resisting, you just never know what you are going to find, and I wasn’t disappointed. They offered a whole wall of teas from Maple to Almond and even an ice wine tea. I was as usual, drawn to the black tea’s and came across a flavor called – French Blend. It has such a comforting, warm aroma. The dry tealeaves have a beautiful rich earth color with hints of lilac, jasmine and cornflowers.

I brewed a tbsp for 3 minutes at 180 degrees and it made a perfect cup. I always add a little milk to my black teas and this one was no different. Be careful you don’t brew too long; it can get quite bitter, as a lot of black teas do.

After trying it and enjoying, I figured I would have to make the 100g bag last as long as possible (either that or convince my mother to give me back the bag I bought for her) but was very pleased to find that the Banff Tea Company has a web site where I can order it again. Nothing worse then finding something you love, and realizing there’s no way to get it again, once you are home from your trip. I would give this flavor a solid 9/10 and will be ordering again soon!

You can purchase Banff Tea Company French Blend directly from their website.