Harney & Sons SoHo

Last week we told you about our trip to the Roebling Tea House in Brooklyn, NY. Another stop on our trip to New York was the wonderful Harney & Sons SoHo! This is an amazing tea shop that has a little bit of everything and all of it’s good.

While there we sampled as many different things as we could possibly manage. We tried tasty vanilla scones served with devonshire cream and jam;

rice crackers topped with cucumber and green tea cream cheese; a Chai tea ice cream milkshake; Earl Grey ice cream; green tea ice cream and TEA TEA TEA! We will briefly review one of the teas we tried in house.

Russian Country

Overall Rating 3.75 of 5 leaves

Abby says:

Temperature: Hot
Steeped: Arrived steeped
Served: Nothing added

Russian Country is a black tea blend including lapsang. Anyone who has ever tried lapsang tea before already knows this, but for those have yet to try it – lapsang is smoky! This was my first experience with it and I am glad it was in a blended tea. I’m still not convinced I could handle it alone! For this blend the smokiness really comes out in the aroma (think sitting around the camp fire), but isn’t so much present in an actual taste which I found very interesting and pleasant. With every sip I was reminded of the smoke, but it didn’t overwhelm the tea. I really enjoyed trying it and liked drinking it, but because I am not a smoke flavor/aroma lover it will not become a staple. However, if you love smoke, please try this tea!

Taste: 3 of 5 leaves: A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 this tea is easy to make.

Katie says:

So, back to the ice cream cones for a minute. Do you see how they look like REGULAR cones? The menu may advertise them as a mini sampler, but, prepare yourselves my friends…these cones are like a small at the ice cream stand. 3 smalls — and 3 cones! Yes, they were delicious, and I ate 2 of them! At only $6 for all three I propose that this may be one of the best snack deals in NYC. Needless to say when Abby ordered a milkshake and I ordered the ice cream sampler trio I was half excited and half overwhelmed at the thought of trying to eat all three! Worth it!!! I am now considering buying an ice cream maker just to eat more earl grey tea ice cream. Ok, back to the tea review…

Russian Country

Temperature: hot
Steeped: Arrived steeped
Served: milk & sugar

Abby & I choose to try this tea because it was a blend of 4 black teas and had one of the highest aroma ratings of any of the teas on the list. “Briskness 1, Body 3, Aroma 3” 3! How could we not try an extra fragrant tea? Thoughts of some of my favorite black & earl grey blends began to drift through my head.

Harney & Son’s describes this tea as “a softer version of Smoky Lapsang Souchong.” If you’ve ever had a “Lapsang Souchong” before you know that unblended this tea can taste a bit like campfire. This tea is supposed to be smokey, but that flavor isn’t for everyone. I have to say that I wouldn’t choose Lapsang on it’s own, but I did very much enjoy this blend. For me the Russian Country is smoky enough to be able to enjoy the flavor of the smokey tea but blended in a way that even if you’re not a fan of this peculiar flavor that you’ll still enjoy it. From the reviews on their website I’m willing to go out on a limb and say  that if you’re a lover of Lapsang Souchong you’re really going to enjoy this tea!

Taste: Taste: 4 of 5 leaves: Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 5 of 5 this tea is easy to make.

Even if you don’t go to the tea lounge (the tea room at the back of the store) there are plenty of chances to sample tea. When you come into the store you are given the chance to try teas from the tea flight (if they’re offering it that day) and any one tea of your choosing. They’ll bring down the big tin of your choice and make a cuppa just for you!

Stay tuned for more reviews of Harney & Son’s tea. Between Abby & I we took home 3 tins of tea, an early grey hand lotion, and cups/mugs. We’ll tell you more about them soon!