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In 1983, John Harney embarked on a mission to share his passion for great tea. From the first six teas we offered then, to today, when you can choose from over 300 varieties of the highest quality teas, it has been a remarkable journey. We look forward to sharing our tea, our passion and our knowledge, with you. Cheers, from our family to yours.
Tea is an infusion made from the dried leaves of a flowering evergreen plant camellia sinensis. Originally native to Eastern and Southern Asia, it is now grown successfully in Africa and South America. Of the four major types of teas, green is primarily from Japan, oolong, mainly from Formosa, black, primarily from Sri Lanka and India, and black scented teas.
In general, each estate and garden uses a single style of processing determined by its elevation, moisture, and farming practices. Tea likes it steamy, growing fastest from sea level to 6,500 feet in hot temperatures with 80 to 150 inches of annual rain, high humidity and fog. At higher elevations or in shade, it grows more slowly. This climatic change also produces a more intensely flavored tea, like that of a Darjeeling.
Harney & Sons’ remarkable array of teas are sourced from the finest tea gardens around the world and include pure teas, and blends, like English Breakfast, usually a mix of Indian and Chinese black teas. In addition, there are flavored teas, these have become enormously popular in recent years and are a specialty of Harney & Sons. This is, however, just the beginning of what there is to know about tea.
Want to skip to Brewing the Perfect Cup of Harney Tea? Click Here.
The pursuit of tea excellence takes time, study and travel. Mike Harney and other family members regularly visit the tea regions of China, Taiwan, Japan, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Africa to taste and source the most exquisite pure teas of the finest quality. Quality can vary from season to season and only on-the-spot tasting and testing delivers the standard of tea that our customers have come to expect if the name Harney is on the tin.
There is an art to making a perfect, delicious cup or pot of tea. Exploring the joys of tea takes a little effort, but is oh, so, rewarding. A superb brew of tea relies on four essential elements
Harney and Sons offer a wide range of teas that will suit both your taste and your pocket.
There is a favorite saying in the tea world: Water is the mother of tea.
Hard water, sulphurous water or chlorinated water all affect the taste of your tea.
If need be, water should be filtered., unless you are fortunate enough to live near a spring; spring water is ideal!
The best tea is enjoyed fresh.
Tea should be stored in sealed containers away from the light in a cool place. Because tea picks up flavors and odors around it, keep coffee and spices away from your tea. Even though it is dry, tea can become stale after an extended period of time. Remember to drink your tea; don’t waste it!
Steeping is infusing water with tea. Pour hot or boiling water over your tea for the recommended time and at the correct temperature allowing the flavors to develop. View recommended temperatures
The art of brewing delicious tea
Heat your pot by filling it with boiling water to raise the temperature of the pot. Recycle the water.
Use one tea sachet (or teaspoon or teabag) for each cup of tea desired. Follow the steeping instructions for each tea, as each has their own required time and temperature.
Once the steeping time is reached, remove sachet, tea or teabag to achieve perfect strength. A timer will help you make it “spot on.” Relax and enjoy.
Harney & Sons tea can be enjoyed in three different ways using loose tea, teabags or silken sachets. Get to know the different ways to enjoy our tea. As you discover our teas you’ll notice a Tea Rating system developed by Mike Harney to rate our tea. It’s a way to know how a tea will taste in your mouth.
Connoisseurs almost always choose loose tea, because it makes the ultimate cup of tea. When leaves are smaller, the flavor is more brisk. Large leaf black teas are more mellow and complex. You can choose to buy your loose tea in a decorative, gift-worthy Harney Tin, or save with a full Harney Pound bag and refill your tins when you like.
A large variety of distinctive Harney & Sons teas and herbals come in our perfect pyramid sachets. The shape allows for full leaves and improved water flow, resulting in a very nice cup of tea. The quantity is measured for you and there’s no straining required. Many Harney tea sachets can be purchased as Harney 50s – extra value for 50 count sachets.
Harney teabags are good for brewing tea on the fly. Each bag provides the ideal quantity for a mug and the broken leaves infuse faster than loose tea. Teabags travel well and mean you can have a comforting cup wherever you go. Check and see if your favorite tea comes with bulk savings in Harney 50s - 50 count teabags for less.
You may already have some favorite teas, but why stick with just a few? Harney & Sons sells teas in many sizes so you can explore different kinds of tea and discover unique tastes and flavorings.
Then, once you have a good idea of teas you’re going to enjoy again and again, check to see if they are available in bulk at a lower price. Harney 50s contain 50 Harney silken sachets or 50 Harney teabags. Harney Pounds contain one pound of Harney loose tea.
You can refill your tins – and your cupboard – and take advantage of the good value. You can buy more Harney tea for less. What a bright idea!
Michael Harney rates many of our teas on three attributes. A rating of 0 indicates the tea has none of the particular characteristic and a rating of 5 indicates that it is a primary characteristic.
Refers to a tea's ability to make your mouth pucker, also known as astringency. Some astringency makes tea brisk & desirable (like white wine). Too much briskness can be a problem, but may be controlled by reducing the brewing time.
Refers to whether or not a tea feels thick in the mouth such as Assam or light such as a white tea. Sometimes this body comes from dissolved solids from the leaves like the Assam, and sometimes it is from all the amino acids like Ichiban Sencha.
Refers to whether or not the tea has a pleasant smell, often the most prized part of tea. That makes sense, since humans can smell much better than we can taste. Sometimes the pleasant smell is teased out of the tea leaf by a skilled tea maker, sometimes it is flavor blended in here by our blenders.
