Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea - Harney & Sons

These teas can resemble virtually any flavor imaginable.


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Nov 12th, '08, 02:23
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Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea - Harney & Sons

by Vulture » Nov 12th, '08, 02:23

I have to say thanks as I was sent a sample of this tea from a forumite. Here is what I wrote about it in my shiny new blog. No offence to adagio but their flavored tea is just 'ok' while places like Harney and Lipicia have amazing flavored teas.
Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea - Harney & Sons
I first want to thank a friend who sent me this. It is from a local store just north New York City that sells teas and also has a tasting room. Harney & Sons also has an online store Here where I will explore later. My favorite flavored tea is Cinnamon, so at this remark I was sent a Cinnamon tea.

Teaware: Gaiwan
Temperature: Boiling
2 Infusions at a time
I started with 20 counts (seconds) and worked up from there.

1st infusion: Wow, this is a lot different than the infused flavor tea I have been using. The flavor of cinnamon is more what I would expect from the raw spice. The second flavor to hit is actualy a sweetness that smooths out the bitterness found in cinnamon. There is a hint of black tea behind this but it is overpowered by the other flavors. Though I have to mark it down points for not being able to taste much of the tea, I give it extra credit as a dessert tea.

2nd infusion: The taste of cinnamon starts to grow as the chunks of cinnamon start infusing the tea with more flavor. It gets more spicy and the sweetness starts pulling back. I do not know if they added any sweetener to the mix but more steeps will tell.

3rd infusion: I am at it again eagerly this time. Normaly I wait for a tea to cool a little before tasting but this one I am burning my lip as I try to have more. This time the cinnamon is starting to kick in more. The sweetness has dropped either due to the stronger cinnamon taste or has started weakening as I go. I spoke to the friend who was online and they do not use sweaterners. The blend uses 3 types of cinnamon and orange peels?

4th infusion: This infusion sis alot lighter than the perviouse ones in taste and color. I will have to start increasing the brewing time by alot. This is a tea that I like to keep strong. It also helps seperate the flavors of the tea.

5th infusion: I used a cooler temperature by not reheating the water, the effect is lighter on the cinnamon so I actualy get a hint of the tea used in the mix. Mainly both the sweetness and the cinnamon are starting to slack off.

6th infusion: Even with the water reheated the flavor has mellowed out on this. This is the final infusion.

Overall - This is a good tea though I can only get a few steeps out of this with full flavor. I might not actualy call this a tea but more a hot beverage. It is steeped the same as tea but there is no tea flavor in it.

Other Thoughts - I am out of a tea budget and its only the start of the week. I ordered some of this along with a few flavored samplers from this vendor....

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Nov 12th, '08, 03:16
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Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice

by boywoodhe » Nov 12th, '08, 03:16

I have to agree with Vulture.:)
A friend of mine sent me a sample and it has a good spicy flavor, if you want a candy hot beverage. I wouldn't call hot cinnamon spice a tea. It tasted like a liqued fireball jawbreaker and it was an experience tasting the beverage but it doesn't cut it for being a flavored tea. (in my opinion)
It might be good for a dessert subsitute after dinner or if your outside in the cold ...it will warm you up. :)

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Nov 12th, '08, 12:49
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by cha cha cha » Nov 12th, '08, 12:49

Yup, Hot Cinnamon Spice is definitely my favorite flavored tea by Harney. If you like Harney, try some of their Golden Mudan. I bought some on the recommendation of Tea on Tap (http://teaontap.blogspot.com/2007/12/go ... -sons.html), and it definitely lived up to the praise.[/url]

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Dec 4th, '08, 21:36
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by yukondoit » Dec 4th, '08, 21:36

I'm glad to see so many people are into this blend. My friend gave me a giant tin of this stuff off-hand, just trying to get rid of it, and I am not really into cinnamon, but this blend totally blew me away. It's so strong and fierce. I don't drink much from Harney & Sons, but it's easily the best cinnamon tea I've ever had, and it's not chalky -- a lot of teas with hot cinnamon can get that chalky consistency.
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Dec 6th, '08, 19:35
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by sheila77551 » Dec 6th, '08, 19:35

I really like this tea. Just asked a friend in Snohomish WA, where I bought my last bag, to bring me two lbs. when she comes to visit me next week. It will be a nice Christmas gift to give to friends along with some home baked cookies.
Does anyone know where to purchase some bags and labels? Thanks.
Sheila

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Dec 7th, '08, 01:08
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by Vulture » Dec 7th, '08, 01:08

sheila77551 wrote:I really like this tea. Just asked a friend in Snohomish WA, where I bought my last bag, to bring me two lbs. when she comes to visit me next week. It will be a nice Christmas gift to give to friends along with some home baked cookies.
Does anyone know where to purchase some bags and labels? Thanks.
Sheila
Sheila you know they have a web site that you can order all this stuff :wink:

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Dec 11th, '08, 03:33
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Re: Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice

by omegapd » Dec 11th, '08, 03:33

boywoodie wrote:I wouldn't call hot cinnamon spice a tea.
I tried it for the first time tonight and agree 100% with this statement. Even with the recommended 5 minute steep, the cup was light in color with no "typical" tea flavor. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it - I did. But it tasted more like an herbal cinnamon tisane to me than tea. I think I'll try my hand blending it with some other stuff and see what happens...

EW

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