Travel

It's so exciting to see our partners across the globe, who have come to be great friends. Hear more about my time in Australia and New Zealand!

I started the first few weeks of 2020 visiting our friends and partners in Korea, where we have a few Harney and Sons shops. It's a joy to travel and see familiar places and friends, as well as partake in the culture.

I have been visiting China to buy teas for 23 years. As I get older, I do have some nostalgia, so I like to visit familiar places, see old friends, and temper that with new experiences.

Join the Harney family for a one of a kind tea-centeredtour of Japan. Harney & Sons Fine Tea has been importing tea directly from Japan for over 35 years, and the family has decades-long personal relationships with the best tea growers in the industry. For anyone who loves to drink green tea, Japan is a must-visit.

John Harney’s years of hard work got our teas into the Dorchester. Who would think that one of the best hotels in London would use our teas? John Harney!

We have worked with Jane Pettigrew for over 30 years and enjoyed every minute. She spoke at our early Tea Summits. We are so happy that she has developed the U.K. Tea Academy into the best tea school in the world. So we have to include a stimulating day with her into our trip. Another virtuoso performance was done by THE Jane Pettigrew.

The second Harney & Sons London Tea has started. 

It is a bit warm but we are a lot of fun. This was the opening reception at The Chesterfield Hotel. Tomorrow we are with Jane Pettigrew of The UK Tea Academy.

People wonder how great matcha is made. After hand plucking of great teas in Uji, the tea is made into Tencha by steaming and drying the tea. Later it is ground in between to rotating stones. 

Matsuda. 

The man and the myth. 

Decades of toiling in his tea fields near his house making the most distinctive Sencha have done him no harm 

Sometimes I am lucky. 16 years ago, I was very lucky to stumble across Tsuyoshi Sugimoto. He runs one of the best tea companies in the best tea town in Japan. We stopped by his factory and tasted the semi processed tea : Aracha from this year. 

Takashimaya has a warm spot in my heart. One of our early projects was working with my dad to source great teas for the New York store on Fifth Avenue. It started us down the path. And we have kept on that path. 

The next morning we went to the Otsuka’s house. Mrs. Otsuka wants to make us some Matcha in her tea room. 

It was cold and rainy last Tuesday when we checked in with the Otsukas in central Japan. Kakegawa is in the heart of Japan’s largest tea area: Shizuoka. However the warm welcome more than made up for the weather. 

Most Springs we like to check in with our friend: Steve He in Changsha. He makes the black tea that we use in most black tea blends. So one of our most important suppliers. Also he always has some interesting speciality teas.

I have been to many parts of China, so I assumed that I pretty much knew China. Good to see at 62, I can still learn. Enshi is a city located in western Hubei Province. 6 hours by bullet train from Changsha. So far removed from the China I know.

We went up to lovely Anji and our friend Mr Wang. There the frost caused less problems. So we bought the Anji Bancha and Anji Black. We love these teas because they have so much of mouth filling amino acids that also add sweetness.