Every member of the Harney family has always been a big-time reader. Papa John’s love of non-fiction is a trait shared by Elyse, Mike, and Paul, who seem to always be paging through biographies and other books about past events, presidents, and the like. My brother Alex and I are more into science fiction and fantasy, but all of us are at home in a library.
One library dear to our collective heart is the Scoville Memorial Library In Salisbury, Connecticut, located just a quarter mile from where our company started. Besides being one of the oldest public libraries in the U.S., it’s the first in the country that was open to the public free of charge. Several of us Harneys have contributed to the Scoville’s oral history project…and as true bibliophiles, we’ve recently partnered with yet another prestigious library to create a unique tea blend.
The Library Blend: Created in Partnership with the New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the nation’s second largest (right behind the Library of Congress) and holds more than 56 million items, including renowned research collections used by scholars worldwide. Its flagship location, the Beaux-Arts Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, has been a New York City landmark since 1911. We were flattered when the NYPL began offering our teas in their gift shop…and when they asked us to collaborate on a co-branded blend, we couldn’t say yes quickly enough.
Birth of a Blend
To create this new tea…which was quickly and sensibly christened “The Library Blend”…Mike Harney and our own Elvira Cardenas (a masterful tea purchaser and blender whose inspiring story is shared in our Teafluencers interview series) found inspiration in the two marble lions that flank the front steps of the library’s Fifth Avenue location.
Created by sculptor Edward Clark Potter, NYC Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia named the lions “Patience” and “Fortitude” in the 1930s…referencing two qualities he believed New Yorkers would need to withstand the Great Depression. (Harney & Sons, of course, also boasts two lions…the ones on our logo, designed by Ed Piechocki back in the 1980s. It was probably fated that our lions and the NYPL’s lions were going to get together and form a pride sooner or later.)
The prominence of the library’s two iconic lions influenced Mike and Elvira’s decision to give The Library Blend two equally distinctive flavors. After considerable thought and experimentation, they decided that those two flavors should be orange and mango, atop a bracing black tea base.
The tea that’s resulted is a blend we’re especially proud of: a caffeinated, medium-bodied brew with a bold, fruity taste. In terms of aroma, the orange and mango scents battle for top-cat supremacy…while the brightness of orange takes the lead in the tea’s flavor profile.
The New York Public Library reviewed the tea’s development at every step, and even designed its distinctive packaging. Incorporating multiple illustrations, the black-and-gold tin displays images of the NYC skyline, a taxicab, the lions Patience and Fortitude, the library building’s facade, a desk and chair from the building’s Rose Main Reading Room, a stack of hardbacks…and lastly, a stalwart city pigeon.Â
While we believe that any time is the right time to enjoy the everyday luxury of high-quality tea, we believe The Library Blend will pair perfectly with the volume of your choice…making you smile, while adding an extra layer of enjoyment to your reading.Â
Libraries Are a New Inspiration for Us. Books, However, Are Not.
Libraries and books just naturally go together…and we’ve got a long history of creating teas inspired by literature.
Our Agatha Christie Collection, which features Murder on the Orient Express (a smoky, citrusy black tea) Death on the Nile (an herbal blend of ginger, peppermint, and chamomile), and Hallowe’en Party (black tea with pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger and other flavors) is sure to appeal to fans of classic mystery.
Our Little Women Orchard House Blend (a green tea with sweet apple flavors) pays homage to the life and works of Louisa May Alcott, and our A Midsummer Night’s Dream tea (a sweet, floral Earl Grey with notes of fruit and spices) took its inspiration from the flowers and herbs named in William Shakespeare’s famous play.
Our Pemberley Grey (a refined blend of Early Grey, Darjeeling, and bright citrus) pays tribute to Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s 1813 novel of manners. Finally, our Emily Winfield Martin Collection, made in collaboration with the author, references her delightful children’s book, The Wonderful Things You Will Be. Wonderful Things: Boy, Wonderful Things: Girl, and Wonderful Things: Mystery each feature tins bearing Ms. Martin’s whimsical illustrations…and make absolutely ideal baby shower gifts.
Thanks For Reading (Both This Blog and Print in General)
It’s not every day we suggest a book to pair with your tea…but if your bedside table is currently unoccupied, we’ll modestly endorse the Harney & Sons Guide to Tea, authored and signed by our very own Mike Harney.
A couple more book suggestions that aren’t currently on our website include out-of-print volumes co-authored by our founder, John Harney. Harney & Sons: The Tea Cookbook (by Joanna Pruess and John Harney) and Children’s Tea & Etiquette (by Dorothea Johnson, John Harney, and Ann Noyes)...a story in which Papa John even appears as an illustrated character…can easily be found in used form online.
Sip, Read, and Repeat
Live in New York City? Look for The Library Blend next time you’re passing by the New York Public Library’s gift shop. Don’t live in NYC? Fear not. This salute to the NYPL is available now…and (if we may be allowed one egregious library-based pun) we truly hope you’ll check it out.
