Flavor is often the Achilles’ heel of tea selection. It’s easy to let your taste buds stay in their comfort zone, sipping the same familiar blends day after day. But tea has so much more to offer. Exploring new flavor profiles can help you find fresh favorites and enjoy tea in more moments throughout your day. Think of it as an adventure: sample all five flavor profiles — sweet, sour, savory, bitter, and umami — and you might just find new favorites along the way.
A Sweet Treat
Sweetness is one of the most comforting and familiar tastes, and in our teas, it happens naturally. We let nature do the work, carefully selecting ingredients like dried fruit, vanilla, flowers, and honey for a gentle sweetness without the added sugar. These blends feel like a gentle indulgence, satisfying your sweet tooth while keeping things light and health-conscious. Perfect for a midday pick-me-up or a guilt-free dessert in a cup.
- Hot Cinnamon Spice – Our most popular flavored tea, worldwide. An assertive blend of black teas, three types of cinnamon, orange peel, and sweet cloves, it’s a fall staple that can be enjoyed year-round.
- Peach Fruit – A delightful summertime tea – we blend fruit pieces with rosehips, hibiscus, and natural flavors to produce a beautiful, vibrant ruby red drink that can be served hot or iced.
- French Macaron – The winner of our 2023 Happy Blendings contest, this white tea is paired with vanilla, caramel, almond, and lavender flavors to channel the delicate, delectable profile of a French macaron.
- SoHo Blend – One of my favorite tea blends (and not just because I created it). Initially designed to celebrate our flagship store in SoHo, this blend has since become a best seller thanks to the rich, irresistible flavors of black tea, chocolate, vanilla, coconut, and amaranth petals.
- Love Life – A refreshing blend of Japanese Bancha green tea with fresh flavors of strawberry, coconut, rich vanilla, and puffed rice for a light, fruity brew. As a bonus, half of every purchase supports Gay Men’s Health Crisis and their mission to end the AIDS epidemic.
- Island Dreams – Looking for a taste of the tropics? This blend layers a nimble-bodied green tea with flavors of tangy pineapple, sweet coconut, rum, and mellow blue cornflowers.
- Strawberry Milkshake – The perfect dessert tea, this whimsical blend captures the creamy nostalgia of your favorite diner treat, without the calories! Oolong tea is infused with the lush sweetness of strawberries, the smooth richness of milk flavor, and a hint of vanilla for a velvety-smooth brew.
Pucker Up
A touch of tartness can brighten up any cup. Just like the squeeze of a lemon perks up your water or a sour beer delivers a refreshing bite, teas with naturally sour notes add a crisp, lively twist to your daily sip. Those sour notes come naturally to our blends from ingredients like hibiscus, citrus peel, or tangy berries. These teas wake up your palate – reach for them when you need a refreshing, tangy lift to carry you through the day.
- Berry Young – A light blend that’s bursting with flavor. We start by marrying our Mutan White and Strawberry Kiwi Fruit teas before adding goji berries and rose petals to enhance the fresh, warming layers of the infusion — a great companion for a bright morning.
- Royal Palace – The tin may look traditional, but what’s inside is a refreshing surprise. Part of our Historic Royal Palaces Collection, this blend pairs classic black tea with bright notes of lemon and grapefruit for a tangy twist on tradition.
- Emerald Isles – The perfect splash of citrus, this blend starts with a green tea base before it’s brightened with real orange peel, juicy notes of grapefruit and lemon, cool spearmint, and a hint of mellow red cornflowers.
- Summer Afternoon – Inspired by the simple pleasures of a summer afternoon, this tea is a nod to Colonial Williamsburg’s carefully tended historic gardens. Green tea is blended with lemon peel, verbena, marigold petals, cornflowers, grapefruit, and honey flavors for a timeless treat. Plus, your purchase supports the research, preservation, and educational programs of the non-profit Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
- Garden Party – The 2021 Happy Blendings contest winner, this blend is inspired by summer parties in lush English gardens. Thanks to rhubarb, raspberry, elderflower, cornflower, and lemon, it offers a lively balance of sweet and tart, making it a green tea you’ll reach for again and again.
- Coconut Lime Oolong – We put the lime in the coconut and mixed it all up! But we used oolong as the base to ensure we put the Harney twist on it. This tea will make you feel like you are soaking up the sun on the beach.
Simply Savory
Savory teas offer a rich, full-bodied flavor that’s both satisfying and comforting. Drawing from ingredients like roasted grains, toasted herbs, and subtle hints of seaweed, these blends bring a warm, earthy depth to your cup. Their hearty, grounding nature makes them especially popular as a soothing morning ritual or a cozy companion on a chilly day. Many enjoy savory teas alongside a light meal, as a palate cleanser, or even as a satisfying alternative to broth.
- Pu-Erh – An ancient tea from Yunnan, China, Pu-Erh’s earthy pleasure has gained a passionate group of followers. This particular version is shou style, meaning it is fermented before it is packaged, compressed, and sold for consumption, making for a dark and striking brew.
- Lapsang Souchong – The perfect blend if you’re looking for a change of pace. This black tea is made from large leaves that are dried over smoky pine fires. As you might imagine, the blend develops a distinct smoky and savory flavor.
- Black Cask Bourbon – When we created this blend, we set out to combine the full body and intense aromas of black tea with the rich flavors of finely aged bourbon. The result is a black tea with prominent notes of bourbon, vanilla, caramel, and smoky oak cask.
- Mulled Plum Cider – This tea captures the joy of relaxing by the fire with a hot spiced tea. Plum and apple pieces are enhanced with spicy ginger and cinnamon to draw out their natural essence. The rich flavor and color mixed with just a splash of milk make for a marvelous dessert.
- Japanese Sencha – Not all Sencha is created equal. Ours is a wonderful blend sourced from the central Shizuoka province in Japan. It is a pleasant and approachable green tea found in many homes across Tokyo. Our founder, John Harney, started every morning with a cup.
Boldly Bitter
Bitterness might sound intimidating, but it brings boldness and depth that many tea drinkers love. Naturally present in strong black teas, some green teas, and robust herbal blends, a touch of bitterness can balance sweetness and cleanse the palate. Many tea lovers enjoy bitter teas for a bracing morning boost, a moment of focus in the afternoon, or to accompany rich or spicy foods. Expect a crisp, slightly dry finish that awakens your senses and leaves a lingering, satisfying edge in every sip.
- CTC Assam – An express-style tea made famous in India. This blend has a striking amber color, full body, and rich flavor. It’s also the key ingredient in several of our blends, including East Frisian and Chai. Great with milk and sugar, but often enjoyed solo.
- Organic Gunpowder – When we entered the tea trade over 30 years ago, China offered only two green teas: Gunpowder and Chun Mee. Our selection has since greatly expanded; however, many customers still enjoy the blend’s sharp, charred flavor.
- Yerba Mate – A popular herbal beverage from South America, yerba mate has a long history, including being used by Argentina's Gauchos (cowboys). Its strong, earthy taste is often compared to a blend of green tea and black tea with a grassy or woodsy undertone. Although it is herbal, it does contain caffeine.
- Scottish Morn – Perhaps one of our strongest and most loved, black teas. You’ll want to add this blend to your morning ritual. A portion of the sales goes to support the charitable endeavors of the American-Scottish Foundation®.
- Organic Chun Mee – A traditional green summer tea from China with a lightly roasted vegetal taste. Often with notes of apricot or plum, it’s generally less bitter than some other green teas and has a clean, smooth finish.
Uncover Umami
Umami might be the least familiar of the main flavor profiles, but it’s hard to forget once you discover it. Often described as full-bodied, brothy, or gently vegetal, umami adds a rich, satisfying depth to tea that lingers long after the last sip. In our blends, umami is nuanced — from the creamy depth of matcha to the mellow, broth-like notes in certain green teas and roasted grain infusions. This flavor is often chosen for mindful moments, tea ceremonies, or when you want a satisfying sip that feels nourishing but never heavy. Think of it as a cozy, grounding taste connecting you to the leaf's essence.
- Matcha – Powdered green tea has been consumed in China and Japan for centuries; however, Westerners have acquired a taste for it over the last few decades. We offer a range of thin, thick, and extra-thick Matcha grades depending on your taste and purpose. We also offer all the wares you’ll need to prepare the perfect latte.
- Genmaicha – A distinctive Japanese green tea known for its intriguing combination of flavors and textures. During processing, toasted brown rice kernels known as genmai are mixed with Bancha green tea leaves, resulting in a unique, nutty aroma and a smooth, pleasantly roasted flavor.
- Hojicha – This blend is another example of the Japanese making the most of the tea plant. Hojicha was created to help address labor shortages in the fields by using every part of the harvest. After the tea bushes were trimmed, the leaves and stems were sorted: the finest leaves became Sencha, the larger ones became Yanagi, and the stems were roasted to create Hojicha — a toasty, comforting tea often called roasted twig tea.
- Tencha – A rare find for sale, even inside Japan. Tencha is the base green tea used to make powdered Matcha. Dark in color yet light in the cup, this tea has a lot of body and no roast flavors.
- Ali San Oolong – Located in southern Taiwan, Ali San was one of the first areas in the region to produce high-mountain teas. Around 30 years ago, Taiwan’s tea industry underwent a significant transformation, shifting from traditional teas for export to high-quality oolongs for the thriving local market. Now, we can all enjoy this lightly oxidized oolong's delightful, lemony, and creamy flavors.
