There are a ton of tea brands out there, and most have several to dozens of flavors available. Some brands have just a few good flavors, or fill a special niche, or make unsupported health claims, or only provide the standard run-of-the-mill flavors that are fine, but boring. One company that consistently offers a large variety of interesting and delicious flavors as well as excellent takes on the classic flavors is Harney and Sons. As a bonus, the teas come in beautifully ornate color-coded tins that beg to be reused even after the tea is long gone. But there are so many flavors and variations that it would take a year of daily tea drinking to get through them all. Thankfully for you, I’ve spend years systematically going through their offerings and now I’m going to offer my recommendations on the best of their line-up.
This brand is not the cheapest for sure, but considering the flavors, quality, and packaging, it is reasonable if you buy it from the right place (more on that later). If you don’t like the idea of spending 40 cents for a small bag of sticks and leaves, then maybe this isn’t for you. But considering the popularity of fancy teas these days, I’m guessing most of the readers here are fine with it. The loose leaf tins are typically around $7.50 USD and the tins of 20 bags (which look and feel the best) cost about $8.50 each on iHerb and $10-12 on Amazon.com. The larger tins have 30 bags for $10.50, so it’s a slightly better price performance if the flavor you want is available in that size and you aren’t collecting the cute color-coded tins. Recently, they’ve been selling paper boxes of 50 tea bags of select flavors for $9 to $11, which is great for restocking. If you buy from iHerb via the links on this page you get an even better price. I’ve seen retail stores selling the same items for fully twice as much. There are advantages to buying in a store (such as being able to smell them before buying, and see products that may not be available online), but if you know what you want, or don’t mind experimenting, then these online stores offer keep savings on identical items.
Hot Cinnamon Sunset (aka Hot Cinnamon Spice)
These two flavors are essentially the same, the former comes in tea bags and the latter comes as loose leaf tea, and they are both amazing! First, some people don’t like cinnamon, and if you are one of those people, then skip this one. The tea brewed from these smells and tastes strongly of cinnamon and a bit sweet (from the orange peel), and it’s a bit on the spicy side. That’s great for me, and most people I know, but it was too strong for a few people. It goes great with milk (or substitutes) or straight. It also goes great with Kahlua coffee liqueur…especially the chocolate chili flavor for even more kick! I’ve tried cinnamon teas from other brands, but none of them come close to the powerful and refreshing taste of Harney and Sons version. This tea is reasonably caffeinated at 40-60 milligrams per cup, which can be good or bad depending on your desire. I’ve certainly wanted a decaf version that I can drink in the evening for it’s warming effects without keeping me up, and a decaf version is available directly from Harney and Son’s site and from Amazon.com for around $12 for the 20-count tins. That price also applies to the normal versions too. From iHerb, before discount, the 20-bag tin costs $8.54, the 30-count tin costs $10.40, the 50-count box is only $11, and the loose leaf tin is $7.59 or $22.50 for a 1 lb bag!. So that’s already much cheaper and you’ll get a discount on top of that.
Green Tea with Coconut
I had never really considered coconut for tea, even though I love coconut. So when I saw this listing, it piqued my interest. Before my first batch has run out, I’ve already ordered my second to ensure I always have some on hand. The coconut flavor is not strong, but it’s pleasantly noticeable. Being a green tea, the tea flavor is also not so strong, so the combination is perfect. And there are other flavors mixed in — vanilla, ginger, and lemongrass — to give it what they claim is a taste of Thailand. I don’t know anything about that, but it is a great an unusual blend. It has about 30-50mg of caffeine, so it’s probably best not to drink before bed, but it’s also not going to give you the jitters. This quickly because one of my favorite teas that I drink almost every day, so at first I bought the 20-bag tin for $8.50 from iHerb, but I’m frequently refilling with the 30-bag tin for $10.40.
Chocolate Mint Black Tea
Chocolate and mint are a famously good combination because the crisp mint flavor brings out and highlights nuanced features of the mellow chocolate taste. A chocolate mint tea seems an obvious winner, but wait a minute, this is tea. It’s not a minty hot cocoa, it’s tea. There are basically no calories and no melted chocolate, so if you go into it expecting something strong and creamy like mint hot cocoa, then you are going to be disappointed…at first. But think about it, this is zero calories and a bit of caffeine that tastes like mint and chocolate, which (as already mentioned) is a delicious combination. It’s still a delicious combination when the taste is a little subdued because this is flavored tea instead of mint hot cocoa. It has 40-60mg of caffeine, so, like the cinnamon tea above, I often wish there were a decaf version, because this is a great dessert tea. iHerb has it for the standard price and also in loose leaf, or you can get it from Amazon in various packs and combinations of bags and loose leaf.
Black Currant Black Tea
In general, I am not a fan of fruity teas, but I’ve found several that I do like. Harney and Son’s Paris Tea tea is the favorite of one of my coworkers, and it smells exactly like baking blueberry muffins. They also make a blueberry tea, but I haven’t ordered it yet. That same coworker and I split an order of the Black Currant tea and I was delighted by the flavor. With 40-60mg of caffeine, this is on the strong side of normal black teas, but nothing out of the ordinary. As a black tea, it goes well straight or with milk/cream. The fruity blend gives it a hint of sweetness without any sugar, but extra sugar turns it into an indulgence. I think a lot of people may not be familiar with black currant (also known as cassis), although its liquor is used in many delicious cocktails and it is readily available as a delicious jam. It seems much more popular in Europe than in the Americas. But it doesn’t matter if you can’t quite place the flavor, all that matters is that you like the flavor. And I liked this flavor even though I don’t like fruity black teas in general, so I can wholeheartedly recommend it to you. You can get it at iHerb for $8.50 or from Amazon for $7, so this is a case where Amazon is cheaper (if you’re in the States).
Royal Palace Tea
This black tea is an alternative to the likes of Earl Grey and English Breakfast, although Harney and Sons also makes great versions of those flavors. This black tea is flavored with lemon and grapefruit, which I know technically makes it fruity, but as most tea drinkers know, citrus is a bit different/special. I don’t know the caffeine content, but it’s a solid black tea so I would guess in the 40-60mg range. This is only available in the 30-bag larger tin, but the tin is extra beautiful. It currently costs $11.40 (before discount) from iHerb and $34 for a two-pack from Amazon (so I always order from iHerb). There are some similar teas that only come in this 30-count tin, such as Tower of London blend and Victorian London Fog, but I haven’t tried these other blends yet.
Peppermint Herbal
This isn’t a mint tea blend, this is just peppermint tea. As such, the taste is basically the same as any other peppermint tea. It’s not especially strong or smooth or brisk or anything. As usual, the packaging is extra beautiful and the tea comes in silk bags rather than paper ones. That’s good for me because I am often carrying the teas in an infuser bottle, and the paper bags get jostled around and often break. These silk ones are strong enough not to explode. So in terms of taste, it’s not much different from other peppermint teas (all of which I love), and it costs more, so there is no strong reason to get Harney and Son’s peppermint tea over other brands, but there is also no problem with it either. iHerb sells it for $8.54 (before discounts) and Amazon.com current has a two-pack on sale for for 14.99.
African Autumn
This tea has a Red Bush (aka Rooibos) base, with added flavors of cranberry and oranges. At first I was simply surprised by the flavor, and its uniqueness made it interesting, and I kept drinking it. In general, I don’t much care for rooibos teas, and really dislike cranberries, so after a while the novelty wore off for me and I didn’t want to finish it up. But thankfully, the soothing and interesting aroma from the tea grabbed the attention of my coworkers who were eager to try it themselves. Some even ordered it for themselves. So the lesson is, if you like trying new and interesting things, then grab this unique and interesting tea regardless of your predispositions. If you are new to rooibos then it’s a nice way to try it too. It’s not for everybody, but it may be your new favorite. iHerb sells the 20-bag tin of this for the standard $8.50 (before discounts), so why not give it a try.
Yellow and Blue, Chamomile and Lavender
Okay, these are honest reviews written from experience, so I have to tell you have I have never drank this tea. I personally don’t like lavender, so I’ve never ordered it, and I”m not really interested in drinking it. I might be surprised, and I might like this (it wouldn’t be the first time), but there are so many teas that I haven’t tried that I probably WILL like, that this is like likely to make it into my shopping cart. So why is it here? Because just look at that tin! I honestly want it just to put in on my shelf (and offer to guests). It makes it on this list because I am often tempted to order despite not even liking lavender teas. And if you DO like lavender teas, then I’m sure it’s a good rendition of it, just like all their other teas. iHerb sells the 20 bag (beautiful) tin of this flavor for the standard $8.50.
