During a visit to Texas A&M to give a seminar, the teabags available for students, faculty and speakers alike included a few from Harney and Sons in individually wrapped, foil-lined paper pouches. This looked most intriguing, with listed flavors (in order) as vanilla, caramel, black currant, and bergamot—all of which I enjoy. Would the combination be as delicious as that suggests? Or are the parts greater than the sum?

I'm pleased to report: the former. The dry aroma bursts forth from the foil-lined paper pouch as if an oven has just been opened to a freshly baked, fruity vanilla cake. Flavor-wise, this was an unexpected, great throwback taste of childhood in the form of a modern tea blend. It reminds me greatly of the soft, vanilla-flavored, white-nougat, box-shaped candies with embedded fruity blobs that used to be in Brach's stand-alone store displays, and that sadly, they don't sell anymore online. Aside from anything with peppermint, those were my favorite. [Of course, if you hated those, this tea may not work well for you.]

If "Flavor" had a 4½, that's what I'd mash on the star meter, but I rounded to 5. The taste matches the aroma nicely, just a notch less strong...and still wonderful. I certainly could taste the tea underneath, and it seems of smooth, rich quality itself, so perhaps the overall blend is more like tea-flavored, fruity vanilla-nougat candy. Either way, it's a winner. No element here is weak; all balance well. The taste also reminded me a lot of TWG's excellent Napoleon tea, but with some Earl Grey bergamot blended in too. As with most H&S teas, it's expensive when purchased online or especially retail, but this one is worthwhile, and a future addition to my pantry's (large) tea rack, once there's room.

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