A Visit to Harney & Sons, Master Tea Blenders
Story & Illustration by Mary Anne McLean

A story always begins before its beginning, doesn’t it? Shall we start with John Harney, farmboy, or shall we catapult ourselves straightaway to John Harney, master tea blender, recently made creator and purveyor of teas to the Queen and the royal palaces of England? What about the in-between years: John Harney, U. S. Marine; John Harney, manager of the White Hart Inn in Salisbury; or John Harney, young entrepreneur, blending his first teas in a barrel in his cellar some 36 years ago?

To begin somewhere in the middle, set out with me on an excursion east of our own little river towns. We’ll motor on over to the Harney & Sons tea packing factory, then to their new shop in Millerton. Along the way we’ll journey past open fields and revel in the terrain of the land and expansive views. The factory looms large at the corner of Routes 199 and 22. I feel I have a golden ticket in my hand when Mr. Harney, as if Mr. Wonka himself, meets me at the door.

With certain glee he opens his treasure barrels of dried tea leaves, allowing his guest to partake of a parade of extraordinary aromatic delights. With the same glee he points out a machine streaming gossamer fabric, another which is blurting tea-filled silken sachets, and one great spider of a device that wraps huge cubes of stacked cartons together with sticky tape, much as a spider wraps a treat. All the while he introduces by name and a pleasantry his many nearby employees as they fill the handsome Harney containers.

It is the “& Sons” Mike and Paul who fill these barrels. They explore foreign lands, tropical climes, and terraced gardens to scout out the finest teas on earth with their discerning palates. The superior leaves are spirited home to Millerton, where they are creatively blended much as the ancient alchemist might have done in search of the elixir of life. The resultant teas will then be shipped to some of the finest hotels and restaurants in the country.

After so gracious and generous a tour, it is over to the family’s new shop, just as one enters the village of Millerton, managed by daughter-in-law Brigitte Harney. Nearing the edifice I am struck by the mellow dark tea color of the building (perhaps Keemun or Darjeeling?) Through the front door, I find myself in a vast rich library of teas. Bookcases to the sky, stacked with adventure, shelves stocked with large black and gold tins.

If you fancy the historical novel, try Queen Catherine’s Blend, and Eight at the Fort. If you fancy geography, there is Bangkok, PanAsia, and Russian Country at your service. A good mystery? Sally’s Secret and Dragon Pearl. Biography? Earl Grey, of course, Elyse’s Blend, and Brigitte’s Blend as well. Art? Performance art to serve in a glass pot: large assemblages of dried flowers and green tea leaves that blossom dramatically in hot water, like Seven Sons Congratulating, Jasmine Fairy Maidens, and Dancing Snowflakes. Periodicals? That would be Tea of the Moment: a different sample of tea freshly brewed every 20 minutes to sip as you browse.

Beginners and connoisseurs alike are taken immediately under wing by gentle and enthusiastic guides. My guide is all-knowing and all-affability. He looks like a young Russian poet. According to my whim, he takes a tin from the shelf, spills out into its lid a generous spread of leaves for me to peruse. He tells me its origin, a bit of history, and asks if I would like him to brew me a complimentary cup. The most beautiful tea he retrieves is the ethereal Tilleul de Carpentras, in full leaf and flower. I know immediately that this is the one I want to draw. I linger long and purchase a selection of loose teas in small envelopes.

A turn away from the tea library and I am in the central room, replete with all the accoutrements of a proper tea party or ceremony. Besides the things that answer everyday needs, there is the tea pot as sculpture. One ceramic pot recalls the pond lily and its pad, a square one of black iron has embossed Japanese dragonflies. There are polished cherry bark tea scoops and hand-made cups formed as flowers.

Ultimately, I come to the grace note of the afternoon, the tea room. Sitting a quiet, comfortable while with lovely homemade soup or toothsome sandwich and a great pot of tea (which comes with scones), I sup and think: how often in past years have I been forced to take coffee in restaurants because it is devilish difficult to get a passing fair cup of tea! The water is often sadly tepid, and a listless bag slumps on the saucer. But today I am in the hands of experts.

I think of my own antique family tea pot, with bird’s head and open-beak spout. And how, over the years, it has spoken many different dialects, the most exotic of which has been Lapsang Souchong. I shall introduce within the next few days the new tongues I carry in packets just purchased.

And I think of how I came to have such high regard for tea in the first place, especially Jasmine. A half century ago an old friend, Frank Cho, was a young man attending Harvard Business School. Frank came from an aristocratic family in China and was just a year short of earning his degree when the Communist invasion of his country usurped the family’s resources. His uncle however managed to ship him a trunk of Jasmine tea. It arrived at Boston Harbor, appropriately, and Frank, the enterprising business student, took the trunk to S.S. Pierce and traded it for the cost of his last school year. Hooray for Frank’s uncle, S.S. Pierce, and Jasmine tea!

I have tarried long and it is time to leave. I am happy to have met the formidable John Harney, his sons, and two of his grandsons. It appears there will be a long and happy life for the Harney tea dynasty. I gather my wraps, hold the door for two merry newcomers, and say: “Step in, the kettle’s just boiling.”

Visit the new Harney & Sons retail store, One Railroad Plaza (Route 44) in Millerton, New York 12546. Open seven days a week, call (518) 789-2121. Or visit their website anytime, www.harney.com.