Features

The Tins of the Fathers- Harney & Sons

By Alan Richman Alan Richman Feb 27, 2011 12:02pm

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Introduced to Tea The New York Times Emeric’s Entry

“More than a Store”

Tea of the MomentAt both Harney & Sons retail locations—Millerton, NY and lower Manhattan—complimentary tastings are held every day, and more than once a day, with the only rule being one per person.Emeric Harney, who manages the SoHo operations, says, “We also have what we call Tea of the Moment. On a frequent, but irregular schedule, we pull any one of our hundreds of teas off the shelf and make it available for free tasting. This is the best way we know to introduce our clientele to the immense variety and consistent quality of Harney & Sons tea.”When a tea clicks with a customer, easily affordable sample sizes are available for take-home, generally priced at between $2 and $5, and with enough tea to brew up to five cups.

Michael’s Memories

They Can Sell It To You Wholesale In 1983, when Harney & Sons was born, the world of tea was much different from what it is today.John Harney, at 80 still the master blender and brand ambassador, recalls: “China had just opened to western trade, and basic ‘Chinese’ teas like gunpowder, oolong and keemun were still coming from Taiwan. India’s teas were still strongly influenced by the British, so Darjeelings and assams were dark and monotone, just right for milk and sugar. The Indians had only just begun to experiment with changing style of teas to make the teas taste more seasonal and more flavorful. The Japanese kept senchas to themselves. So back in 1983, the tea world did not offer many great teas. And that was fine, because few people drank tea. How that has changed, and for the better.”Harney remembers a call from a stranger named Chuck Williams, owner of what he called cook shops. “Williams-Sonoma is still a valued customer,” he says.At one point, when daughter Lyse was working for the family enterprise during summer vacations from college, she walked into the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on New York’s Park Avenue and told the manager he should be buying from Harney & Sons. “And they still do,” says John.London’s Dorchester Hotel is another world-famous client. John declares, “We are proud to be the tea suppliers to the hotel that won the UK Tea Council’s Top London Afternoon Tea Award for 2007.” Dorchester Breakfast, carried in the Harney line, is an English-style English Breakfast tea — strong and intended to be drunk with milk and sugar.Of course, celebrity clients alone do not fuel a successful business. Harney & Sons scouts for new customers at the two major Fancy Food Shows each year. In addition, it promotes aggressively and also feeds off the ringing praise heaped on it by a loyal following. Exports make up about 10 percent of volume, and the company ships to such places as Belgium, the Czech Republic, and — amazingly — to Hong Kong, England and China.

Alan Richman, former editor/associate publisher of Whole Foods Magazine, is now a full-time New Jersey-based freelance writer specializing in coverage of foods and beverages. He can be contacted at arkr@optonline.net.

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