United StatesOverview
It is not a calendar: Harney & Sons sells the chest as a gift set. The house was founded in 1983 by John Harney, proprietor of the White Hart Inn in Salisbury, Connecticut, who began blending in his basement. It is still family owned and now headquartered in Millerton, New York. Harney calls the chest an elegant gift for a tea lover or for someone you are trying to convert to tea.
Inside are four 2 oz tins and a silver-plated strainer. English Breakfast is 100% Keemun. Earl Grey Supreme layers Assam, Keemun, Ceylon, Formosa oolong and white tea tips with Calabrian bergamot. Hot Cinnamon Spice, the house's most popular tea, adds three cinnamons, orange peel and cloves. Paris is black and oolong tea with black currant, vanilla, caramel and bergamot.
The chest measures 2.5 x 9 x 6.5 inches. Harney suggests refilling the tins with its loose tea by the pound. It costs $49.95 at harney.com.
Taste & variety
Four black-based teas that run from plain to fancy. English Breakfast is 100% Chinese Keemun, toasty, with a note of honey, modelled on the black tea the English drank in the early 1800s. Earl Grey Supreme is the lighter-bodied bergamot, built on Assam, Keemun and Ceylon with Formosa oolong and Silver Needle tips and Calabrian bergamot oil.
Hot Cinnamon Spice, Harney's most popular tea, is Chinese black with three cinnamons, orange peel and cloves. Paris is the sweet one: black currant, vanilla and caramel over a hint of bergamot. All of them carry caffeine, 40 to 60 mg a cup by Harney's own count.
Packaging & gift appeal
Black with gold accents and the Harney logo, and only 2.5 inches tall (9 wide, 6.5 deep), so it lies flat like a small writing box instead of standing like a caddy. Inside are four 2 oz tins and a silver-plated strainer.
Two ounces is a modest amount of loose tea, and Harney knows it: the page suggests refilling the tins with loose tea by the pound, or rotating in new ones. That is the clever part.
It turns a one-off present into a small habit, and a chest on a shelf in January is still a reminder of who gave it.
What is in the box
Four 2 oz tins of loose leaf tea (Hot Cinnamon Spice, English Breakfast, Earl Grey Supreme and Paris) and a silver-plated strainer, in a refillable black and gold chest measuring 2.5 x 9 x 6.5 inches.
Key features
- Four 2 oz tins of loose leaf tea, all black-tea based
- A silver-plated strainer in the middle of the chest
- Black and gold chest, 2.5 x 9 x 6.5 inches
- The tins can be refilled with Harney loose tea
Our verdict
A neat, tidy introduction to a house that started in a Connecticut basement and now blends more than three hundred teas. The four tins span plain Keemun to sweet, flavoured Paris, which gives a loose-leaf novice some range to explore.
A smart present for a black tea drinker, with the refill idea doing the long-term work.
What we like
- The strainer is in the chest, so it is ready to brew
- Four of Harney's most popular loose teas, not a random mix
- A black and gold chest that is kept and refilled
- Looks like a present before any wrapping
A few things to know
- All four teas are black-tea based and caffeinated, with no herbal for the evening
- Small 2 oz tins, so a favourite will need the refill Harney suggests
- Hot Cinnamon Spice and Paris are sweet blends, so only two of the four are plain-leaning
Rated 4.9 out of 5 from 76 reviews on Harney & Sons, checked October 10, 2026
What buyers say
Buyers describe a quality gift set with a classic look and lovely packaging, and the reviews are mostly from people giving it away. One mentions the tea strainer as a highlight. Of the sampled reviews, one was written by a giver who had not yet tried the tea.
This is a quality gift set! It has a beautiful classic look. The tea is phenomenal and the tea strainer is stunning.
Lovely packaging and great service!
Wonderful gift. Great teas
Customer reviews on Harney & Sons, checked October 15, 2026. Read all reviews on Harney & Sons
