Tea Tips And Hot Takes

Summary

All Of It: “Tea Tips And Hot Takes” with Michael Harney – A Comprehensive Summary

In the March 3, 2025 episode of WNYC’s All Of It, host Alison Stewart engages in a delightful and informative conversation with Michael Harney, the Vice President of Harney and Sons. Celebrating their 40th anniversary, Harney and Sons is renowned for its premium tea blends sourced globally, embodying the essence of All Of It – a show dedicated to exploring culture and its consumers.

A Legacy Steeped in Tradition

The episode opens with Alison Stewart introducing Michael Harney and highlighting Harney and Sons' illustrious history. Founded in Millerton, New York, by Michael’s late father, John Harney, the company has grown from a small country inn into a globally recognized tea brand. Michael shares, “[...] we have two families, six generations associated with us” (01:19), emphasizing the deep-rooted family legacy that sustains the business.

Growing Up with Tea

Reflecting on his upbringing, Michael reveals that his father introduced tea into the family business when Michael was a teenager. “[My father] always said that tea is an everyday luxury,” he recalls (02:13). This philosophy remains central to Harney and Sons, aiming to provide affordable yet high-quality teas that bring joy to daily life.

Exploring Tea Preferences and Brewing Techniques

Alison delves into Michael’s personal tea preferences, prompting a discussion on the nuances of tea preparation. Michael advocates for using filtered water, stating, “water is the mother of tea” (10:09), and recommends measuring one teaspoon of tea per cup with boiling water steeped for four to five minutes. He contrasts loose leaf and bagged teas, noting that loose leaf teas tend to be more mellow and elegant, while bagged teas brew brisker, making them ideal for adding milk and sugar (10:57).

Global Insights and Memorable Experiences

Michael shares captivating stories from his travels, particularly a transformative visit to an indigenous tribe in China’s Tiger Mountain. “[They] had their own ceremonies... it was amazing,” he recounts (04:35). This immersive experience not only deepened his appreciation for diverse tea traditions but also reinforced the cultural significance of tea ceremonies worldwide.

Engaging Listener Stories

The episode becomes interactive as Alison fields calls from listeners, each sharing personal connections with Harney and Sons teas. Nancy from Cranford gushes about her favorite “Hot Cinnamon Sunset” blend, while Mary Beth from Westchester recounts how the “Paris” blend provided comfort during the isolating days of COVID-19. “[...] it felt like an escape in a cup, luxurious,” Mary Beth shares (05:51), highlighting the emotional resonance of tea during challenging times.

David from Long Beach, an English professor, adds a nostalgic dimension by recalling a thoughtful gift from a Harney family grandchild – a hand-harvested lapsang souchong from Wu Yi Mountain. This gesture not only fostered a meaningful connection but also underscored the brand’s commitment to quality and tradition (09:36).

Brewing the Perfect Cup

Addressing listener questions, Michael offers practical advice on preventing bitter black tea. He emphasizes the importance of proper water quality and precise measurements: “use water that has been filtered” and “use a teaspoon per cup” (10:09). These tips resonate with tea enthusiasts seeking consistency in their brewing rituals.

Art of Tea Blending

When discussing the creation of new tea blends, Michael shares his methodical approach honed over decades. “I have many of the rules down,” he explains (11:21). While open to innovation inspired by sources like the book Flavorama, he maintains a balance between tradition and experimentation to craft harmonious and delightful flavors.

Cultural Significance of Tea

Alison and Michael explore why tea holds a profound place in diverse cultures. Michael attributes its universal appeal to its comforting nature and health benefits, echoing the British sentiment: “come in and I'll put the kettle on” (12:14). This cultural ubiquity makes tea a bridge connecting people across different backgrounds and traditions.

A Heartfelt Farewell and Gift Exchange

As the conversation winds down, Michael extends his gratitude by gifting Alison a sample of their “Hot Cinnamon Spice” tea, a specially designed mug for loose tea, and a copy of his book. This gesture symbolizes the warm and personal connections fostered through All Of It (12:34).

Conclusion

This episode of All Of It with Michael Harney offers listeners an enriching exploration of tea culture, blending personal anecdotes with professional insights. From the cherished family legacy of Harney and Sons to the intricate art of tea blending and global cultural practices, Alison Stewart and Michael Harney craft a narrative that is both informative and deeply engaging. Whether you're a seasoned tea connoisseur or a casual enthusiast, “Tea Tips And Hot Takes” provides a comprehensive guide to appreciating the multifaceted world of tea.

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Notable Quotes:

• Michael Harney on family legacy: “We have two families, six generations associated with us” (01:19).
• On tea as an everyday luxury: “Tea is an everyday luxury” (02:13).
• Importance of water quality: “Water is the mother of tea” (10:09).
• On cultural significance: “Come in and I'll put the kettle on” (12:14).
• Michael on balancing tradition and innovation in tea blending: “I have many of the rules down” (11:21).

This episode not only celebrates the rich heritage of Harney and Sons but also invites listeners to appreciate the cultural tapestry woven through every cup of tea.

Transcript

[Michael Harney]

Listener support, WNYC Studios.

[Alison Stewart]

You are listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. It is time to spill the tea with Michael Harney, the vice president of Harney and Sons. A favorite of many New Yorkers, Harney and Sons, Fine Tees recently commemorated their 40th anniversary. They're known for their high quality blends sourced from around the world. According to the Tea association of the USA, an estimated 159 million Americans are drinking tea on any given day. And in 2022 alone, over 3.9 billion gallons were consumed. Michael Harney is vice president of Harney and Sons. Yes, he's one of the sons and he's here to tell us more about all the great tea varieties. It is really nice to meet you.

[Michael Harney]

Thank you, Allison.

[Alison Stewart]

So Harneys and sons celebrated its 40th anniversary up in the started in Millerton, New York, started by your late father, John Harney. How'd your father start the company?

[Michael Harney]

Well, first off, I did do a donation to the radio station.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you so much.

[Michael Harney]

Absolutely. Well, we have to keep you guys around, right?

[Alison Stewart]

Yes.

[Michael Harney]

Excellent. So my dad was he had a small country inn up there and he was, I guess, had a bit too much time on his hands. So he came up with other businesses to do. And one of them was there was an old Englishman that had been up in the area and so he started learning about tea from Stanley Mason. And so Stanley's family had been in the tea business, England, for three generations. And now we got my father, my brother and myself. And I've got a couple kids in the business. So we've got two families, six generations associated with us.

[Alison Stewart]

How much was tea a big part of your life growing up?

[Michael Harney]

Well, he didn't do it till after I was like a teenager. So when I was a teenager, they just started doing tea. So I did a little bit of it. But it was the 70s, so I was a little bit rebellious.

[Alison Stewart]

Think back what your dad taught you about tea early on that is still with you today.

[Michael Harney]

Sure. He always said that tea is an everyday luxury. And so that's one of the things that we try to practice every day is to have affordable teas that taste great. And a friend of the family also said only buy teas that make you smile, teas that have enough natural sweetness to them that they're going to be good for you and taste great listeners.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's get your hot tea takes. What's your favorite cup of tea and why? Call us 212-433-WNYC. 212-439-6692. Do you like to drink your tea with milk? Do you like your drink with your tea with sugar? Or do you like loose leaf? How did you first get into tea? 2124-339692-22433. WNYC My guest is Michael Harney. Vi Harney & Sons. Find tea. We're here to talk about tea. You travel around the world, right? What insights have you gained from your travels about how tea is grown, how is best grown?

[Michael Harney]

Sure. Well, so tea is a plant so that harvests the light from the sun, the energy from the sun, and it makes it into sugars, like we mentioned, but also makes it into lovely other compounds which not only taste good but also can be good for you. So there's sometimes they're antioxidants, sometimes it's the amino acids that are in there that the plant needs for itself. And we love the way they taste.

[Alison Stewart]

What is one far away, faraway location you went to that sort of, sort of blew your mind that really stays with you?

[Michael Harney]

Well, there was this place in China we went to last year. That was the first trip since COVID and it was out really in the middle of nowhere. It was an indigenous tribe, if you will. Most Chinese are Han H A N. And so this was people that were not. So they were. They had their own ceremonies. So they, they make great tea. And then they had this fabulous ceremony that they did where they included drinking, of course, and then all sorts of other other things. So it was amazing time. And we call that Tiger Mountain. So that was a fun time. I just got an email today from a Chinese vendor that they're going to start making in about 15 days. They'll have the first crop over there.

[Alison Stewart]

That must be so amazing to sit through the ceremonies.

[Michael Harney]

It was amazing. It was amazing. And then when they threw you up in the air, it was more amazing.

[Alison Stewart]

More, please.

[Michael Harney]

Well, no, they just had this ceremony where they just like lay you flat down and then start putting you up in the air. So it was crazy.

[Alison Stewart]

That's a good job for a vice president.

[Michael Harney]

It was memorable. My mother's the president now, so wait.

[Alison Stewart]

I have to go back to this. So you're at the tea ceremony and they put you up in the air in a hammock?

[Michael Harney]

No, no. They just pick you up by your legs and your arms and up you go.

[Alison Stewart]

As one does.

[Michael Harney]

As one does. It was hard to keep the pinky up and maintain decorum, of course.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's take a couple of calls. Let's talk to Nancy, who is calling us from Cranford. Hi, Nancy. Thank you so much. You are the air.

[Nancy]

Thank you so much. I just have to say hot cinnamon Sunset, my absolute favorite. I have it in regular. I have it in decaf. I have it in the packets to take with me in my pocketbook. I must drink two or three cups a day. So thank you so much for that wonderful flavor.

[Michael Harney]

Well, thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to Mary Beth, who is calling in from Westchester. Hi, Mary Beth. Thanks for calling all of it.

[Mary Beth]

Hi. Thank you for having me. I absolutely love this show and I'm a sustaining member. But I'll add a little bump, especially since we need it now. But I just want to say in Covid, a neighbor had dropped off a box of Harney tea. That was my first experience with the blend Paris. And I remember it had she also had a tea towel with it that had a silhouette of the Eiffel Tower. And I remember the very first cup when I made that Paris blend, I read the box like I was making something luxurious. And I remember the smell alone really transported me out of a really dark, kind of lonely time of COVID you know, two kids at home working from home, my husband working from home. I don't know if we had our pandemic puppy them or not, but I remember just her little sweet note with the tea and the tea towel, you know, was such a gift at that time. And every time I reach for a box and buy it, I feel that memory. But also, like every time I make a cup, it feels that, like transportive, so. Or if that's a word, you know, it's like an escape in a cup, luxurious. And so I just thank your family. I love that your mom's at the top running it all. And just thank you for every single luxurious cup.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you so much for calling in.

[Michael Harney]

My wife is French, and that's where it's the inspiration of Paris.

[Alison Stewart]

That's interesting because we got a text here. It says, love Harney and Sons. I always get the Lunar New Year tea for friends as gifts and drink it every night. Their Paris tea is another favorite. So tell us about your wife.

[Michael Harney]

Well, Brigitte's her name. And so it's a blend that when we were doing it, we did it for the Pierre Hotel, was the original thing. And then my wife drank it and said, oh, this reminds me of some of the teas in Paris. So I said, well, might as well glom onto that Eiffel Tower.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, what does the process of sourcing a tea look like?

[Michael Harney]

Well, we get in samples of teas from around the world and then we start tasting them. And so we don't put them through a machine or anything. It's only our taste buds. You know, the aromas, the flavors that one gets. Does it have a natural sweetness, which means the sun did it come through? And on that. And also the spring teas, which are coming up soon, they have a lot more amino acids because the plant is getting ready for the year. So amino acids not only taste sweet, but they also fill your mouth. Mouse up.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to David from Long Beach. Hi, David, thanks for calling, all of it.

[David]

Hi, thanks for taking my call. Just very briefly, two things. The Victorian London fog is absolutely delicious. That's not a plug for the product. Just want to let you know I enjoy the different. The different styles of tea that your company produces. But here's what I wanted to tell you in the early 2000s. I'm an English professor and one of my students is one of the grandchildren in the Harney family. And we would talk with tea because he knew that I was a big fan of it. And when the course was done and the grades were in, he came and found me the next semester and gave me as a gift a tea that he had gathered or that you had gotten on one of your trips. And if I'm remembering rightly, it was just a little bit and I used it up. It was delicious. It was a hand harvested lapsang souchong from Wu Yi Mountain. And I tell my other T fan friends about was an esoteric experience and it was a lovely gift from him and it was just a nice memory.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you so much, Dave.

[Michael Harney]

And where do you teach so I can maybe identify which kid.

[David]

All right. Without going into detail at this time was at Hofstra University.

[Michael Harney]

I saw that was my oldest son, Alex. Just asking.

[Alison Stewart]

Just want to know which kid it is. We got a question here, and you can help us out. It says, how do I keep my black tea from getting bitter? I've tried lowering temperature of water using filtered water, steeping for less time. I just want to consistently make a tasty cup of black tea.

[Michael Harney]

Well, you want to use water that has been filtered. As the Chinese say, water is the mother of tea. And so then we put the right amount in. So a spoon basically per cup teaspoon, as you might say. And then for black tea, it's boiling water in four to five minutes. So that's what I would recommend. I'm not sure exactly which Tea you're trying. But some teas, if they're not, they don't make you smile, then there's probably a reason for it. You might have to look into that.

[Alison Stewart]

Do you have a preference between loose leaf tea and bag tea?

[Michael Harney]

Well, well, I use. In the morning, I use loose leaf. Being the owner, the cost is free, so I get the best tea and I drink it every morning.

[Alison Stewart]

Is there a difference between the two? Do they taste different?

[Michael Harney]

Well, most loose teas are a little bigger and thus they can be a little bit more mellow, a little bit more elegant. The teabags which I have some here for you is sure thing is something that is. It brews a little brisker and so oftentimes you can put milk and sugar.

[Alison Stewart]

In that when you are creating new blends of tea. How does that work? Are there flavors that work especially well together? Do you just try something and see.

[Michael Harney]

If it works well after having done it for many years? I do have sort of many of the rules, many of the rules down. So I. I have to. I sort of know that although I was listening to a program on another station yesterday about this book about. And it made me think it's flavorama. I don't know if you've heard that book or not. So I said, well, maybe I. So I bought the book, so maybe I'll see if I can come up with something different after 30 some years.

[Alison Stewart]

T has such a connection with so many different cultures of the world. Some places for medical purposes, some places it's ceremonial.

[Michael Harney]

Right.

[Alison Stewart]

Why do you think tea has such a deep connection to so many people?

[Michael Harney]

Well, just like the British say, they always say, come in and I'll put the kettle on. It's comforting to many people and it oftentimes is very healthy for them. So that's something that people like for a lot.

[Alison Stewart]

What do you want people to remember the next time they're making a cup of tea?

[Michael Harney]

Make tea that makes them smile, makes them feel comfortable.

[Alison Stewart]

What'd you bring me?

[Michael Harney]

Oh, I brought you some hot cinnamon spice. And then a mug, a mug with that so that you can make loose tea very easily. Here, for you.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, thank you.

[Michael Harney]

And then some tea bags over here. And then a book I wrote because, you know, we have our shop over there. Right. The shop is 433 Broome street in Manhattan.

[Alison Stewart]

Michael Harney is vice president of Harney and Sons. Thank you for coming to the studio. Thank you.

[Michael Harney]

All right.

[Nancy]

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