He formed Harney & Sons in 1983, trading out of the cellar of his home, but it was during the Nineties that the company substantially expanded. Drinking tea, he said in 1995, was the “hot thing at the moment”. The company’s blends were promoted both on taste and health grounds. “Tea is better for you than coffee,” stated Harney, “because it is lower in caffeine and rich in polyphenols.” Subsequently, he developed links with the Angiogenesis Foundation and Oregon State University to study the medical benefits of tea drinking.