Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act IV scene 1
Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest,
Ride more than thou goest,
Learn more than thou trowest,
Set less than thou throwest;
Leave thy drink and thy whore,
And keep in-a-door,
And thou shall have more
Than two tens to a score.
King Lear, Act I scene 4
When I received Doulton’s box and eagerly pawed through it I remember seeing this baggie and thinking, “Oh, I’ve tried that — I think it’s one I really liked.” and then continued rummaging. Well, this morning I wanted a Shakespeare tea and I wanted one that would get me going. This is the one I chose. I started drinking it and it was sooo perfect and yummy. Then I hopped on Steepster to see if I had indeed reviewed this before.
My jaw dropped.
This is the tea that I had my mini-meltdown of “why oh why can’t I appreciate black teas?!?!? Waaah!” and ~lauren had given me some encouraging words. This was about a month ago. My oh my, how things have changed! I think the highest contributing factor to my current enjoyment is my new electric kettle. Seriously. I have found that I love most black teas when the water’s heated to 205. Anyone new to tea who happens to stumble across this note: have a way to get accurate temps for your water. It’s not even funny how much of a difference this makes. Seriously. My original rating was 47 and M.
Enter The Fool from King Lear. Such a wonderful character (even though he does disappear) who’s the only sane one in this play. I wrote an epic paper in my Shakespeare course all about Lear and the verbal abuse going on within it. Christopher Moore’s The Fool is also a book that’s been on my “to read” list since it was released. Know that for me to name this tea The Fool is a high compliment. I also feel foolish for my earlier Note where I howled like Lear. I feel like this tea just gave me a talking to and set me straight. Yum. It’s just a great Irish Breakfast tea with a very subtle plum note. NE
