Shakespeare’s Globe - A Midsummer Night’s Tea

Daughter who lives with us surprised me with a gift of this tea and Mango Fruit Blend. I had it with breakfast this morning. I had read the reviews and promptly forgotten what everyone said about it.

Part of the way through drinking it, it hit me that it had a strong Tower of London vibe without really being that similar. You could easily keep both on shelf for their differences.

The base was really nice for breakfast, not thin or too high-pitched. The fruits are rich and deep ones. I did not detect rose or ginger at all, but I was eating at the time, plus I had treated it to my tea stretching parameters of steeping it twice in a row and combining the two, so that may have toned down the ginger in comparison with the other flavors that were being brought out.

Very tasty, and so glad I got to try it! Mike, please make this available in loose leaf!

I made a mistake of sharing this tin with my coworkers. Its almost gone and this is just my second time trying it.

I’m not a big fan or bergamot, but the addition of orange peel helps tone down the elements I’m not fond it. I’m enjoying the hint of ginger with it all as well.

I am not a fan of the vanilla, especially with citrus. Makes me think of those orange and vanilla ice cream push pops. Yuck! But, its been popular in the office.

I’m not detecting the rose or any floral components.

Without the vanilla, I think it would be one of my staples. With the vanilla, its something I might have one in a while if it were available, but not something I’d go out of my way for.

Sipdown!

Oof. I blew through this one. To be fair, it was delicious, and it hit all the right notes for me. Lately I’ve been wanting orange and vanilla teas, and I’ve also been liking ginger and rose flavors. This tea has all that and more. Given the wide variety of flavors you’d think this tea would be a kick in the throat, but it’s not. It’s gently and almost soft while still having a variety of flavors that work well together.

If H&S ever gets more stock of this I’ll happily buy another tin. Although I do wish they would sell this as a loose tea. I believe it’s only been offered in sachets so far.

Got this one thinking that it would donate to the Globe Theater since COVID forced the company into hard times. Well, I was kinda wrong. There was a volunteer donation option that I missed. I feel bad about it, but I also do not feel bad about getting this tea, other than guilty pleasure.

I got this one ‘cause it appealed to my inner BASIC WHITE LITERARY NERD, or BWLN. Not as succinct as BWB, but BWLN is the hipster version of BWB with its scarf, fake glasses, and its giant poster that reads "I’m not like the other girls/boys/them-I READ BOOKS." And yes, I watched the international theatre’s rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream…it was very entertaining.

As for the tea reasons as to why I purchased the tea, my favorite flavors and ingredients were listed. I fell hard especially for the oolong+black tea+rose+currant+orange+ginger. The make up of this tea looked really similar to Paris and the Tower of London Blend, and while it bears a lot of similarities to tower of london, the bergamot is not the strongest note from it. There’s really no one strong note in particular.

All the cups the stage,
And all the teas and fruits merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one tea in its time plays many parts,
It’s acts being seven ages:

Currant, Rose,Vanilla, Caramel, Citrus, Ginger, and then a hint of tannin that sweetens into honey.

Really, it’s a sweet flower power desert-like decadent tea. The ginger can be pretty powerful if you leave it in too long, but the tea is not overpowering in steep 2 for rebrew. I personally like it straight or with honey, though it does take a very small amount of cream well-sweetened condensed milk is likely best.

Either way, I really enjoyed this one. I didn’t expect the tea flavors to balance each other out because it’s highly flavored, but it’s flower power done right. I could have personally used a little bit more oolong for less tannin, or maybe a slightly different black base. It can get flat if you don’t brew it right, but the flavors were very gratifying, especially the currant rose citrus ginger caramel combo.

I also know that I broke my rule about not writing too much for tonight, but a tea based on the feel of the bards works -and nails it-deserves more than a few words praise.

Now, to get ready for what will be a long awaited new year that I am a bit reserved about. “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”