75

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act III scene 8

Look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under it.
MacBeth, Act I scene 5

This tea is my Lady MacBeth. Part of my decision is due to some tea drama going on in my life. But we shall get to that.

The dry leaves made me think of a really old potpourri that’s almost done with being fragrant. It’s light and not unpleasant. Steeped, the fragrance is more pronounced with more of the pomegranate coming through. The first few sips were surprisingly good — a pleasantly light pomegranate green tea. Unfortunately, right after my first few sips I checked my email and saw that my Samovar order had been delivered, but not to me. I forgot all about my cup as I tried to figure out what the hell happened. I sent an email to Samovar and hope to hear back tomorrow.

When I remembered my tea I was in a foul mood and the cup was completely cold. There was a bitterness there in the cooled cup that hadn’t been there initially. I finished it still in a sour mood and steeped again. The second cup I drank hot. It was much better. I even steeped a third time, but now it seems a bit like soap (not bad enough for me to stop drinking it, mind you).

So I feel like this tea is getting the Lady MacBeth comparison because of my angry somewhat vengeful feelings at the moment. But also that it’s feminine and has many sides. There’s a bite beneath the flowery facade. Also, I can’t resist thinking of “Out, damned spot!” while drinking this somewhat soapy final steep. I shall try the second half of my sample when I’m in a better mood. But for now it’s NE.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec
AmazonV

oh no :(

Rabs

I’m really trying to remain calm about this situation, but it’s my first Samovar order, it’s the most I’ve ever spent on a tea order, and part of it is for the Geek contest so I’m a little extra torqued. ::takes a deep breath:: I’m really hoping that Samovar has some amazing customer service and that it was a simple mistake and that miraculously my order will arrive tomorrow morning. ::takes another deep breath in a paper bag:: :(

AmazonV

quick pick a calming tea! not a fussy one and sip, breath, sip!

Rabs

LOL! I shall :) Lemme just say that I’m grateful that I didn’t try the Ginger instant tea that you sent me tonight. I think I would’ve exploded ;)

__Morgana__

Oh, how frustrating! I hope you get in touch with Tiffany at Samovar. She was very helpful when I was trying to find out when they were expecting some of the things they were out of that I wanted.

malomorgen

sighs with you a little bit ;) hang on there…

Stephanie

I hope the Samovar issue is resolved soon!! How annoying that is. :/

Rabs

Well, I called FedEx this morning and my package was returned to Samovar. I have yet to hear back from them. :(

AmazonV

oh sadness :( well at least the wrong recipient didn’t keep it?

Rabs

Just heard back from Tiffany at Samovar — she really is nice! They aren’t sure what happened exactly, but the package was returned to their warehouse in Nevada. She reconfirmed my address and they’ll send it UPS instead. ::finally exhales:: :D

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Comments

AmazonV

oh no :(

Rabs

I’m really trying to remain calm about this situation, but it’s my first Samovar order, it’s the most I’ve ever spent on a tea order, and part of it is for the Geek contest so I’m a little extra torqued. ::takes a deep breath:: I’m really hoping that Samovar has some amazing customer service and that it was a simple mistake and that miraculously my order will arrive tomorrow morning. ::takes another deep breath in a paper bag:: :(

AmazonV

quick pick a calming tea! not a fussy one and sip, breath, sip!

Rabs

LOL! I shall :) Lemme just say that I’m grateful that I didn’t try the Ginger instant tea that you sent me tonight. I think I would’ve exploded ;)

__Morgana__

Oh, how frustrating! I hope you get in touch with Tiffany at Samovar. She was very helpful when I was trying to find out when they were expecting some of the things they were out of that I wanted.

malomorgen

sighs with you a little bit ;) hang on there…

Stephanie

I hope the Samovar issue is resolved soon!! How annoying that is. :/

Rabs

Well, I called FedEx this morning and my package was returned to Samovar. I have yet to hear back from them. :(

AmazonV

oh sadness :( well at least the wrong recipient didn’t keep it?

Rabs

Just heard back from Tiffany at Samovar — she really is nice! They aren’t sure what happened exactly, but the package was returned to their warehouse in Nevada. She reconfirmed my address and they’ll send it UPS instead. ::finally exhales:: :D

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Bio

Proud all-around nerd, designer, fibromyalgia manager, and Assistant Library Director/Creative Director.

After being a barista for almost a decade it wasn’t until 2010 that I discovered loose leaf tea. Now I’m hooked.

I’m quite loose when it comes to tea prep. I also ended up using Steepster to find my “daily” teas which I mostly have accomplished.

There’s really nothing remarkable or noteworthy of how I rate teas. I do take it a tiny further step to help clarify the muddled middle grounds for myself. TG is a definite repurchase. Anything below that is less and less likely.

TG=Teagasm
NE=Nice Enough
M=Meh
GA=Gods-Awful

Location

Midwest, USA

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