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Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act IV scene 2

“I have no other but a woman’s reason:
I think him so, because I think him so.”
The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act I scene 2

I had forgotten about this tea, and yet it was one I had been very excited to try. With that name — how could I resist? Unfortunately it got lost amongst my books and when I went to grab the Rose Keemun I ended up with this in my hand instead. Woohoo! Surprise tea!

I expected this tea to be dark and brooding, and as it steeped I started brainstorming evil Shakespeare characters. I wasn’t sure what this tea was, so I tried looking it up on the Leland website: no dice. The leaves are such a mixture of browns, greens, and some yellow (sorry my picture washed out the subtle shadings). The dry leaves hadn’t really smelled like much, and when I poured the tea I kept thinking that one of the smells reminded me of something. This tea drove me crazy!

I really enjoyed the first half of this cup, the second half was fine but at that point I was really sitting there and loudly slurping and smacking this tea around in my mouth. My poor cat ran for cover not knowing what on earth I was doing. Is this sweetness an oolong thrown in with an Assam? Is there a bit of lychee? What is that sweetness? As the cup cooled it got more “yeasty.” This tea really starts to remind me of Golden Moon’s Persian Melon (for me, not a good thing). The second steep was “eh” and very much like the Persian Melon with a musky melon sort of yeasty taste but pretty light.

Surprisingly I consider this tea a comedy (regardless of its forboding name): The Two Gentlemen of Verona. A fun play, with some very funny moments, but overall one of Shakespeare’s less remarkable plays (if there is such a thing). NE