Wisdom Found on Boxes of Tea Trivia Quiz

Answer: William Shakespeare

The prolific poet, actor, and playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) may have influenced the English language more than any other single person. He coined "fashionable" in 'Troilus and Cressida' and "sanctimonious" in 'Measure for Measure'. The phrase "in a pickle" comes from 'The Tempest'. All of the moons of Uranus are named after Shakespearean characters. Not one portrait of him was painted while he was alive, so although there exist posthumous drawings and busts of Shakespeare, no one is really sure how accurate they are. The quote is from 'Loves Labour's Lost', Act 5, Scene 1.

Gingerbread Spice includes cinnamon, ginger, carob, and luo han guo.

Answer: Pietro Aretino

Pietro Aretino (1492-1556) was an Italian playwright, poet, and satirist born in what is now Tuscany. When Pope Leo X's pet white elephant died, Aretino wrote a pamphlet called "The Last Will and Testament of Hanno the Elephant", a pointed satire of leading political and religious figures, including the Pope himself. Rather influential in art and politics, he wrote both sacred and profane texts, and he also became a blackmailer in Venice. Legend has it that he died of suffocation from laughing too much. The quote is from 'The Works of Aretino, Translated into English from the original Italian', published in 1926.

Candy Cane Lane is decaffeinated green tea, peppermint, carob, and vanilla among its ingredients.

Answer: Ralph Waldo Emerson

The son of a Unitarian clergyman, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was one of the USA's most influential lecturers and writers. He led the Transcendentalist movement which emphasized self-reliance, spiritualism, intuition, and the essential unity of all creation. Transcendentalists believed that men and women could gain knowledge that transcended the senses and that people were naturally good, and many of them became leaders in the woman suffrage and temperance movements. The quote is from the essay "Worship" in 'The Conduct of Life' (1860), one of Emerson's most successful works and an influence on Nietzsche.

Caramel Apple Dream is infused with cinnamon, roasted chicory, and orange peel.

Answer: Albert Camus

Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a 'Pied-Noir', that is to say, a French citizen born in Algeria. He is known as an existentialist philosopher even though he rejected that label. Famous for his views on absurdism, he wrote 'The Plague' and 'The Myth of Sisyphus'. During World War II he joined the French Resistance cell Combat and produced an underground newspaper. Having suffered from tuberculosis, he could not join the resistance army. He died in a traffic collision. The quote used is attributed to Albert Camus in 'Visions from Earth' (2004) by James R. Miller.

Sweet Harvest Pumpkin, made with black tea, is usually available from mid-Autumn through Christmas time.

Answer: Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L.E.L.)

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802-1838) was an English poet and novelist who wrote of passionate love at a time when women writers were conventionally restricted in their themes. Better known in her day by her initials L.E.L., she was a darling of English society. Her poetry was in high demand for magazines and giftbooks, and she published four successful novels. Landon died in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) under mysterious circumstances, apparently by poison. The quote is from the poem "Rebecca" in 'The Book of Beauty: Comprising a Collection of Tales, Poems, &c.' (1833).

Morning Thunder is black tea blended with yerba maté.

Answer: Mary Collier

Mary Collier (c. 1688-1762) was an English poet born in poverty, who worked as a washerwoman, brewster, and manual laborer. She was part of a tradition of self-taught working-class poets of the 18th century who wrote during a time of upheaval as unenclosed commonly farmed land was disappearing. Collier's most famous poem is a response to Stephen Duck's "The Thresher Labour" (1730), which depicted laboring women as lazy and inept. Women field hands were losing out to men in an increasingly competitive job market, so Collier wrote a response to his slander called "The Woman's Labour: an Epistle to Mr Stephen Duck" (1739). Collier worked as a washerwoman until age 63. The quote is taken from "The Three Wise Sentences" (1739), subtitled "From the First Book of Esdras, Chap. III and IV", which was published in a pamphlet alongside "The Woman's Labour".

Tension Tamer is a tisane (herbal tea) of American ginseng (eleuthero).

Answer: William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), perhaps Ireland's most famous poet, won the Nobel Prize in 1923; he was the first Irishman to be so honored. Fascinated by the occult, he joined in 1890 a secret society called Golden Dawn, which practised ritual magic. Playing a major role in the Irish cultural revival, he was involved in the founding of the Abbey Theatre. He questioned compulsory Irish in the schools, however, when he served in the first Seanad Éireann (Senate of Ireland).

Sugar Plum Spice is a tisane dominated by hibiscus, rosehips, and chamomile.

Answer: Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) remains one of most widely regarded Russion novelists. A compulsive gambler, he once he wrote a novel, 'The Gambler' (1867) in 26 days to pay off gambling debts. (If he had failed, his creditor would have gained the rights to all his previously published works.) He greatly influenced Ralph Ellison, and Czar Alexander II wanted him to tutor his children, but Vladimir Nabokov despised Dostoyevsky's work, especially 'Crime and Punishment' (1866), which is otherwise very highly regarded! The quote is from 'The Brothers Karamazov' (1880).

Nutcracker Sweet is essentially black tea infused with cinnamon and vanilla.

Answer: William Cowper

The English poet and hymnodist William Cowper (1731-1800) was a forerunner of the Romantics. Although he suffered from bouts of depression and madness, he nonetheless produced beautiful hymns used in Protestant churches today. He wrote several anti-slavery poems, including "The Negro's Complaint", from which Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted during the civil rights movement. The quote is from "The Timepiece", The Task, volume II, lines 606-7 (1785).

Cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and ginger give Bengal Spice its South Asian flavor.

Answer: Jane Austen

In her brief life Jane Austen (1775-1817) completed six novels, two of which were published posthumously. Her work, known for its social commentary and humor, often deals with the dependency of women on marriage for security and social standing, and has remained popular with both women and men. Winston Churchill believed her books helped him win World War II, and Rudyard Kipling used to read Austen aloud to his wife and children, especially after the disappearance of his son in World War I, to raise their spirits. The quote is from he fourth novel 'Emma' (1815).

Sleepytime is a very popular herbal tea of chamomile, spearmint, and lemongrass.