My latest order from Blighty's Tuck Shop, in Orangeville, Ontario, was delivered today. In addition to my usual supply of Oatibix breakfast cereal, I had ordered some McVitie's Rich Tea Biscuits, entirely on Edie Pegden's recommendation. Oh, my, they're good, especially with coffee, as in Edie's command to Glenda at a coffee morning, "Drink your coffee!" They're just slightly sweet and very crunchy.
I'll let you know after lunch whether or not it lives up to the hype. The instructions say to steep the bag for only 20 seconds, so the blend must be inherently strong. It's blended and packed by Make Mine a Builders, located in Manchester. Their tag line is, "Britain wasn't built on camomile."
I found your post intriguing, I love the name Blighty btw! Some great stuff on their us Brits just take for granted. As expected they are very expensive, but I suppose they have the get everything shipped over.
I've never heard of it either, I've Googled it and I can't find on sale at any UK supermarket, I suspect it's a tea that's designed for the overseas market only.
Oh, yes, I've heard of Fortnum & Mason. I even, once, stopped in the store to browse as I strolled along Piccadilly during one of my early visits to London. Interesting, but way too expensive even without international shipping and customs charges.
That would be for the Canadian market, then, since that's where Blighty's is located. It's a medium-sized shop in a strip mall in the urban sprawl northwest of Toronto.
I love the fact you're such an Anglophile Mariana! If you ever make it over for a future Summerwine event I'll treat you to a caddy of F&M tea, in my opinion it's the finest tea money can buy!!!
Thanks, but how much would the US customs charge me to carry it into the US?
Would US customs really charge you on taking a small tin of tea back there? There's no way UK customs would charge you for it the other way around. I bought loads of lovely Earl Grey back when I visited Bar Harbour and I certainly didn't have to pay any duty on that.
The Builders Tea lived up to it's hype. It certainly doesn't need steeping longer than 20 seconds! Nor does it need the customary "and one for the pot". I like tea so strong that most people would describe it as stewed, so this, made according to the instructions, is just right for my (questionable) taste.
I don't really know, but in general US Customs is much more picky and greedy than any other country I've visited! A friend who was brought up to not waste food, reflexively put a roll from her in-flight meal away in her purse on a return flight. Customs confiscated it as undeclared goods and levied a fine. Baked goods aren't on the USDA list of forbidden agricultural products, although some of the ingredients in "raw" form are, so that probably wasn't the problem.
I'll have to look for those items on my next visit to Jungle Jim's grocery in Cincinnati, OH. They have a British section but I never know where to start.
Mailing stuff to each other! Would be cheaper than getting hard to find items locally!
