Have you ever tried to travel as a tea lover? How about traveling with those that don’t admire the same love of tea? It’s so difficult.
Generally, I bring my own teabags, but when I am met with microwaved water I tend to snarl a bit and put my tea bags back into my luggage.
The search begins… how do I find a decent cup of tea when no one wants to go search out a tea shop? of course, there is the old standby Starbucks
It is tea, of course, but the choices are so limited unless you are looking for a diabetic sugar-filled foo-foo drink with 800 plus calories.
Make mine a white and
I personally can only drink so much Starbucks “tea” before it starts to wear on me, so next stop, the grocery store.
I was lucky enough on this trip to find TeaJava,
A glass-bottled micro-brewed tea, originally sold by Trader Joe’s but now is branching out to more and more stores across the nation. I purchased two bottles and stored it away in the fridge. It’s nice to have a safe drinking source in case you need it.
At this point, I’m thinking maybe it’s time to go on a tea fast? 🙂 but seriously, it’s rough.
On this vacation, I’ve made several trips with my friends to McDonald’s for a “coffee”. That “coffee” was a vanilla iced coffee coming in at 80 calories with 20 grams of sugar, after two of three of these, it’s like the entire calorie count for a day. I’ll pass plus I’m not a “coffee” drinker. I put this drink right up there with the foo-foo tea drinks at Starbucks.
We traveled to a remote area in Zion National Park and low and behold we found Perks at Zion with shortlist of teas. I was so excited… Upon a shelf were a variety of glass jars full of tea, it was tea bags, but tea indeed! TEA TEA TEA !!!
When it was my turn to order I asked the barista where the teas were sourced from: She had no idea but guaranteed me they were from a remote place and their store was one of the few that received them. Uh-huh.. pass. How can I review a tea when I have no idea where it’s sourced from and what it is. It’s really sad she was not trained to know information on the products the store carried.
It’s day 3 of the trip and so far I’m out of luck. I want to go on a tea hunt however no one else does, I’ve hinted a few times. Ahhh for the love of tea.
Day 4 arrives and I’m now thankful for my TeaJava.
Day 5 and I’m on my way home. You know what I’m thinking right…
Airport = Starbucks
What airport does NOT have a Starbucks? I have walked a great length only to find a Coffee Bean Tea Leaf in its place
I glance over the menu and they have an Oolong Tea, you all know how much I love an Oolong. I ask for an Oolong and I’m handed a menu, pick one, Oh I am excited about choices of real tea! I pick a Pomegranate Blueberry infused Oolong iced no sweetener.
I can barely wait to get my hands on it.. the excitement builds…
I’m handed my cup, I grab a straw and SIP…
Gosh, that is awful. I suffer through it thinking it’s all I have to drink I head to my gate, turn the corner, and what do I see.
I think about it for a minute, toss the Oolong, stand inline
“I’ll take a Venti Black and White Iced Tea mix, easy on the water and no sweetener. Thank you”.
Isn’t it Ironic, don’t you think?
