Man cannot live on bread alone, they say. In my case, though, as I have previously explained, I rarely live on bread at all. I do, on the other hand, apparently drink so much tea that Nia has asked me before why I don’t just take it intravenously and have done with it.
So going traveling for any length of time outside of the UK always poses a particular challenge. How am I going to get decent tea? Well, actually, I usually just accept that I’m not, and drink something else instead. For this trip, however, I decided not to be such a wuss and to actually meet the challenge head-on.
Donuts
So I have brought tea with me. Actually, I have brought coffee with me too. I don’t want to get stuck with that Dunkin’ Donuts concoction. That really takes the biscuit.
Who says I want them dunking their donuts in my coffee? Are the donuts being used as some sort of filtration mechanism? If so, what in heaven’s name are they filtering out? And, if America runs on Dunkin’, what would it be running on if they stopped the actual dunkin’?
One more thing: why can’t that company spell its own name? As regular readers will know, that spells trouble right there. Well, it would if they knew how to spell it.
Fuss
Now some of you might think I’m fussy. But in one respect, I’m really quite easy to please. I’m not like Shazza and Kristen, who both use electric kettles that can bring the water to different temperatures for that perfect blend of leaf and water, according to the characteristics of the specific leaf.
If you ever have a meeting with Kristen, and get the choice of your place or hers, always choose hers. She has never served me a tea I had heard of before! (If you ever have a meeting with Shazza, and get the choice of your place or hers, always choose hers too. I don’t know if the tea will be any good, but there’s half a chance she’ll offer you a scone with local honey.)
I think water for tea should always be brought to boiling. So I didn’t bother to bring my own electric kettle; hotels provide them and I can always use a saucepan if necessary in AirBnBs. But this week I’m in a strange hotel that reminds me of places I stayed in in France in the 1970s and 80s.
Tools
Here I have neither kettle nor saucepan. I do have a fridge, but I’ve never been a fan of cold brew. And that takes ages. (Well, actually, you could do it till infinity and the water would still hardly be infused at all. You’d achieve much the same effect in a few minutes if you made the brew with boiling water but just used hardly any tea.) 2— this is how many comments there are on this paragraph. Click to read them.
What I do have is a Keurig and a microwave. The Keurig, of course, uses those silly mini pots. Or are they containers? (Linda would know.) No, they must be tubs. They are like small versions of how ice cream is served in cinemas. Except they produce something hot. 2— this is how many comments there are on this paragraph. Click to read them.
Well, whatever they are, I have thought about replacing them with a teabag. But then I’d never get that satisfying click that happens when you pierce the pot/container/tub with whatever’s inside the lid of the Keurig when you press it down. And I’d really miss that satisfaction. I don’t think the feeling of squidging a teabag would quite give the same pleasure.
Of course, teabags are multidirectional too, so there would also likely be the small problem of the water going everywhere. But I’d be game to risk that if I could be sure of hearing that click.
Microwave
So that leaves me with the dreaded microwave. Now true aficionados of the microwave method seem to believe that you should put the water in the cup, and then the teabag in the water, and then stick the whole shebang in the microwave for the full nuclear treatment.
But that’s just wrong on so many levels. Water for tea should be boiled without a teabag or a donut being dunked in it. Said teabag (but not said donut) should meanwhile be placed in a teapot. (This is a dedicated tea-containing vessel that can take boiling water — though, on this trip, I have found that coffee carafes makes a decent teapot substitute.)
When boiling, said water should then be poured over said teabag (but not said donut) and left to steep for several minutes.
Cups
There is simply no room for a cup in this procedure. That is a vessel that only comes into play several minutes later. So what to do?
Well, if you can’t beat them, join them. So I am going all out on the cup front.
The hotel has thoughtfully provided me with four paper cups. So I now have them lined up, ready to roll. Well, I hope they don’t roll, actually. Otherwise Strudel or I might get a nasty burn.
Cup Number 1 is the substitute kettle, that’s going to bravely take its chances with the water in the microwave. Number 2 is standing ready to hold the teabag, albeit quivering nervously while it wonders what the microwave episode is actually going to produce. (I feel much the same.)
Number 3 is the final athlete in the relay: happy to bask in the ultimate glory, but wondering if one of its team-mates might drop the baton (or the teabag). Number 4 is ready to come off the bench if one of the starters starts to leak.
We may be gone some time. But if there’s no blog post up by noon on Wednesday, please organize a search party.
Hmm, on second thoughts, I think it might be a better bet to put the teabag in the Keurig…. 2— this is how many comments there are on this paragraph. Click to read them.
When I visit my mother I have a similar problem. She only has a Keurig. Well, she does have a stove! For a few years I would put the tea bag in the cup and just send water through the Keurig but it always tasted like coffee to me. I was told to run water through it once first. It would still come out a little unclear, so I'd have to send water through about 4 times. Who has time?! I've got to run! So last trip to her house, I took out a pot, put it on the stove, boiled water and when I was done, put pot away immediately (everyone is picky about things "not put away" in the house). One of the 3 cats jumped up on the counter, walked across the stove and burned her paw! I had to confess. I was asked "which cat was it?" I had no idea. They all look exactly the same to me. They are all some fancy breed of cat so they look the same. (Don't worry the unknown cat was fine.) So, I went back to the Keurig and running water through it a few times. But since you are the only user of the Keurig you should just have to clear it out once.
I think they are "pods" — LOL.
This is why I always take my own tea and my own kettle (not electric) to boil the water on the stove. I have used the microwave before in a pinch (boiling the water alone in the microwave first), but am very picky about wanting my water boiled on the stove. My summer Airbnb only had a Keurig or microwave, so I just went to the store and bought a cheap kettle for the stove.
I've never considered whether the heating mode could affect the taste. I am picky, though, about what the kettle is made of. It has to be either stainless steel or glass. I really don't like plastic electric kettles, although I will put up with them in a hotel room.
LOL! I knew I should have asked you first before I wrote this!
You fiend! I love the fact you can't tell which cat is which!
My real problem with the Keurig is that it doesn't get the water hot enough. It's fine for coffee, but it doesn't bring the water to the boil, which is what I want for my tea!