It might be premature to say that there’s a food truck revolution afoot, but these wheeled contrivances seem to be getting more popular nowadays. They’ve even got a reality show, the Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, which recently kicked off its second season.

These are not your father’s roach coaches, mind you. While you can undoubtedly find some of those less than savory type trucks, many of the food trucks on the roll nowadays seem to be responding to the increased interest in foodie culture.
Then there’s tea. Now, I’m no genius businessman, but it seems that anyone who’s trying to survive with a food truck devoted solely to tea would have a tough row to hoe. But add some eats to the mix, package and publicize it right and you might be on to something. There are currently a few tea trucks on the road. These are the ones I was able to uncover. If you know of any others feel free to leave a comment.

The proprietors of the Melange Tea Cart humbly describe themselves as “the first, only, and probably best mobile tea cart in the land.” The Philadelphia-based truck is run by a husband and wife team who say they decided to go into the tea biz because “we think people are ready to take better care what they put into their bodies, and appreciate the wisdom and alchemy that has been developed in the 4,000 years people have been studying and enjoying tea.”
On the other side of the Atlantic, Couple of Mugs recently teamed with tea purveyor, teapigs, to take tea to the masses. They’ll be doing so “in ‘Cédric’ our iconic 1970 Citroen HZ Van.” As for their motivations, “our aim is simple: to create a mobile tea van that will provide a head turning, thirst quenching, mouth watering talking point to any event.”
If you’re looking for tea-based goodness that’s slightly less traditional there are some bubble tea trucks that might suit your needs. Bubble tea is a flavored iced tea-based product that contains tiny edible balls of tapioca. For a quick bubble tea primer, look here.
Purveyors of bubble tea goodness currently out on the road include The Boba Truck, which operates in the southern California area. They bill themselves as “the first gourmet Boba/Tea bar truck.” Tea.zing, The Bubble Tea Truck, plies its wares in the Monterey area of California. Also in southern California, The Mighty Boba Truck, which offers a variety of tea selections and Taiwanese street foods.
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“trying to survive with a food truck devoted solely to tea would have a tough row to hoe”
This reminds me of the “tea cars” during WOII. These food cars served solely tea for free. They were present during the Blitz, serving teas to victims and rescue workers while the bombing was not over yet, the evacuation in Dunkirk and on several battlefields. Guess for which country ;).
A different heroic kind of survival.
Gay Grace Teas, “a mobile tea room”, has been serving tea for years in the Boston area. http://www.gaygraceteas.com/
The cutest truck ever!!