Tea Blog

Traveling for us Tea Princesses can be quite challenging with various alterations in our preparation of teas being required due to the change of venue. Fortunately, the basic principle of tea enjoyment remains the same regardless: tea goes with anything, including a card game with friends in far off places. And thus it was with that game of Continental Rummy hubby and I played with our friend during our visit with her in Tucson, Arizona.

When packing for the trip, I was certainly tempted to bring along “Betty” (our blue ceramic 6-cup teapot) so the tea could be steeped up just right. I would also have had to bring along her cozy to keep her and the tea inside warm. And then I would have needed a strainer and another 6-cup teapot so I could employ my “two teapot method” of steeping where the tea is not allowed to oversteep. (I don’t use teabags or any kind of infuser.) Then I would have also needed teacups or mugs … oh, wait, our friend had plenty of those (but oddly she has no teapot). Anyway, lugging “Betty” along would have been a bit much and posed a risk to her of breakage or other damage. The solution was our newest travel mug and some straight Assam tea. It turned out to be a perfect solution. I stayed well libated through several hours … yes, I said “hours” … of playing Continental Rummy.

The Big Game Is On

Things started off a bit slow since hubby and I hadn’t played the game for several years when we had visited our friend and her husband shortly after his diagnosis with cancer. We were unable for various reasons to get back there before now. He had passed away in the meantime and she had moved to a smaller place. We’ve stayed in touch by email and phone, but neither of those means of communication take the place of being there in person. A two-day drive through several states got us from here to there. Then we did our hugging and catching up, met some of the new friends she has made in her apartment community, did a bit of shopping at some places that carry items we can’t get in our new home town, and then settled in for some serious card playing. With tea, of course!

The travel mug holds about eight ounces of tea. Each mugful lasted through about two hands (they go pretty fast). We played about 20 to 25 hands. You do the math. In short, I was buzzing at the end of it all. Regardless, it was a wonderful Tea Princess experience.

The Moral of the Story

You don’t have to lug along everything in your home tea arsenal when you travel in order to have that great tea taste you are hooked on; just bring along the essentials and enjoy that tea while you enjoy your visit with friends and family, especially during the holidays!

See more of A.C. Cargill’s articles here.

© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.