The One Where the Tea Master Betrays Everything He Stands For
Dear Members of Unimpeachable Taste and Questionable Judgment,
Once upon a time, in a land called San Antonio — back when we still lived in Kingsville and San Antonio counted as a destination — my wife and I visited a tea house called Mad Hatter’s Tea House. If you are picturing something whimsical and slightly unhinged with Alice in Wonderland energy, you are correct and I respect that establishment enormously.
I think y’all know by now that while I respect how everyone likes their tea, I am not prone to overly sweet. I like a little sweet and a little cream, but not too much. I want to taste the tea.
But on this trip…. Jeanette ordered for me.
She made it her way. Lots of milk. Sweet well beyond what I would ever authorize for myself. The kind of cup where I looked at it and quietly recalibrate my expectations. And yet…
I loved it so much I asked her to make me another one. Exactly the same way. I still make it that way to this day. I would like to take this moment to acknowledge the irony and then never speak of it again.
Tea of the Month: Vanilla Almond Tea by Republic of Tea
This is that tea. Or as close as I could get to it outside of sitting in a room decorated like Wonderland while my wife looks at me like she knew exactly what she was doing. Which she did. She always does.
Republic of Tea does things a little differently — these are round bags with no string, no tag, no fuss. Just drop it in, steep it, and try not to think too hard about how simple that is after sixteen months of pyramid sachets and loose-leaf drama. Sometimes the White Queen has a point about believing impossible things before breakfast. Sometimes the impossible thing is admitting that even basic tea bags can make a cup that is anything but basic.
The Mad Hatter would approve. Jeanette definitely does.