100

Travel mugged tea for today’s drive to the airport to drop off a visiting friend, a drive (and situation) which ended up being quite awful. My car decided to start making some unpleasant noises while on the 401 (major highway). I pulled over to the shoulder, we got out, nothing obvious seemed wrong, but the noises started whenever the car was turned on, and especially since I had the baby with me, I was not comfortable continuing to drive. So we called my husband and CAA… and since I was reluctant to keep the car on, and it was probably the hottest day of the year so far, we got out of the car with the baby in the carseat, and parked ourselves in the ditch. (I’ll note that we were advised to remain in the car, but traffic was crawling and I didn’t feel overly unsafe out there as compared to a sweltering car). Didn’t think of the fact that I wasn’t wearing sunscreen. Over an hour after we pulled over, CAA and my husband arrived about 5 minutes apart, and we swapped cars to continue our way to the airport… but by this time, traffic is massively backed up due to a major accident, rush hour is starting, and her flight leaves in just over an hour (the entire drive is usually under an hour; we left 3 hours prior to her flight leaving). AND, the baby is hot and hungry, but was too hot/distracted to eat when I tried to feed him earlier. AND, I had forgotten that the a/c doesn’t work in my husband’s car. So we start driving, but the traffic just keeps getting worse, the car is just about as hot as the one we just left behind, and the baby starts screaming so I have to pull over at a weigh station to feed him… so we ended up missing her flight, which she then had to rebook for nearly triple what she originally paid. I felt (and still feel) awful about that. And then, I had the joy of driving home in rush hour, still in a car with no a/c, and still with an uncomfortable, screaming baby. And, a blossoming sunburn thanks to standing in a ditch for an hour (the baby is not sunburnt; luckily I had the sense to shield him). So, a pretty awful day (and a pretty crappy end to an otherwise fantastic visit!) Side note: the problem with my car is apparently minor, and it was actually still driveable, but I couldn’t have known that.

tldr; Car troubles + traffic led to my friend missing her flight home, and having to rebook for an obscene price, and I ended up with a wicked sunburn and much sadness/regret.

Leafhopper

Ugh, that sounds awful. Car trouble always happens when it’s most inconvenient.

mrmopar

I have had those days.

Sil

oh man. I’m so sorry…that’s an awful day

Kawaii433

So sorry you had to experience a day like that. It sounds like a total nightmare. :(

gmathis

You need tea. Really good tea.

Kittenna

Thanks everyone. On the plus side, everyone’s okay, and my sunburn isn’t as bad as I thought (whew), but I was still pretty drained from the stress of it today. I was too pooped to make tea last night, but have made up for it today, for sure.

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Leafhopper

Ugh, that sounds awful. Car trouble always happens when it’s most inconvenient.

mrmopar

I have had those days.

Sil

oh man. I’m so sorry…that’s an awful day

Kawaii433

So sorry you had to experience a day like that. It sounds like a total nightmare. :(

gmathis

You need tea. Really good tea.

Kittenna

Thanks everyone. On the plus side, everyone’s okay, and my sunburn isn’t as bad as I thought (whew), but I was still pretty drained from the stress of it today. I was too pooped to make tea last night, but have made up for it today, for sure.

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I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.

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