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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Coffee? Tea? Or is it just Me?



I HATE coffee. There. I said it. I know I'm one of the few out there who doesn't drink it. I am a tea drinker. I am NOT a second class citizen. But many restaurants treat me as if I were one.

When my husband and I go out to breakfast - he orders coffee, and I order tee. His cup is constantly filled to the brim with freshly brewed coffee.

I get ONE TEA BAG and am LUCKY if I can get the waitress to bring me more hot water.

This is what I don't understand. If we are both charged, let's say, $1.50 for a cup of tea/coffee, why is it that his cup of coffee is bottomless, while I get one STINKING tea bag? Does that seem fair?

Recently we were out to breakfast. We ordered our usual coffee and tea. The waitress brought me back a tiny little teapot and a mug full of hot water. Altogether that made about 1 1/2 cups of tea. I drank that before my breakfast even arrived so I needed more to drink to go with my meal. The waitress came by and asked if I needed more hot water and I said, "Yes, and could you bring me another tea bag, please?"

You would have thought that I asked her to hang me from the ceiling by my ankles.

She brought back the pot of hot water and a new tea bag and said, "Shh! Don't tell any one!"

Seriously - do you think anyone in the restaurant gives a rats ass that I got two tea bags for the price of one? And c'mon folks! A box of 100 tea bags cost, on average, a little over five bucks a box. If I do my calculations correctly, that's a little over a nickle a bag. I think they can afford to give me a freaking new bag with every cup. Don't you agree?

Usually my little teapot or mug is ignored. Every once in awhile a waitress will ask if I need more hot water. I drink my tea with cream and sugar, so it looks like coffee. Many times the waitress offers to "warm" it up with coffee. I take my chances and put my hand over the mug so they won't ruin my tea. Yeah. That's right. I'd rather SCALD my hand than drink coffee-tasting tea.

IHOP (International House of Pancakes) is one of the few restaurants that treat tea drinkers equally. We get our own teapots on the table right next to the coffeepot. Albeit they are smaller that the coffeepot, but baby steps, you know?

Now if I can only get the rest of the restaurants to follow suit. Either that or I'm going to have to start bringing my own tea bags along with me.

For your viewing pleasure, here's something to show you that teapots are not just for brewing tea. Enjoy!

16 comments:

Brian Miller said...

you do realise the "i hate coffee" is considered fighting words where i am from. like mine black, just like my wife.

Lindy said...

For the most part, I drink coffee. But there are certain times I enjoy tea and it IS most annoying in restaurants when they won't even ask if you'd like more hot water, let alone bring a new tea bag. Maybe a restaurant server will read your blog and enlighten us all.

Kathy's Klothesline said...

I like both! But I NEED that first cup of coffee. Yeah, it is an addiction, my dependency on that caffiene. Black coffee, but I like a little honey in the tea. It is a little chilly in here and I think I will go put the teakettle on......

Rae said...

Coffee is an acquired taste. I don't think there are as many people drinking coffee as there used to be. I have a hard time drinking tea. It is my drink of choice only if I am sick. You are right about the tea bag thing. I think it is absurd that you are only given on tea bag. I would be complaining to the manager.

Gail said...

That is two tea drinkers, two coffee haters!

I come from a long line of coffee drinkers yet never have acquired a taste for it. I like hot sweet tea and iced sweet tea.

One sister breaths coffee, the other has her morning ration and hubby drinks it in cold weather.

I am proud to hear you say it. Shall we say it again with you...I hate coffee, too!!!!!!

Lynda said...

I, too, am not a coffee drinker OR a tea drinker - - - but a glass of Coca Cola over a lot of ice - - -that makes a nice breakfast drink!
That video was funny!

Lynda said...

I, too, am not a coffee drinker OR a tea drinker - - - but a glass of Coca Cola over a lot of ice - - -that makes a nice breakfast drink!
That video was funny!

SquirrelQueen said...

I started out drinking coffee then went to tea for a few years but now back to coffee. But then I sometimes like a Chai for a change of pace. Lost track yet? In my tea drinking days I ran into the same problem in restaurants. I always had a stash of tea bags (Earl Grey) in my purse.

One more coffee drinker here!

Allen said...

I have to agree with you on the tea bags. Why is that? I drink Coffee all the time.

But when I am in the mood for tea, they only bring one bag out. It drives me crazy.

The video is just too funny. hehe

Wendy said...

Pat, I don't like coffee OR tea! But I can drink a bit of coffee with my cream & sugar. (heh) But tea? I've NEVER liked it... hot *or* cold.
And I'm from the South, where they put it in baby bottles, cold & super SWEET! Yeah. Everybody thinks I'm "a bit odd".
=-)

Prizler Photography said...

Funniest show! Loved it! I'm gonna show my kids how to "tea blow"! Thanks for sharing!

Sommar i Sverige said...

Just red about you having a second cup of tea. I,(Swedish) and my man from England, he is born in Ireland. We are teadrinkers too. NOT coffee. But it is exactly as you say. One tea-bag and the water that are in the bigger teapots (the same size as Coffee-pots here) are not hot enough. But of course the coffee is hot. Plus they overcharge both tea and coffee. We have been thinking of bringing our own tea-bags but I wouldn´t be surprise if they have charged us for the water anyhow.
At this coffe and tea-shop we don´t get a small pot with us to the table. But in England and Ireland thats the way.
All the best Ulla in Sweden

Carletta said...

I'm a coffee drinker but to each his own. I feel the same way you do when my Hubs orders iced tea and I order a soda. His glass is neverending and mine gets filled only when it's empty.
I love Graham Norton - this was a hoot!

Sunny said...

I totally agree with you. I am a tea drinker, my husband drinks coffee and that is exactly what happens. I drink my tea on the weak side so I can usually get two cups out of one bag...but getting a second cup of hot water is like asking for the moon!
The video cracked me up! Now I have an urge to try that, LOL!
Sunny :)

Snowflake said...

I vote for coffee before noon and tea after. I love the tea pot blowing.....I'm going to have to see if I can get someone to try it...just not in the house!!!LOL

Deb said...

I don' drink coffee or hot tea...I'm an decaf iced tea gal...with no sugar...try to find that at a eating establishment...usually just drink water...