Teaware
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So I dropped by the Water Tower Place Teavana in Chicago to pick up some teaware. I’ll just be honest – I’ve never tried a Teavana tea that I’ve loved; I find them mostly plain and bland and poorly executed, and it’s vile how much sugar they put in the brewed samples they offer in-store.
Their teaware, though, is a whole other story. I think they carry beautiful tins and nice utensils and I’m all for going to Teavana just for that. I needed some filters, as I wanted to drink loose tea on my flight, and my thermos needed a proper wash before getting used again. Surprisingly, Teavana were about $2 cheaper for the same number of filters than every other store I came across, including grocery stores.
As for the function – they’re filters. Bags that filter tea. In water. They work just fine and predictably manage to do their job. No funny business.
Speaking of funny business, though, corporate culture doesn’t seem to have changed a lot since Teavana were acquired by Starbucks. I was still hounded by one of the salespeople in-shop who insisted that I try the samples.
‘Would you like a sample?’
‘No, but thanks anyway.’
‘Of course you want a sample!’
‘No, not really.’
‘But it’s amazing!’
‘Has sugar been added to the sample?’
‘No, not at all!’
‘Sorry, let me rephrase that – has any kind of sweetener been added to the sample?’
‘Well… yeah, but…’
And so on.
Hilarity ensued, of course, when there were ALL THESE TEAS that I just HAD TO BUY, and I was all, ‘Oh, but I don’t like your teas. I’m here for teaware!’. What do you even say to that? I felt like the most evil customer ever, but I swear I was really very nice and smiley about the whole thing, even as the salesperson got progressively more aggressive and rude.
Then upon checking out, I was told that these filters were ‘Pretty impractical’ (Whoa! Reverse sales technique! Mind blown!), and that the salesperson swore by this new thing.
‘Oh, but I already have your travel thermoses. They’re great.’ (But they could be easier to wash so I didn’t have to buy pretty impractical filters. )
‘This is much better, let me show you!’
And she showed me this: http://www.teavana.com/tea-gift-center/tea-gift-sets/p/tea-voyager-travel-kit which I do like a lot and have considered buying, but after researching it, I knew it wouldn’t meet my standards.
’It’s a full travel kit!’
‘Yeah, I absolutely love that, I looked at it online, and I would have bought it if the holes in the infuser had been smaller.’
‘Oh, but that’s not a problem at all! I have this product myself and that’s not an issue in any way.’
‘Yeah, but if you go read the reviews on the Teavana website, you’ll note that that’s THE MAIN COMPLAINT concerning this product.’
At this point the salesperson just stopped talking directly to me altogether.
I’m all for a hard sale, and with nice execution it can be a fun time for all. But incompetent salespeople who first talk down the product you want to buy (and which is absolutely fine – don’t cry, little filters, you’re quite adequate) all the while trying to push a product that’s obviously flawed without having the first clue about the criticism raised against said flaw..? Meh. Amateur hour.
Bought two; one for work, one for home. Needed a better way of guesstimating the water temp for tea brewing.
Negatives: Cord is too short.
Loud, very loud for an intimate office.
Positives: What a deal. Easy set up. One hour of keeping the water at set temp. No burnt leaves in my teapot.
Overall: Great buy, been using for about a month now daily with no problems in functionality. Now if only it had a muffler.
I have a Russell Hobbs kettle with tea pot and warming tray in my living room. It is plastic but works fine. When I recently set up a second station in my den I tried using a one cup drip coffee maker. It worked but it was slow and I don’t like waiting for the water to cool for green and white tea. I started to buy an inexpensive and very basic but mostly stainless kettle when I spotted this at Walmart. I am having a blast with this thing.
First the negatives:
It is 1.7L. I wanted smaller but those don’t exist in the land of super-size.
The lid is plastic as is the small viewing window. Neither of these bothers me as I only heat 12oz or less at a time so the water never hits the window anyway.
The cord is too short. You have to use a heavy duty extension cord if you aren’t on a kitchen counter with an outlet at the kettle.
Now the positives:
I did not pay $200 or even $100. It was only $40.
It heats very quickly and then holds the water temp for 1 hour unless you stop it.
There are five preset temps – it holds the last setting used in memory.
It easily can be custom set between 150F and 212F. (Can be switched to read C)
Bottom line:
I haven’t had it long so I can’t speak on the durability. It feels solid. It heats the water just like it is supposed to do. I detected no off odor or taste to the water. The price is very reasonable. Honestly, I don’t know what else I would want from a $40 kettle – except contain no plastic and be only 16 ounces. Since that is not going to happen, this will do nicely.
Ohh, you have tea stations in your living room and your den? I have some serious envy! My tea making is confined to my kitchen. You are living the dream!
I have this kettle, but the not programmable kind. I have had it for 2 years and so far works really well. I have always had good luck with Hamilton Beach. (All of the negatives are the same for this one too).
Rosehips – My wife isn’t so sure it isn’t a nightmare. It’s all in the interpretation ;)
Lala – The one you have is what I was going to get before I saw this one. Glad to hear you have had a positive experience.
I ordered this from amazon last week and I’m patiently awaiting it’s arrival. Will definitely post an initial review when I receive it :)
Looking forward to reading your review. I am still very happy with it.
I received this today and will rate later after I have spent some time with it. The only bottle I had was a Balance MIND Wild-Harvested Flower Essence Spring Water – Bottle…it didn’t fit exactly so water did drip…but not that it’s the products fault as it does come with size/fitted suggestions and this was an odd sized water bottle and design.
I’m almost finished cold brewing something else and this time I AM using a Dasani Water Bottle which was 1 of 3 bottles that was suggested in my information packet!
With the correct bottle mine doesn’t drip. Liking it too and the holes are small enough that it cleans up super easily.
I did use the Dasani this last time and drippage was MUCH MUCH Less…next to nil, actually. So that is good. I’m going to tinker with cold brewing times and amounts tho before rating :)
Glad to hear you are liking this. I’ve actually starting carrying this in my shop as well. :)
First impressions follow.
Since this came today, I decided to try it out with some Dragonwell. I heated up water, and poured it in. A bit went through to the other side while I put the lid on. I started shaking it. It feels a bit ridiculous, and at the same time it seems like there is no way this is going to make anything but slightly tea tasting water. But it definitely made me a good cup of tea. It’s not oversteeped, it’s not too light. Granted I should have probably used a tea I’ve had before so I can really check, but not bad.
I just wish I had better English instructions (it has a little card in Chinese in it and that’s it). I’m going to send them an email asking about how much tea should be used per each cup.
I’ve been told 8g is good, the tea should fill the top part when it’s expanded, so it’s basically more like a gaiwan than anything.
Other bits: The strainer will let in small bits but so few strainers avoid that anyway.
The caps get hot while shaking, but the body of the shaker isn’t too bad. Granted, I also have a high tolerance for heat when it comes to the palms of my hands, so I am not the best person to go by on this.
All in all, I can’t wait to travel with this. I’m thinking it just changed my mind about going on a trip, and I will go after all (okay, it was also that there may be a growler of beer just for me up there). Definitely easier to throw in a bag than anything else I have, so we’ll see how it works over the weekend for me! It might limit my tea options (tisanes are totally out of the question with this, I’d think) but it’s so pretty and intriguing and awesome that that is okay!
I got this yesterday as a Mothers Day present from the husband. It was smaller than I had expected and yields only around 3oz of tea once the leaf has unfurled (I did brew a Tieguanyin which is known for its expanding nature). The tea cups are tiny and I figured out very quickly that I would not be drinking out of them as I did not like the feel of them on my lips and the taste they added to the tea (yes I have drank from yixing cups before and that was enjoyable). Brewing yesterday was a bit of trial an error, my fingers got a bit burnt and I had to cut back on leaf and water but I eventually got some pretty good gongfu going last night. I had three sessions this morning before deciding to switch my leaf to the excess I had pulled out to dry last night. I rinsed the gaiwan with warm water but apparently not for long enough as when the water I had brought up to 200 degree hit the side of the gaiwan I heard a horrible pop and watched helplessly as my tea leaked onto the counter. Now I do mostly blame myself for this, but I will not be reordering this or another yixing clay porcalain lined gaiwan. For as striking as they may be, I honestly had a wierd feeling yesterday when I pulled this out of the package that it was frail and brittle, paper thin but not strong like bone china. The husband has graciously offered to order me another gaiwan, I will be selecting more carefully this time and am open to suggestions. I am just grateful that this was only $16 for the set and that the crack did not split the form, so it can sit on top of the tea hutch with its three thimble cups next to my bulky sage green dragon and phoenix yixing pot and cups, yep I’m a sucker for raised dragons. Sigh.
Best tea tumbler I’ve ever used. The basket has tiny holes instead of being a mesh, so I’m unlikely to break it and only the tiniest bit of tea particles get through. I love that you can flip it to stop the steeping, and you don’t have to take out the basket to drink it. Not so good for use when driving, but fantastic for drinking out and about.
Preparation
Technically this was made for coffee but it is my tea brewing vessel of choice. I found this at Starbucks. It currently sells for $16.95. The carafe is borosilicate glass. The frame is 30% post consumer plastic. The plunger and filter screen parts are stainless. The 4 cup version holds up to 17oz (503ml). I generally fix a single cup at a time.
To use, the loose leaf is put in the carafe. Water is heated in a separate kettle and poured into the carafe. The lid/plunger assembly is placed on top the carafe with the plunger in the up position. The leaf is free to move about. When the steeping time is done the plunger can be pushed down or left up and the tea poured into the cup without the leaf escaping.
Clean up is as simple as removing the lid, turning the carafe upside down over a compost bowl and wiping with a paper towel. Since it is glass it does not absorb any of the flavor of the tea so a simple rinse is usually sufficient. Honestly, most of the time wiping with the towel gets it clean enough. It is dishwasher safe. Occasionally I dismantle the stainless filter assembly for a more thorough cleaning.
This is excellent especially for green and white teas where holding the heat in is not as important. It has the added advantage of allowing you to observe the dance of the leaf during steeping. To me if you can’t watch the leaf you are missing an important part of the experience.
I also use it for black, puerh, and oolongs. Puerh generally uses such short steep times that heat dissipation is not an issue. For teas that require long steep times of several minutes, you may prefer another method but I personally have never found heat dissipation to be a problem. Rooibos and very fine leaf is better served with a Finum basket.
If you push the plunger down after steeping, it does not actually press the leaf. There is a good half inch of space between the screen and the bottom of the carafe. If you don’t push the plunger down, you will need to put a finger over the lid to keep it from sliding and causing some spilling.I chose the press over a gravity feed system (like IngenuiTEA) because this was glass, not plastic, and it was cheaper. I also was concerned any device that pours tea out the bottom might eventually leak.
I got this as a present from someone who knows I love tea! I washed it up and brought it to work today to try out. It doesn’t seem like it holds very much, but I appreciate the mesh tea strainer. I’m drinking some Oolong from Verdant this morning. The tea strainer is easy to use, although I wish I had a place to put it until it’s time to steep again.
I accidentally screwed on the lid wrong and tea dripped out and burned my arm. Make sure you screw it on carefully and look to make sure it’s straight across. If it’s tilted even a little it will leak as you try to drink.
Okay, the arm-burning aside, I like this! It has kept my tea warm for hours. HOURS! This is even with the lid that has openings to drink — not the screw-on one. I think it seemed like it didn’t hold much because it has some serious insulation in there. It really works! Usually my tea is ice cold by this time of the morning. YUM, hot tea! The person that gave this to me was right on the money.
I have about three thermos cups, I believe.
And they rate as follows, for drinking immediately, one for drinking if I am driving somewhere a ways and want to start sipping about a halfhour after I left home, and then the one that I can not touch for hours later, lest I scald my lips, tongue and throat,but if you want hot tea 3-4 hours after you left home, it does the job.
The coolest tea travel mug around! Just make sure you screw the caps on tightly! I love using this tea tumbler for cold steeps and iced tea, but it also does well with hot green and white teas.
I got this travel tumbler from http://zentealife.com/
The bad? It advises not to use boiling water in the instructions. You wouldn’t want to use anything more than 200F anyways as the body also gets pretty hot. The filter is also on the small side and is a tight fit if you use whole leaf teas intended to make a full 16oz tumbler of tea.
I still love this tumbler though – no leaks and it looks really cool!
Full review on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/t-free-hourglass-travel-tea-tumbler-tea-ware-review/
I was hoping you’d review this! I’ve been pondering getting one for summer cold brewing on-the-go. :)
Nice review! His did you get the owl to stay upright in the gaiwan? :)
I got lucky on the the size of the owl and the squishyness of her feet, plus she was well behaved.
:)
Thanks for the review! I was checking that tumbler out but didn’t quite “get” how it works. This helps a ton!
With this bottle, the mesh is not immersed in the boiling water as with other infusers.
If you watch the videos online, they point out so many ways to use this wrong, making it sooooo easy to use. I make my tea, let it stand 5 minutes to let steam escape, put the lid on, throw the bottle in my bag, and I’m on my way. It might leak if you bump the lid, but it’s only drops.
I like the idea of the see-through infuser but I’m always afraid of breaking the glass ones and my Bodum tea press leaks through the top.
The Libre Tea bottle is perfect… now if only I could find it in a bigger size for road trips, etc.
Preparation
I’ve been using this for about a month now and still use it everyday! Love it! I still wouldn’t tip it upside down to brew however…it leaks sometimes still. But as in a previous review by Hesper June I too have sometimes been brewing tea in it! Since I don’t have a gongfu teapot or a gaiwan, this seemed perfect (technically a bit big) for gongfu brewing but it does the job and I don’t spend more money:)
I bought the large mug specifically for Rooibos teas or herbals where you can leave the leaves brewing for an extended period of time. I love that the filter strains the Rooibos when I am drinking it. I have never had any problem with the rooibos passing through the filter. I have tried brewing the tea the alternate way (by putting it in the filter and tipping it upside down after the required cooling period) and have gotten occasional leaks. I contacted the company and they have been very helpful with hints etc and even offered to send me a new seal! I am still not sold on the inverting method of brewing the tea in this mug—by the time the hot water cools to the point that i can invert it my black tea doesn’t seem to brew nicely; however it is great for brewing my rooibos. I use the mug everyday!
The only gripe I have about this system is that the strainer doesn’t stay level in the cup. Yes, I know this is a minor gripe, but sometimes I’m a little bit compulsive, and you would think that a strainer/cup/lid designed for each other could fit together PERFECTLY. I also like to fill the cup up as high as possible. Since the strainer isn’t level, I often fill the cup just a hair too high for the low end of the strainer and get a few leaves floating over into my tea. Besides this minor MINOR complaint, I love it!
I ordered myself one of these after using my mother’s a couple times and really enjoying it. Annoyingly, even though I ordered a design with birds and magnolias, the cup I received was plain white. I wrote to Amazon to complain, and they did nothing, then wrote to Tea Forte and they sent me a replacement and said to keep the first cup. So, these are my current favorites to use, and I really enjoy having two to switch around and use during the day without having to constantly wash.
The cups keep tea nice and hot while it steeps, and the lids also help a lot. The strainer is fairly effective, and better than many I’ve tried at keeping small particles out of the liquor.
Full Review will be on http://sororiteasisters.com/ on the 12th. Its a lengthy review but here are the snippits for now:
I have mixed feelings about my Libre Tea Glass n Poly Original.
To begin, there is one strong point about this tea glass that I want to point out. I have no idea why it is not highlighted more on their site, perhaps it is and I have not found it, but it is one of the most breathtaking parts about this item so if I were selling them I would have it very easy to find on the site. The part I am talking about is the lid! (stunning photo will be included in the full review on http://sororiteasisters.com/ )
More on sipping: Maybe it is me, maybe I really do have a drinking problem, a tea drinking problem that is, but sometimes if I am not being mindful enough, when I take a sip there is a dribble, usually ending up on my shirt. I feel it has to do with the small sipping radius of the opening, and the threads where the lid screws on. The opening radius is small – my entire nose more or less has to go into the glass to get my lips around the opening. That makes it even more difficult to sip while the tea is still hot. No worries though that does not last too terribly long. Also due to the radius it is difficult to get enough of my mouth in the right place for proper sipping. Granted I may have a big mouth but it is something I have noticed. Due to it being a travel glass however I really don’t want the hassle of having to be all that mindful while sipping on the go. Ease of use could be far better.
Size: Yes it does matter. I got the original size Libre. Its a decent size. Fits my small hand perfectly. If I liked it more, if it retained heat better, I would probably also get a larger size for longer travels as I can sip a tea down in light speed. However I will pass on getting a larger one due to the issues I have with this one.
For me the downfall is I truly do not ENJOY sipping my tea out of the Libre Glass n Poly and tea should be enjoyable to sip.
I address heat retention and other issues as well so don’t miss the full review! :)
finding the right mug or travel mug is hard to do. I use Contigo autoseal travel mugs and now I don’t really use normal mugs or glasses anymore…
http://www.gocontigo.com/autoseal-stainless-steel-travel-mug.html
http://www.gocontigo.com/autoseal-aria-stainless-steel-travel-mug.html
Nice Review! I have a question. I don’t have one of those. I have a ‘Fuguang’, I’m sure one is based of another. The infuser was designed to have the tea on the ‘lid’ portion, but I never use it like that at all. I use it to brew tea on the Glass portion and pour out, I feel it works a million times better that way.
I had the same problem you mentioned where it seems like is perfect to steeps but when drinking it has it’s flaws. Have your tried other versions that have middle glass portion on the ‘lid’? I recently got one of those, it works a lot better for me now. Similar to this one http://www.aliexpress.com/item/260ml-Fuguang-luxury-crystal-double-wall-cup-and-Two-Lids-with-china-picture-for-tea-with/499161835.html
Both of those look intriguing!
Thank you for the links BOTH of you!
I second Helena’s thought. I use two of those every morning. Go go Costco 2 packs haha
Also, strangely my comment from last night isn’t here…but thanks for the review! I’ve been tempted to pick one up, but I jthink it would just end up only being something for cold brewing things…
I have a Libre tea glass, the larger one and I like it very much. I mostly use it at work and brew the tea in the lower portion of the glass. I leave the loose leaves in there and add water when it gets low. A few times, if I didn’t drink very fast, the tea might oversteep a bit, but this has not bothered me much. It stays hot about an hour and I tend to rest the lid on top of the glass betwseen sips and that seems to help keep it hot. For using at work and in the car, I am pleased with it. The first one I received had a crack in the top of the container where the glass and polycarbonate meet and the strainer screws on. That leaked miserably. They replaced it within a few days and I have had no more leaks. A couple of tips that are helpful…. I always screw the strainer portion on before I add hot water. Otherwise the heat of the water makes the bottom expand enough to where screwing on the strainer is a challenge. Also, I watched the video on the Libre website and I definitely let the steam escape for the first few minutes of brewing before I put the lovely golden leafed top on. I tried putting the leaves on top of the strainer a couple of times and turning the glass over for steeping per their directions and I gave up on that. The glass would leak a bit if there was still steam and the leaves clogged the strainer and kept the water from going through to the bottom if I poured the water over the leaves. It was too messy and tedious for me. Usually I use loose tea or sachets in the bottom. The sachets are easy to remove to avoid oversteeping. I simply leave in loose leaves and resteep. I have given two as gifts and they liked them very much. I drink with the strainer screwed on and have no problem. With the strainer off, the bottom portion alone isn’t comfortable for me to sip from. Overall, I would buy it again, but I am also interested in the Fuguang glass JC mentioned in another comment.
Thank you Cissystix for the really nice follow up review! I agree on several points you made. The lid IS gorgeous isn’t it! I have no idea why they don’t show it more on their site.
I really do not like to leave the leaves in the glass but its just a personal thing. I don’t like over steeped tea and since I don’t drink my tea as fast when out and about that usually ends up happening.
You are right drinking with the strainer on is better – I don’t spill it on myself as much but I only get to do that when I take out the steeped leaves before leaving home and I often don’t have the time or want to do that if I am adding water elsewhere. Regardless – its a great idea but still I stand by there are some issues to work out. I just want THE PERFECT on the go steeper.
Tried mine for the first time today. Had some issues. I am not rating until I give it another go. Was not user error – I read the instructions – watched the video ….
Not thrilled but giving it more time and more usage.
Will do full review when I am not exhausted – plus need to go get the tea stains out of my pants from the earlier disaster.
MEH.
Yeah… I have washed some things twice, including an antique doily to try and get the tea out from my accident with the ingenuiTea…But at least I know mine was operator error. :) Hope you get the hang of it and like it.
I’m thinking of getting one of these so keep me updated Azzrian. I looked at the smaller one today. I want a decent glass travel mug.
I hope it works out in the long run, Azzrian:)
Thanks everyone! Nicole – I hope your antique doily came out clean.
I read about your operator error – yikes I would probably do the same thing lol
Sweet Canadian – I will keep you posted … for the full price point I paid I am not too excited about it but it was recently on sale I would not get one at full price if you can grab one on sale.
I do have several issues with it though but as I said in fairness to the product I want to try it again.
But one thing is for sure, unless you like your tea barely warm, its not worth it.
be safe about it…hot liquids, glass, fatigue…looking forward to the update.
I have a timolino I use all the time, so having one that keeps it super hot isn’t something that is a must for me. I usually end up drinking it right away. I want to get a bigger mug that I can use on days I want more tea.
I would absolutely get the larger size then. This is quite small in my opinion.
I found a shop here that sells the large size so I went ahead and got one! I think it will be a great addition to my travel mugs, because I usually use a Timolino, so I can throw the timolino in my bag on days that I am at school long hours for later, and drink out of the Libre right away.
I had a defect initially but they sent a replacement and it’s amazing!
LOVE mine!
Full review on http://sororiteasisters.com/ on the 7th but here are my snippits:\
The sifter comes with this scoop like tool that helps you push or drag the matcha along the screen to sift it.
Its easy to clean as well which for me is a HUGE plus!
The canister is quite large. I have sifted a full 60 grams of matcha and had plenty of room to spare.
I find it far more convenient than using what I had in the past which was just your basic kitchen strainer. I always made messes when using that and wasted some good matcha!
Please visit the blog to find out more!
a matcha sifter?! love it!
Yeah its really quite handy! :)
Yay! I have been wanting this for a while!
Are you going to get one?
I hope so! I have a friend who is just getting into matcha so I sent her a link to see if she wants to order with me.
Nice! Hope you love yours as much as I do mine! If I had fewer matcha I may get one for each flavor but well you know …. too many matcha :)
It is good to see these online, I have been wanting one since I was a kid, seeing them in stores on trips to CA with family.
Glad to help point them out! :)
Lol. Awesome story
Lol. I’m surprised she kept pushing. When I was in retail I would have just done the, Ok, well let me know if you have any questions!" and backed off a lot sooner.
Retail is really hard work, and from what I’ve heard, Teavana policy is very harsh on employees, so no disrespect to those who have to deal with that every day. I just wish management would realize what a worthless approach it it to customer satisfaction. Either you hassle people to death for a few quick sales, or you build a devoted, satisfied customer base that will stay around for years to come.
Of course, in this case, it would help if the teas were better…
I’ve never really got the pushy sales approach either. When I worked at ‘The Body Shop’ ( the cosmetic company, not the other one ( inside joke for those who’ve lived in Guelph)), they showed us the standard pushy sales training video. I found it quite appalling and amusing as this type of behaviour is usually the type of behaviour that would make me leave at once. Apparently this was based on some kind of study they did at some point that showed that customers wanted hyper vigilant and in your face sales people( really????). It was hilarious and not really applicable to the population that shopped at the Guelph store at that time. Many of them chose to shop at the body shop for it’s ethics, came in to discuss politics ( another supposed no-no in sales), and were most likely to purchase something if you simply engaged them in conversation. Ironically our store was regularly among the highest earning in it’s class. I like the approach I experienced in India the best, impractical here but oh well, 30 min of conversation over tea before the product even comes out!
Strange! You would think the Body Shop would be all about taking politics when they’re all eco-friendly this, and stop-poverty-that.
And I still haven’t bought any Teavana teas. I’ve gone in and looked around, but was intimidated by the staff, and didn’t like how far away the teas were from me. It doesn’t sound as though I’m missing much though – not with all those quality tea stores online!
Hahaha, yeah – getting back to Sweden is always a bit of a slap in the face. Like, what, you’re not going to offer me any kind of help or wish me a nice day and there’s only one person to assist 500 customers? Okay. And then getting back to Italy and actually getting thrown out of the store for not picking a pair of shoes to try on quickly enough… or my favourite, being refused to buy something (fairly costly) on display, because it’s too much of a hassle taking it down.
Cavo, the body shop does tend to encourage people to talk about politics. I’m just thinking about the customer service / sales jobs I’ve had. But, I’ve worked at both a corporate store and a franchise store and we were given much more freedom in the franchise store.
Anna, they actually threw you out?? Not that I could ever buy shoes in Italy ( my feet are way too huge, I’d need to get them made. My shopping experiences in Italy have generally not been that bad, either I’ve ben left alone (I generally prefer this), or pleasantly helpful (I’ve spent time in both larger and smaller places). On the other had I’ve spent time in Florence in both high and low season and it’s like a totally different city and many of the people who I met who live and work there cope with it through a wicked sense of humour thick with sarcasm.
Oh, neither of those things happened to me (although I’d love to see someone try to throw me out of anywhere at all). I think they were both small, exclusive clothing boutiques, which isn’t exactly where you’ll be finding me in retail Rome.
:)! Me neither! On the other hand I have to offer kudo’s to my experiences in Italian museums and historic sites, the level of knowledge and enthusiasm I’ve experienced in these case has been amazing. From a volunteer in Urbino, giving me a personalised art history tour of the Palazzo Ducale in a mix of Italian and French, to a guide actually closing ( briefly) the sacred steps in Rome to take us into this exquisite private chapel. I’ve had some amazing experiences.
I’m curious? Shy are you using papers instead of a finum filter or another type of stainless non-disposable filter that allows the tea leaves proper contact with water and isn’t costly/disposable? Filter papers mask the taste of tea. You don’t get the full effect. They are convenient but that’s about all.
Bonnie, this is what I wrote, “I needed some filters, as I wanted to drink loose tea on my flight, and my thermos needed a proper wash before getting used again.”