Tea question

[Bruiserknits]

I'm a really big tea snob. Just because it's brown and leafy and comes in a little bag does not mean it is drinkable. What kind of hot tea is carried on board? And I'm seeing that you can order a carafe of coffee prior to breakfast in your stateroom. Can I also get a carafe of hot water and tea bags? Do I need to pack my own or will I be safe? Is tea served on board in the afternoons anywhere?

Thanks!
Michelle

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm a really big tea snob. Just because it's brown and leafy and comes in a little bag does not mean it is drinkable. What kind of hot tea is carried on board? And I'm seeing that you can order a carafe of coffee prior to breakfast in your stateroom. Can I also get a carafe of hot water and tea bags? Do I need to pack my own or will I be safe? Is tea served on board in the afternoons anywhere?

Thanks!
Michelle

Generally the hot tea bags are Twinings


Cove Café has some specialty ones (for a fee)


One note - yes, you can order a hot water carafe w/tea bags from room service, but I'll just point out that that same carafe may have been used to hold coffee at a prior time. I've found that the "coffee" flavor never gets all the way removed during washing.

You can get hot water at the drink stations (poolside and in Cabanas).

 

[sulcata]

Thanks for the info... My last cruise I brought my own with me and never looked to see what they had on board.

 

[perditax]

(Tea snob lurker, always happy to see these threads. I hadn't seen that pic of cove cafe tea before though.)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

(Tea snob lurker, always happy to see these threads. I hadn't seen that pic of cove cafe tea before though.)

Yeah, well, I take pictures of a lot of stuff

 

[professorandmom]

My server was SURE the ship had no decaf English Breakfast...then, even the Palo server said no to decaf black tea (getting that wrong was the least of his issues)...imagine my surprise when I found it at the drink station one morning. The photo posted above confirms the existence of decaf black tea

As for the coffee carafe being used for hot water - this is one of my greatest pet peeves...but I found that the hot water from room service was (most of the time) coffee remnant free...the tea water in the MDRs comes in a typical restaurant hot water pot

I did bring tea bags but never needed them.
Have a great trip
Barb

 

[Bruiserknits]

Thanks everyone. I'll probably still pack some of my own tea, but at least it's Twining's so I know what to expect.

 

[sulcata]

Twinings decaf...bleh!

 

[perditax]

decaf...bleh!

Fixed that for you.

 

[CTdaizy]

I had to laugh when I read this, as I'm an iced tea snob. Glad to know I'm not the only tea snob. My DH gets so irritated when I start asking questions, like "do you brew it here?" "is it sweet or unsweet?" "how long ago was it made?" I bring my own tea bags, make hot tea, then add ice (all at the drink stations). Whatever works, right?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I had to laugh when I read this, as I'm an iced tea snob. Glad to know I'm not the only tea snob. My DH gets so irritated when I start asking questions, like "do you brew it here?" "is it sweet or unsweet?" "how long ago was it made?" I bring my own tea bags, make hot tea, then add ice (all at the drink stations). Whatever works, right?

Certainly the way to go on DCL. They switched to Fuze tea (yuck). While I'm not a great fan of powdered tea mix, I'll state that even the Nestea they used to have was better than this stuff (did I mention YUCK?)

 

[Amunet]

Yay! Thank you for this thread! I'm definitely a tea snob as well

Glad to know Twinnings is on board ^_^

 

[Bruiserknits]

Yeah I have no clue what the point of DECAF BREAKFAST tea is all about. What is the point? If I want decaf I'll drink an herbal tea.

 

[mevelandry]

Twinings is fine ... But if they had DavidsTea I would die from too much happiness...

 

[michellekcm]

They don't have the Twinings (or at least not all of it) in the MDRs. My mother likes to end her meal with a tea, not a coffee, and the first night the assistant server apologised that they didn't have it there. Later though she returned with it - she had gone somewhere else (no idea where) to get it for her. She then made sure she went and got it before each other dinner we had. And it was either Earl Grey or English Breakfast, not a herbal one. This was in 2013.

 

[Melissa S]

Yeah I have no clue what the point of DECAF BREAKFAST tea is all about. What is the point? If I want decaf I'll drink an herbal tea.

It's good to have those options for health reasons. Before I announced I was pregnant I was teased for ordering decaf lattes for breakfast. Same response "What's the point" but I like the taste and couldn't have the extra caffeine.

 

[clten]

They don't have the Twinings (or at least not all of it) in the MDRs. My mother likes to end her meal with a tea, not a coffee, and the first night the assistant server apologised that they didn't have it there. Later though she returned with it - she had gone somewhere else (no idea where) to get it for her. She then made sure she went and got it before each other dinner we had. And it was either Earl Grey or English Breakfast, not a herbal one. This was in 2013.

The assistant server either must not have known or didn't want to carry the "tea box". Each dining room has a tea box (or 2) and it does have the selection of Twinings that PrincessShmoo showed was at the drink station. Typically the assistant server will try to find out what type of tea you want so they only have to grab a tea bag or two. But we have had great assistant servers (or we were seated within view of the box) who would grab the box and present it so the individual wanting the tea could make their own selection.

 

[mmouse37]

My server was SURE the ship had no decaf English Breakfast...then, even the Palo server said no to decaf black tea (getting that wrong was the least of his issues)...imagine my surprise when I found it at the drink station one morning. The photo posted above confirms the existence of decaf black tea

As for the coffee carafe being used for hot water - this is one of my greatest pet peeves...but I found that the hot water from room service was (most of the time) coffee remnant free...the tea water in the MDRs comes in a typical restaurant hot water pot

I did bring tea bags but never needed them.
Have a great trip
Barb

I had that on one cruise where they said they had no decaf English breakfast tea in the MDR. I know they usually carry it as I always have it onboard. They had it at the drink station so I just brought some to MDR each night after that.

MJ

 

[Deaconfan]

At one time the spa offered a selection of hot teas as well.

 

[Sir William]

We like to have breakfast in the MDR. Two weeks ago on the Fantasy, most of the servers didn't seem to know there was a difference between regular and decaf tea.

Our biggest complaint was that they'd bring a teabag and prepare one cup of tea, which was a bit annoying as we like to drink several cups of tea with breakfast. While the servers were attentive, we still had to request another teabag and more hot water, whereas they were very prompt in coffee refills. Fortunately, the water never tasted of coffee. We asked if we could get a pot of tea (or hot water) but were told several times that the only tea pots were at Palo and Remy. Consequently, we made the same suggestion on our comment card.