Having lived for the past eight to nine months in the UK, I have come to really enjoy a nice cup of tea. After finishing exams on Friday, I went home and packed for a quick trip back to the USA. After traveling for about 13 hours, I boarded the final flight to Dayton. This was a short flight, about 50 minutes. When the the drink service came around, I thought that the best thing after all the stress of travel was to relax on this final leg of the journey with a nice cup of tea. I knew to keep my expectations low, I was on a plane after all. The stewardess gave me an odd look when I asked for tea, I guess not many people my age order hot tea on a warm evening flying from Chicago to Dayton. She quickly handed me all the tools to make tea,
but said the hot water was still heating up and she would bring it as soon as it was ready. She proceeded to serve the other thirty or so people on the flight and then returned to the galley to fetch the hot water. After staring out the window for a while,
the stewardess finally returned with a Styrofoam cup of hot water. As she handed it to me, all the lessons I learned in Scotland about making tea came back to me. First and foremost, always put the tea bag in the mug before the water. Well, it was to late now. As I place the tea bag on top of the water and used the blue United skewer to push it around the cup, I thought, "Surely this wont effect the taste too much." As I added the creamer, I noticed how much thicker it was than milk. Not spoiled, but just a heaver cream content than I had come to expect. Once it got to the appropriate shade, I took my first sip.
At this point, two things happened. First, the captain came on the intercom and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are making our final approach into Dayton. Please prepare for landing." Second, I realized that tea on a plane can not live up to the lowest expectations. It wasn't revolting, it just wasn't anything. I had a hot cup of rather nondescript brown liquid I had to chug in five minutes. I wound up drinking about three fourths of it before the flight attendant came around one last time. The bright spot in this episode is that this was the worst part of the trip. Any flying experience where a poorly made tea is your biggest complaint should probably be considered a smashing success.
but said the hot water was still heating up and she would bring it as soon as it was ready. She proceeded to serve the other thirty or so people on the flight and then returned to the galley to fetch the hot water. After staring out the window for a while,
the stewardess finally returned with a Styrofoam cup of hot water. As she handed it to me, all the lessons I learned in Scotland about making tea came back to me. First and foremost, always put the tea bag in the mug before the water. Well, it was to late now. As I place the tea bag on top of the water and used the blue United skewer to push it around the cup, I thought, "Surely this wont effect the taste too much." As I added the creamer, I noticed how much thicker it was than milk. Not spoiled, but just a heaver cream content than I had come to expect. Once it got to the appropriate shade, I took my first sip.
What a wonderfully written post! I'm sorry the tea was dismal, but your writing is phenomenal! :)
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