Traveling with Tea

[kid320]

I'm pretty new to tea but already can't live without it. This creates a problem with me when I travel by air and just go to work for the day.

So, how do you guys go about traveling with tea? I want to find a way to have enough tea with me to last for a week long trip, taking a few varieties with me but still be able to pack lightly enough to not add much room/weight to my suitcase when traveling by air. Bonus points if you know a way to heat some hotel room water and tell what temperature it is at.

[debunix]

Thermometer takes care of the temp problem; small light plastic electric kettle takes care of hot water; and a small glass teapot or mug-top or kamjove type plastic brewing device does the rest. An immersion heater plus a glass mug is probably about the same weight. Something like that plus a thermos with a lid to drink from gets me through my travels. If really desparate, I can get by with a water bottle and some loose tea that brews up nicely with cool water, for 'ice' tea.

There have been similar threads in the past, here's one, with suggestions for everything from tea bags to more elaborate setups. Search for 'travel kit' brought up many pages of threads.

[wyardley]

So, how do you guys go about traveling with tea? I want to find a way to have enough tea with me to last for a week long trip, taking a few varieties with me but still be able to pack lightly enough to not add much room/weight to my suitcase when traveling by air. Bonus points if you know a way to heat some hotel room water and tell what temperature it is at.

The most important thing is to kind of accept the fact that you mostly won't have the best tea while traveling. It's good to keep some tea that's good enough but not too good - something that can handle extended lazy brewing and a range of water temperatures, and at least taste inoffensive. Ripe pu'er and roasted oolongs are usually not a bad bet. Red (black) tea can work if you don't overdo it and if you can get hot enough water. Sometimes, I just get hot water at a coffee shop or restaurant, and throw some tea leaves in it. Starbucks is all over the place, their water is very hot, and they will always give you hot water for free.

If I have more time / space, and have a source of good water and a way to heat it, I usually bring a gaiwan, a small towel, and a few tasting cups along too. At my folks' house, I use some kitchen plates / bowls to brew on. I wouldn't worry about exact water temperatures if you're brewing tea in a hotel room. You can get close enough for tea brewing by using your eyes and ears, and in most cases, it will be hard to get the water very hot anyway. In Asia, usually you'll at least have a plastic electric kettle instead of a coffee pot; as long as you buy bottled spring water, you can usually get good results this way.

[hopeofdawn]

I would second Wyardley's suggestion--I don't fly very often, but when I do, I bring a double-walled infuser mug with a removable metal basket (empty, of course, so as not to incur the wrath of the TSA), three-four packets of teas that aren't too finicky to brew, and then I just rely on Starbucks or other coffee shops for hot water (though I'll usually buy a snacky thing from them just so I don't feel like I'm taking advantage).

Hotel rooms are tougher--most of them have coffee makers in them, and sometimes (if they're clean) you can use that to heat your water for steeping ...

[kid320]

debunix: As dumb as it sounds, I never thought about a small portable thermometer. I never knew that those immersion heaters existed, but they look perfect. I will search for "travel kit" on this message board. Thanks a lot for your reply.

wyardley: I will consider traveling with the more "lazy brews," as you called them. I never knew Starbucks would give you free hot water... good to know. Thanks for the other advice and the reply.

hopeofdawn: I've considered a double-walled infuser mug and might purchase one tonight. I have used coffee makers in the past for tea (the bags they give you - ick!) and it always leaves things tasting like coffee, but it would work in a pinch. Thanks for your reply.

I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I drink Dos Equis.

I don't fly very often, but when I do, I bring a double-walled infuser mug with a removable metal basket.

[teaisme]

Why sacrifice great tea when you travel? Take it with you! All you need is a backpack for your carry on. With the bag I have it is enough to carry all I need for tea, as well as plenty of room for other stuff.

I carry an electric kettle, its base, tea towel, porcelain teapot, fair cup, and bunch of smalls cups. The teapot and faircup/cups fit into two separate small boxes. I layer with a few paper towels. Also a mini box filled with assorted teas. No water allowed until you get through security, so its bottled dasani at the airport for me (which works well with most teas anyways). I go and find an area of the airport where it is not crowded and busy (usually the very end gates) and sit down on the floor next to a plug. I brew while I wait for the plane and usually end up having some gongfu cha with nice strangers

I have often though about plugging my kettle into the outlet in the airplane bathroom but haven't gone to that extreme yet!

When I get off the plane and go to hotel I'm pretty much set, all I need to find is some bottled spring water. No worries about having sub par tea

[Tead Off]

Traveling with tea is quite easy. Most hotel rooms have electric kettles. I travel with a porcelain gaiwan and a small strainer. You can bring any teas you wish. I will usually keep some small bags of tea within a plastic case so they don't crush. I buy good water when I can, heat it, pour it into the gaiwan and pour into whatever cups the hotel provides. I could bring my own if I was that fussy but I'm not. I purposely don't bring good teaware for fear of breakage. A cheap gaiwan will do the trick and provide you with all the tea you need to drink. I recently had a 3 week trip to India where I drank primarily Dong Ding and Darjeelings. I was D-lighted!

[Poohblah]

+1 for the infuser mug/tea tumbler suggestion. It's by far the easiest and most convenient way to drink tea on the go. I've tried traveling with gaiwan and cups and so on, but it's a bit much hassle, and you can't always count on having good water at the right temperature.

Also these guys are fantastic for drinking tea wherever and whenever, including at home: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TP-160-Kamjove- ... 336556c4fd

I go and find an area of the airport where it is not crowded and busy (usually the very end gates) and sit down on the floor next to a plug. I brew while I wait for the plane and usually end up having some gongfu cha with nice strangers

That's kind of totally brilliant.

[chrisd]

When I am at work, or traveling, I like to fill up my 1.1 liter stanley thermos with hot water in the morning, and use it to fill up my Libre tea (glass and poly) travel mug all day. This typically works best with green and white teas, but you can brew any type of tea in it really.

It works for me when Im out and about