Transitioning to Tea

Okay, call me a pessimist, but when I wrote this post almost two weeks ago, I feared I'd be spending the next year in coffee hell, with sipping stuff at Costa being my only form of entertainment. Since then, things have started to look up (a little) and there have been a couple of nummy beverages and a good bit of exploration going on. I've been dying to update you but this postgrad thing's been kicking me around a bit.... Written on October 2.

From t-shirts to long sleeves and a jacket, my clothes have taken a turn for the warmer over the past couple of days. Yep, I finally made it to England last week but at that point the weather was oddly almost tropical. Seriously, end of September tanning in the UK? Thanks, Indian summer! But that was last week. This week we’re doing autumn all the way.

Sorry for keeping silent about my last month of food and drink escapades in Hawaii. It was a blur of final sips and nibbles, some of long-time favorites, others of crave-worthy new things. Giant bags of fresh sweet potato/taro chips and steaming pots of nabe leap instantly into my head. Alas, leaping into my stomach will have to wait at least a year….

As for warm bevvies here in England, tea may be the way to go until decent coffee starts to emerge. Strong, milky and a bit sweet. I enjoyed this pot over the weekend before battling the back-to-uni crowds at the Tesco near campus.

I love bacon rolls. They’ve got to be one of the world’s perfect foods.

The coffee scene here in the West Midlands may not be indie coffee heaven but I have a couple of leads on some really great-sounding spots. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to flee the campus this weekend.

As for in and around the University of Warwick, the Café Bar at the Warwick Arts Centre might have some potential as might Curiositea at the Student Union. Leading the race for my most decent cup is the flat white I had at Costa the other day. It beat out this morning’s push-button latte by a mile. Even the “cappuccino” from the instant coffee machine in the library was better than that cup of scariness….

And yes, if there turns out to be a bit of a coffee drought out here, there are still tons of yummy shots from Hawaii weighing down my camera. We can dream about Hawaii together as I get my posts up to date….  Until then, drink something nice for me, will ya?