Thursday, March 29, 2012

Visiting Ohio: A Comparison of Tea

This trip afforded me the great opportunity to compare the fast food tea I can get while out on the road. Here are the contenders.


Both come way too hot. I understand the need to have hot water but I want to drink the tea in the three minutes it takes to steep the bag, not have to blow on it, sip a half teaspoon, blow, sip, for the next 30 minutes until the water cools off enough to actually drink. I know people who will ask for ice cubes in their coffee so they can drink it right away. Maybe I should consider that. Both cups provided adequate insulation to keep the beverage hot. 

McDonalds tea:  The cup it comes in is much nicer and feels more sturdy than Dunkin's styrofoam cup. McD's tea is cheaper, thirty cents cheaper for the same size. Their top is much better, too. It's a small square that folds back into a niche in the top. It "latches" with a satisfying click. Dunkin has a thin strip that pushes onto a raised button. Push too hard and you dent the top and the strip won't hold. Don't push hard enough and the strip unfastens and hits you on the nose as you're drinking.

Dunkin's tea:  Flavor. Hands down it has better flavor. Both have a blend produced just for them. It's a black tea and those can be pretty bland when mass produced. With the McD's blend, even leaving the tea bag in the water for over half of the cup size did not produce a flavorful cup of tea. As the flavor is what I generally buy the tea for, the extra thirty cents to get a the same size mug seems worth it in the end. Plus, I don't know if it was my cup holders in the Jeep or the styrofoam cup but the Dunkin tea stayed warmer longer. That's a plus when you want something to last for awhile.

In the end, for my money, Dunkin is the way to go. If I'm on the Interstate and Dunkin isn't available, I can get tea flavored hot water at my closest McDonald's. It will be adequate and inexpensive.

I guess what I need to do is keep a stash of my tea bags in my purse. Then I'll have what I really like available.

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea

Deb

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