I shifted from morning tea to morning coffee about three years ago. It was a sad acquiescence to a societal norm, but life is guaranteed to chip away at our purities.
Continue reading “Introvert’s travelogue: tea Canadian style”
Caffeine dependency was something I avoided for the first third of my life. Then, in my mid-thirties (almost 20 years ago), I became interested in tea and began including black tea and milk in my morning routine.
Continue reading “Why I started drinking coffee in my fifties”I woke up Sunday morning in Waco a little later than planned. And I did too much lazing in bed watching TV before going down for the complimentary breakfast.
Tea is an important morning ritual for me, but I’ve learned to be flexible when on the road. I don’t bring my own tea unless my hotel room or suite has a kitchenette with stove. If you can’t control the water temperature, there’s no point in wasting your own tea.
So I grabbed a Bigelow English Teatime packet, plopped in into a paper cup and brewed with hot water from the beverage station dispenser. It served its caffeine delivery purpose well. For breakfast, I had oatmeal with almonds, cranberries and milk. Continue reading “Introvert’s Travelogue, Part Two – The Middle and The End”
For the first time since I began dating the great woman who would become my wife, I have ten days all to myself. It’s been over 12 or 13 years since I’ve experienced this much solitude. There is, of course, the time I have to devote to work, but the rest is all mine.
In addition to clearing my head and recharging my batteries at home, I decided to visit my former hometown of Austin. I probably make 2-3 trips to Austin per year, but those I make with my wife and 4-year-old son. Continue reading “Introvert’s Travelogue, Part One – The Journey Begins”
Should you ever find yourself in Austin, Texas with a particular craving for British bangers, back bacon, fried eggs, fried bread, roasted tomatoes, and mushrooms, you’re in luck. Yes, there’s a place that serves the aforementioned in addition to tea and other British foods, and it’s called Full English Cafe. Though difficult to spot, this tiny place just off Manchaca Rd. (on Southern Oaks Dr.) is worth the search.
Besides upscale hotels and restaurants, there a few places to enjoy afternoon tea in the United States. Full English Cafe fills this void successfully, offering High Tea (really afternoon tea unless you’re stoned, of course) almost any time of day in a cozy, relaxed atmosphere. For a reasonable price, you get a tiered tray full of made-from-scratch sandwiches, scones, cakes, and biscuits (cookies) served with a pot of tea or coffee.
Full English Cafe offers three versions of English breakfast, which vary in measure and quality (free-range vs non-free-range eggs and meats). Made in-house, the bangers contain locally sourced pork.
For those days when the Big British Breakfast isn’t big enough, you can add more bangers, bacon, eggs, cheese, salad, bread, tomatoes, mushrooms, and even Heinz beans — all available as side items.
Round out your English breakfast with an English-style pancake — thinner than its American counterpart, pan sized, and traditionally topped with lemon and sugar. If you need a more compact breakfast, try one of the Full English Cafe’s breakfast sandwiches, served on bread from Sweetish Hill bakery.
Order off the ‘On Toast’ portion of the menu for a lighter breakfast or snack. On toast options include two fried eggs, butter and marmalade, and of course Heinz beans, the perfect catalyst for extra wind at your back.
A great place to enjoy a proper cuppa with your friends or solo, Full English Cafe features some British household staples from across the pond as well as some local Austin blends from Zhi Tea. Order PG Tips, Tetley, or Twinings English Breakfast by the cup or pot.
Other brand-name teas available include Lipton Yellow Label and Brooke Bond Red Label. Chai latte (hot or cold) and Austin Breakfast, Dragonwell Green, and Ginger Peach Oolong from Zhi round out the tea menu.
Full English Cafe serves supper on Friday and Saturday night. The supper menu is a surprise and may include shepherd’s/cottage pie, bangers and mash, various pasties, and sausage rolls.
It’s hard to do this place full justice in a blog post. Just visit and see for yourself. Cheers.
