Refuse Nothing Vegan

I am addicted to tea. Black Tea. With Caffeine. At least 2 cups per day, or I become a monster. Normally, this doesn't pose a problem. I drink 98% of my tea at home. And when I'm out, you can find tea anywhere, no matter where you are on Planet Earth. Heck, it's the most widely consumed beverage in the world! However, over the years as a vegan, I have discovered a strange stumbling block. Many hippie and/or healthy places that cater to vegans offer mostly herbal teas (and it occurs to me now I need to include most kinds of Herbal Tea in my list of things I do not like.... I'm not a fan of drinking warm meadows)... and when they do offer a Black Tea With Caffeine, it's quite often limited to Earl Grey, which is my Tea Nemesis. That tea tastes like Earl Ass. I can only assume that either all Brits are insane for drinking that stuff, or that the addition of sugar and cream (neither of which I put in my tea) makes the stuff palatable.

I start this quest by mentioning Earl Grey because it was the first of my Hated Foods to show up as a surprise since I decided to keep track of my progress. My first rule is now Refuse Nothing Vegan. We were out to brunch in Philadelphia the other day. Obviously, I ordered black tea. No one asked me what kind I wanted, so I was expecting some kind of English Breakfast or even a tragic bag of Lipton's. But there it was, smugly staring at me next to my cup of hot water.... a bag of Earl Grey. Normally, I would have made a scene, asked for something, ANYTHING, instead of the Earl Grey. I'd even resort to Green Tea, Iced Tea or (if I were particularly desperate and on the verge of becoming Monster Me) coffee. But instead, I put that teabag in and drank up my cup of Earl Grey. It wasn't good, but I drank it all. I guess I could get used to it in time? Which would be handy when I need tea to save my sanity and someone approaches me with The Grey Earl.

Later that evening, I watched the Oscars with my parents and my husband. I made a batch of French 75s for everyone else. I didn't partake, since I get no kick from Champagne. But at the end of the night, there was some Champagne left in the bottle, so I drank a glass. I guess I am not as refined of a lady as I like to pretend I am, because I just don't get sparkling wine. But really considering that I have issues with both white wine AND many carbonated drinks, can you blame me for usually taking just one sip, out of politeness, during every Champagne toast?

So, there you go. 2 Hated Drinks found me on the same day, and I bravely drained my glass both times. I can't decide which one was better. Let me do some more research on that and get back to you! :-) In the meantime, Ceylon Tea With Mango and Red Wine, how I love you both!