Bad Iced Tea! Bad Iced Tea! Bad, Bad, Bad Iced Tea!
UPDATED: May 1, 2008
An appointment took me to Palo Alto today. On my way back to the City, I stopped by Stanford Shopping Center to pick up some of the Fred's steak from Schaub's. Being thirsty, I went in search of iced tea. The line at La Baguette was out the door so I walked to Teavana.
Now, one would think that a specialty tea shop would make some kick-ass iced brew. I really liked the now-shuttered Teavana at Polk and Vallejo, at least as long as they had free Wi-Fi. But, NO!
The sludge at Teavana was so ill-behaved it needed to go to obedience school. I first ordered Irish Breakfast. It looked like mud when it hit the glass and tasted the same. After I yelled, "Bad iced tea! Bad iced tea!" at the glass a few times, the woman behind the counter got the message and offered to try again. The result was so clotted I didn’t bother to taste it.
The countress kindly suggested that I try a different tea. Assam is nice, she proposed. I followed her lead. The Assam wasn’t instantly muddy – it took about 30 seconds to cloud. The taste was awful. About five steps out the door, I threw it into a waste bin.
I later discovered that Assam was a particularly bad choice of tea to ice. Compounds in the tea are known to mix with elements generally found in tap water to form insoluable salts. I guess Teavana doesn't do a very good job in training their employees in the art and science of iced tea preparation. Maybe no job at all.
At least the line was down by the time I got back to La Baguette. Their iced tea was great.
A bakery makes better iced tea than a tea shop – go figure.
Teavana
3 Stanford Shopping Cntr
Palo Alto, CA 94304
650-326-5151
Map
Web site
Food inspection score: Not located in San Francisco
Symbol of Excellence: N/A
La Baguette
170 Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto, CA 94304
650-321-0535
Map
Web site
Food inspection score: Not located in San Francisco
Symbol of Excellence: N/A
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