Kmania

What's the tea like in Tanzania? I know it's grown there, but how is it served? Good brewed tea, more like chai (which is yummy except for the too-sweet commercial brands), or should I content myself with coffee with lots of milk in it for two weeks? Or should I bring my own (yes, I'm one of those obsessive people...)

kmania

Calo

Kmania, we thought the tea in Tanzania was wonderful. We stayed at camps and lodges where it was brewed from bags, not loose tea. We came home from our safari with boxes of it. You really don't need to take your own. Did you know that "chai" is Swahili for tea?

Kmania

Thanks, Calo. Good to know. Chai is the word for tea in India, too, and in China (and Portugal) it's cha. I wonder how it mutated to tea in English. I'm sure it's in one of my tea books, but I don't remember off hand.

ann_nyc

I brought my own decaf teabags, which I used at night, but enjoyed whatever they served the rest of the day.
And for my 'wake-up call' beverage, I took advantage of hot chocolate, which was rich and creamy, and made with real milk, not the thin instant stuff we settle for at home.
p.s. Tea is also 'chai' in Turkish

cybor

Hi,
One more opinion.
I found the tea only ok, at best in Tanzania (similar to Lipton or red rose)but I am kind of a tea snob.

Although tea serving may vary from camp to camp - here's what I experienced:
Mobile camping/perm. tent - a thermos was delivered to the tent at wake up call filled with hot water along with a couple bags, brown sugar and warmed cream

A pot of hot (not boiling) water was avail. in the mess tents and at the restaurant at the Sopa.
I brought my own chai.

Seychelles:
Excellent Seychellian tea brewed properly
My DH was mostly served instant coffee thruout Tanzania, Kenya and the Seychelles, btw. This could be because of the quality of camps we stayed at, not sure.
We did, however, purchase and brought home some excellent coffee from Tanzania.

Kmania

Thanks Cybor and Ann. The hot chocolate sounds great too. I probably won't bring my own. I've done that on trips before and because the water's different the tea never tastes right anyway. So I guess I'll just take my chances.

joeyi

i brought my own tea to kenya. My sister in law who we stayed with part of the time laughed at me, she said it was "like bringing coal to a coal mine". i drank my tea the first day or 2 then switched to the Kenyan tea and brought home a couple of boxes. and am thinking of asking her to bring me more when they come home this summer for home leave.

MoiraS

HI! Does anyone know about tea in Botswana, South Africa, or Zambia? I am planning a trip there with my sister and we are big tea lovers. I normally bring my own for airplanes, their tea is so nasty! As far as I know these are not countries where tea is grown except for the Red tea in South Africa that sounded good...

Moira