tea
 

I've read about the different coffees served in Italy and wondered if they ever have tea that you can buy. Does anyone know?

Well, mckim, the Italians arguably brew some of the best coffee in the world, they are resolute coffee drinkers, and tea that you'll get will likely just be some generic tea bag thing-but if you mean, can you buy tea in the supermarkets? Yes, of course you can. Do they have tea available for after dinner? Yes, but only because the British have overrun certain parts of Italy, (like Sorrento) so you'll find it, sometimes, but not as a regular feature on a menu.

I have traveled to Italy twice with a non-coffee drinker - and she never had any trouble getting tea - either at breakfast at the hotel or after dinner. Often it was tea bags - but no worse than you get in most places in the US.

Thanks for the tea information. Someone said we should take tea bags but that doesn't seem necessary.

I like a cup of Earl Grey in the morning. I always take my own tea bags when I travel and just order a pot of hot water. I expect to do this when I travel to Italy next year (unless it is considered rude, then I will forego the tea).

Yeah, listen to them and you will bring toilet paper too...

Please take your own tea if it is important to you.

Consider the water, is it fresh and is it hard or soft. Take tea that is designed for hard or soft.

Insist on boiling water

Ask if they have a tea pot. many continental mainland tea shops have them but don't know how to use them.

Teach the guy how to use a tea pot

Now anyone going to give me lessons on hospital corners

I've never found anywhere in Italy that didn't have tea available. Real tea, as well as those mimsy fruit and herb things, though very rarely smallish restaurants will only have camomile and the like.

They don't make a big thing of it, and more often than not it's served in a pot, made from boiling water.

The unspeakable habit of using tepid water is mercifully rare in Italy.