It is not an unknown fact that I am one of the students who lives in the dorms on campus. Living there, I have access to study rooms, the Dining Commons, and the UMarket. I am also a well-known tea lover, which you have probably guessed from my weekly column. So, I decided to go down to UMarket one night with my friends and while they were grabbing their food, I noticed the tea! Yes, if you run out of tea or some horrible disaster happens where all your tea gets thrown out of a window or something, UMarket has your back. They have everything you need to make a good cup of tea. They provide you with a to-go cup, a lid, hot water, sugar, milk, cream, and honey, though sometimes they do not have the milk and cream. I also think that they offer zero-calorie sugar substitute most of the time as well, but when I went there, they were out.
They offer three kinds of tea in UMarket, your usual basic teas. You can choose from Chai, English Breakfast, or Earl Grey. I will say that I was surprised by the fact that they only offered three teas but had slots for six different teas in their dispenser. The teas are of the tea company Tazo, which is the same tea that is sold at the Starbucks on campus. I honestly like that they sell this tea at UMarket because not only is it a good-tasting tea but it is of good quality as well. So now, you can make your favorite drink from Starbucks for less, which is awesome! That’s right—the tea sold in UMarket is priced pretty well. It is only $2 for a cup of tea, or coffee if that is more your style. They also have some bottled tea, Pure Leaf, already in the fridge, which is also $2. Although the brand is not my personal favorite, it is still pretty good. It is the only way to get a cup of iced tea in UMarket; so if you like it, grab it.
Now, out of the three teas, I tried the English Breakfast. I’m not a huge fan of Earl Grey, and Chai just was not calling my name at the time; so, I chose something that is strong in flavor. And flavor is what I got! The tea was very flavorful and packed a punch when you drank it. This is something a good English Breakfast tea does, and it is why I love it. I had mine with some cream and honey because it helps balance the flavor and makes the tea a little smoother. The honey does not make it too sweet so it does not overpower the flavor. Overall, I really like the tea they have at UMarket, but I just wish I had more to choose from.