It’s winter.
And the temperatures here have been on a roller coaster ride. Up and down, for
weeks on end. Last week it was in the lower 20’s. While this week, it’s been in
the 50’s and 60 ‘s, almost 70, and is going down to below freezing tonight. Makes you crazy every
time you walk out the front door. What coat do I wear? Or more importantly… the
real dilemma for me is… whether to get a cold Raspberry tea, at the only
drive-in town that has it. OR to travel farther down the road, to another
drive-in, that serves up, an African Autumn tea latte… piping hot, to warm up
my frigid fingers. For Christmas last
year, and again this year… I got $30 gift cards to the local coffee shop called
Biggby. It’s my town’s version of Starbucks. It’s there I get the tea latte.
At home I drink Harneys cinnamon tea. But when I go out, it’s a treat to use
the gift cards. Well, imagine my surprise… on a bitterly cold day… (when I opted
for warmth to run through my frozen veins) and chose to get an African Autumn
tea latte… only to find out… they no longer carry it. It had been removed from their menu. I was shocked. I couldn’t
believe it. Why had this happened? I was freezing, sitting in my car, with the
window down, asking why they didn’t have my beloved tea. Not believing the Barista
at the window, I drove across town to the other Biggbys. Surely the woman had
been mistaken. I figured here I would get my tea latte. But this Barista told
me the exact same thing... no African Autumn tea latte. I was devastated and asked if
they had dropped the Harney Tea line. She confirmed that, that was indeed the
case. And then, she suggested... I try one of the new teas, they were touting, by
this different company. I was reluctant. I had never heard of Frazer Tea. But I
agreed to become a guinea pig. So she made me a cup of their cinnamon tea. And
off I drove, still disappointed and upset, that my African Autumn was never coming
back to Biggbys. I knew I could probably get it on Amazon, but it’s not the
same. The Barista froths the milk, adds a touch of honey while engaging in casual conversation. You hear the music
playing in the background. They put it in a festive cup. Then they add a sleeve to
it, and hand it to you, through an open window... or inside a quaint shop,
decorated to soothe the soul. You hand them a tip. It’s an ‘emotional’ experience. One that calms me. And fills me with positive vibes. One I enjoyed immensely. But Biggby pulled the old SWITCHEROO. There was nothing I could do, to change a corporate decision, that ruined all
that for me. So I took a sip of what I was left with. The Frazer tea was
terrible. I hated it. Absolutely hated it. I came home and dumped it out. I sat
down at my computer, and wrote Biggby a letter, telling them how disappointed I
was. Then I got up and made a cup of Harney's cinnamon tea in the comfort of my own home. I intended to shun Biggby from now on. Have you ever had great expectations about something, only to be let down
by the reality of the situation? No matter how big or small the circumstances.
(CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE)
then maybe you can read what my cup says...
"I'm a BAG LADY, I drink tea."
