Madeline's in Spokane

I recently visited Spokane, WA for work and got a chance to have tea at a café called Madeline’s on Main Street. It’s a cute café owned by a mother and daughter and very French inspired. They have lots on their menu including various types of coffee, tea (mainly mighty leaf tea), food, and desserts. The staff is really nice and extremely welcoming. I basically plopped down with my computer one afternoon, found free wi-fi (from the Pita Pit next door), and drank lots of tea. If you get a tea, they will refill your cup with hot water. If you order a coffee, you get free refills of drip coffee.

It’s a great place to hang out with friends, work on your laptop, or even compose music (the guy at the table next to me was gently strumming his guitar as he drank his coffee). The food is great too. They have an excellent selection of dishes (cooked that morning). There’s stuff for vegans too!

Definitely visit it if you are out in Spokane. Rating 5/5.

Clearing through a London Fog

I went to Starbucks (in a Safeway!) on a recent trip Seattle and saw a new tea on their menu: The London Fog.

Being a tea junkie, tea and London are almost synonymous in my tea dictionary. I got excited and ordered one. I wasn’t sure what I’d get, but the experience wasn’t bad. It’s basically earl grey tea with lots of milk and some sweet syrup (an equal proportion of water and milk with maybe 2-3 teaspoons of the “special” syrup). You can make it at home (but, you’d probably have to buy the ‘Starbucks syrup’). I’d say it’s worth one try, but definitely not an addiction. Rating 3/5.

Infinitea

During my recent trip to Bangalore, my cousin's wife recommended I visit Infinitea -- a tea house on Cunningham Road. I was interested to hear that Bangalore had a tea house. People from Karanataka, or in general from South India, are proud of their coffee and call themselves coffee drinkers. I was excited that a tea house had joined a city home to India Coffee House and Koshy's.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but the experience was really worth it. Cunningham Road has it's traffic and noise, but when you enter Infinitea it's really peaceful and for a second you forget that you are in the middle of a city. The tea house is also decorated really well. For instance, there are posters all over the wall with cute tea quotes, such as: "Make Tea, Not War."

They offer a large selection of tea (from all over the world) and also tea meals/food. Their menu even explains the different "tea intensities" (how strong each tea is...). Great for first time visitors.

My fellow blogger decided to get a Kashmiri tea which included crushed almonds giving it subtle sweet taste.

You can also buy tea to go -- I bought Niligiri tea leaves (one of the only teas indigenous to Karnataka).

The only thing to watch out for are tea prices -- as in any tea store, teas vary in price. Don't let this limit your experience though! It's a great way to spend time with friends, family , or reflect by yourself. Promise you'll love the tea experience!

Next time you are in Bangalore, I recommend you go and check out Infinitea. Here's the address:
2, Shah Sultan Complex, Cunningham Road, Bangalore