Changes Cafe al Bacio

[Jim_Iain]

18 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

Well — Jim  posts about his walks and his coffee, and now we all know that he is not a tea drinker.  The tea in the pyramid sachets is Tea Forte.

 

 I am posting from the Solstice, and the Solstice is serving Tea Forte in the Cafe al Bacio and also the Michael’s Club/Retreat Lounge.  Bigelow  is the brand used for room service.  

 

I am also guessing that this is a supply chain issue.

 

You are right.... LOL....     I know I will hear a lot of Eeeeewwwws.     I enjoy Ice Tea but don't like hot tea. 

 

Being and Equal Opportunity Couple ...... Iain being British drink more than my supply.    He likes it STRONG and usually puts 3 bags in a pot.     For room service I bring a plastic bag of his Tetley British Strength.   He even brings some to Retreat to pop in the pot with the Forte

[PTC DAWG]

24 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

You are right.... LOL....     I know I will hear a lot of Eeeeewwwws.     I enjoy Ice Tea but don't like hot tea. 

 

I’m the same way…

[Jim_Iain]

2 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I’m the same way…

Since you I believe are from Georgia (Peachtree City)   you may like yours sweet.    I never liked mine sweetened,  but my Grandmother who lived in Knoxville area of Tennessee would make it so sweet;  I swear you could stand a stick up in it.  

[Arizona Wildcat]

21 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Since you I believe are from Georgia (Peachtree City)   you may like yours sweet.    I never liked mine sweetened,  but my Grandmother who lived in Knoxville area of Tennessee would make it so sweet;  I swear you could stand a stick up in it.  

Those of us in the desert Southwest put a bunch of bags in a gallon jar and set it out in the sun for 6-8 hours.  Remove the bags and chill.  Most of us add fresh lemon to our tea.  No sugar.

I like hot tea strong with milk and sugar.  Maybe a result of time in Australia? 

Edited September 30, 2022 by Arizona Wildcat

[Wineaux007]

2 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Those of us in the desert Southwest put a bunch of bags in a gallon jar and set it out in the sun for 6-8 hours.  Remove the bags and chill.  Most of us add fresh lemon to our tea.  No sugar.

I like hot tea strong with milk and sugar.  Maybe a result of time in Australia? 

With milk and sugar, don't you lose the taste of "tea"?

[GORDONCHICK]

18 hours ago, canderson said:

The decaf version is still one of our family favorites in the late evening, and we always bring some of it along on cruises.  Have always liked the mellow spice blend in Constant Comment.

I love the decaf Constant Comment, too!

[GORDONCHICK]

Since I haven't been on X in a number of years, I am not familiar with all these venues.  What is Cafe al Bacio?  Also, I am curious where I would hopefully find the divine almond croissants that were such a treat on my previous X cruises?

[canderson]

36 minutes ago, GORDONCHICK said:

Since I haven't been on X in a number of years, I am not familiar with all these venues.  What is Cafe al Bacio?  Also, I am curious where I would hopefully find the divine almond croissants that were such a treat on my previous X cruises?

Have had them for quite a few years.  It's a combo coffee/tea/bar/pastry shop, and yes, is definitely where you'll want to look for the almond croissants. 

[GORDONCHICK]

1 minute ago, canderson said:

Have had them for quite a few years.  It's a combo coffee/tea/bar/pastry shop, and yes, is definitely where you'll want to look for the almond croissants. 

It's been 15 years since my last X cruise but we are looking to book one for next fall.  Back then, I stumbled across the pastry cart (mornings, and cookies in the afternoons) with the delightful almond croissants.  I've had many since but I'm convinced that everything tastes better on a ship!  

[canderson]

10 minutes ago, GORDONCHICK said:

It's been 15 years since my last X cruise but we are looking to book one for next fall.  Back then, I stumbled across the pastry cart (mornings, and cookies in the afternoons) with the delightful almond croissants.

No more cart!  You will also find something nice to drink with your croissant.  I often agonize over almond vs. pain chocolat, and as often as not, give up and ask for one of each!

[JCruise85]

Cafe Al Bacio is where I spend probably half the cruise on an X ship.

[floridatravelersforlife]

We use Tea forte at home.  We buy it from specialty tea vendors on the internet. Amazon has some also, not as fresh.  I guess we will have to add that to our bring on board list.  I think is is a supply chain issue, since some of the ingredients comes from Sri Lanka which is having a quasi civil war due to covid lockdowns and bad government finance.

[MamaFej]

Edieted to add a big ol' OT:

 

My favorite teas come from Lake Missoula Tea Company in Missoula, MT. They have many magnificent loose teas and tea blends. Like many small business tea shops, they are extremely careful to source from ethical, sustainable growers. 

 

I placed an order yesterday. I've got my favorite Honey Ponderosa, as well as High Country Huckleberry and a few new flavors coming.Yay! They were very smart to give me a sample of the Truffle Nut flavor last time I was there in person. I may or may not have ordered a significant amount of it.

Narrator: She most definitely did order a significan amount of it. 

Edited September 30, 2022 by MamaFej

[LuAnn]

I think the Tea Forte is so much better I stop by on my way to breakfast in Blu to take "one to go" to make my tea in Blu. Such a better flavor IMO.

[Lena11033]

7 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

You are right.... LOL....     I know I will hear a lot of Eeeeewwwws.     I enjoy Ice Tea but don't like hot tea. 

 

Being and Equal Opportunity Couple ...... Iain being British drink more than my supply.    He likes it STRONG and usually puts 3 bags in a pot.     For room service I bring a plastic bag of his Tetley British Strength.   He even brings some to Retreat to pop in the pot with the Forte

lol I'm British so the idea of iced tea 🤢

 

I think I'm more like Iain when it comes to tea, heck I've silently judged people at work on how they made tea - especially herbal tea with milk 

[shirazcruiser]

On 9/29/2022 at 5:03 PM, Northern Aurora said:

 

Well — Jim  posts about his walks and his coffee, and now we all know that he is not a tea drinker.  The tea in the pyramid sachets is Tea Forte.

 

 I am posting from the Solstice, and the Solstice is serving Tea Forte in the Cafe al Bacio and also the Michael’s Club/Retreat Lounge.  Bigelow  is the brand used for room service.  

 

I am also guessing that this is a supply chain issue.

We love the Tea Forte Bombay Chai pyramids so much after sailing on X and having it in Michael's Club that we purchase it directly from Tea Forte's website; however, they have been out of stock since at least Oct 2021.  Do they have it currently in Cafe al Bacio?  We look forward to it on our upcoming cruise.  Thanks for your info!

[Northern Aurora]

32 minutes ago, shirazcruiser said:

We love the Tea Forte Bombay Chai pyramids so much after sailing on X and having it in Michael's Club that we purchase it directly from Tea Forte's website; however, they have been out of stock since at least Oct 2021.  Do they have it currently in Cafe al Bacio?  We look forward to it on our upcoming cruise.  Thanks for your info!

 

I am posting from the Solstice.  They do indeed have the Tea Forte Bombay Chai on board but our out of the decaf Breakfast tea.  I really suspect this is a supply chain issue.

[bama4cruisin]

4 hours ago, GORDONCHICK said:

It's been 15 years since my last X cruise but we are looking to book one for next fall.  Back then, I stumbled across the pastry cart (mornings, and cookies in the afternoons) with the delightful almond croissants.  I've had many since but I'm convinced that everything tastes better on a ship!  

You must have just missed the introduction of Cafe al Bacio.  The first was on So,stick which debuted in 2008.  Yes, you’ll usually find the almond croissants in the morning along with muffins, donuts and more.  Around lunch, they transition to cookies, cakes, divine little lemon and chocolate tarts and more.  All sorts of coffee drinks as well as various hot teas and iced teas.  Check out the menu on the app.

 

It is one of my favorite spots on the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ocdublin]

We were more concerned that they ran out of cookies!  The fourth day of the cruise we were unable to find any cookies other than sugarless (know way).  Then the night before we leave cookies show up!  Very disappointing never has this happen in all my Celebrity cruises!  Not into desserts, just cookies with our tea! 

[Redtravel]

supply issue?  Or just saving money? So sorry for your loss. I love tea forte.  I buy it at home.  I was on Summit in June. They had tea forte. However, they did run out of some varieties.  
Bigelow is not my cup of tea. It’s awful.  Just off Windstar cruise. They had Bigelow and Twining at the Yacht Club. Dining room had Bigelow.  Asked the Barista for Twining. He gave me some Twining to use in the dining room.  

 

[NMTraveller]

Rubbish.  The queen would not approve...

[wineoclock]

The Queen probably drank Fortnums tea. (But she was known to be frugal so who knows) There Queen Anne & Royal Blend teas are heavenly. 
 

As a Brit I’m very fussy about my tea. Made properly in a pot with the appropriate amount of brew time. 

[wineoclock]

48 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

The Queen probably drank Fortnums tea. (But she was known to be frugal so who knows) There Queen Anne & Royal Blend teas are heavenly. 
 

As a Brit I’m very fussy about my tea. Made properly in a pot with the appropriate amount of brew time. 

I forgot to proof read - it should read their  Queen….,  

[chemmo]

4 hours ago, wineoclock said:

 

As a Brit I’m very fussy about my tea. Made properly in a pot with the appropriate amount of brew time. 

Exactly why we always request a tea tray set up in our room no matter where we cruise from.
 

Surprisingly, although the tea tray is usually well stocked with a good range of teas, milk in the cooler, cups and saucers…but there is often no tea pot! One always brought when we ask.

[chemmo]

12 hours ago, Lena11033 said:

lol I'm British so the idea of iced tea 🤢

 

I thought the same until we visited Egypt one August! Iced tea was the only thing that stopped us evaporating into the sand…a favourite now with lemon on every hot climate cruise but never for breakfast!