Tea bags weigh almost nothing, and if in a zippie rather than a box, a dozen or two would take up little room in a suitcase. Worth it to avoid the hassle of having to go grocery shopping first thing.
Oh, and one more point about the boiling water: You aren’t likely to be able to find an electric kettle in the US, but you’ll have a much easier time finding a microwave. And while I’m sure there are folks who insist otherwise, there’s no real difference between water boiled in a microwave and water boiled in a kettle. It might take a little longer, but I find that it’s only about two minutes starting from tap-temperature, and of course it’d be even shorter if you’re starting with hot water.
Yes. And I quoted it and said “Maybe it’s **just **a New York thing then.”
Also arthritis can make the fine grip needed for tea bag dunking difficult. But yes, it’s mainly those two points. Even in England some places will bring you lukewarm water and a tea bag 
Others, especially in America, leave the tea bag in. If it’s decent tea that means your drink turns to overstewed swill halfway through and even with weak tea it’s annoying to drink with a tea bag bumping against your lips like a turd in a swimming pool.
Yes. Black teas, in general, should be made with water that is only just off the boil. If you are trying to make a tea with water that is merely hot, you will find it harder to get much flavour.
Green teas, FWIW, should generally be made with water that is somewhat cooler. The rule of thumb that I’ve seen is, 100C/212F for black teas; 80C/170F for green. (I don’t try to be that exact when making green tea myself; I just fill the cup or teapot about four-fifths with boiling water, then top up with cold.)
Has it been mentioned: being served tea with the tea bag still floating in it *with the milk already added?
*Actually that’s more of a self-serve thing. For whatever reason, you can’t wait for the tea to steep and there’s only milk in a pitcher.
((shudder))
Shudder!
The fat in the milk clogs the holes in the teabag.
I’m pretty sure you can state that at a scientific level. Boiling hot water is boiling hot water. It’s not like food which has complicated stuff that can will cook differently with heat vs. electromagnetic radiation. It’s water, and the microwave will make it hot.
And I agree that any hotel that serves breakfast will have milk. The question is whether it will be available to the customer at times other than breakfast. Still, it’s probably best to get it here.
Well, unless you want ultra-pasteurized, which is less common, and you could actually probably bring from home unopened (assuming there are no customs issues).
It’s my understanding that there is a big debate about when to add the milk. These people are probably unaware that it matters to anyone.
I’ve literally never had tea with dairy (real or artificial) in it, so I have no idea. This is iced/sweet tea country, so I’ve rarely even had hot tea.
Username / post non-combo!
The downsides of boiling water in the mug in a microwave are 1) it often makes the mug insanely hot, handle included, and 2) if you’ve genuinely heated the water to boiling it will splash out of the mug, necessitating a wipedown of the microwave. I suppose you could heat it in a different, larger container which would solve those problems but then you’d need to have something suitable on hand which in a hotel room may not be an option.
Who cares if it does splash? It’s water.
And I’ve never had a problem with microwaved mug handles. I’m sure it’s possible, depending on materials, but why would anyone nowadays sell a non-microwaveable mug?