Excursion: Shinola & Eli Tea (and why there is simply no hope for me)

Today i managed to discover something really awesome which lead me to inexorably, you guessed it, utterly embarrass myself in my pursuit of tea. I had recently read that Shinola Detroit Bike shop had begun serving Eli teas, though the subject hadn’t really come up the last time i talked with Eli. It does seem like a terrific opportunity (especially since their last tea vendor was Rishi) and i hope they both benefit from the cross promotion.  That being said, it somehow hadn’t occurred to me that Eli might also be vendoring Ann Arbor’s new Shinola branch. I just happened to be downtown grabbing some lunch at my much loved Earthen Jar Indian Buffet today when i spotted an email newsletter from Eli indicating that they would be carrying it. Holy snap. I was only two blocks away from Shinola… I had to know!

Someday i swear i will stop and think these things through before i leap into these misadventures. Sadly, it doesn’t look as if today will be the start of that shift. Shinola (pronounced shy-nola), for the uninitiated, is a very upscale apparel and accessories store that i had never previously considered visiting. As i think i must have mentioned in my County Emmet Celtic Shop Excursion, my ugly Trans mutt has a bad tendency to drive away proprietor’s other clientele. *sigh* Shinola is hardly an exception to this rule. Had i not been possessed with the need to learn if the rumor of their carrying Eli teas was true (and, if confirmed, the need to spread said news), i have little doubt i would never have been a Shinola customer. So, well… the good news to come out of today’s Tea Excursion misadventure is that i can report Shinola Ann Arbor will be carrying Eli Tea soon. The bad news is… Holy shit did i make an ass of myself… again. ^^;;

Have you ever wished you could rewind the last five minutes of your life and do them over? Yup. That’s what i was thinking as soon as I walked out of Shinola.  It turns out one of the baristas at Shinola Ann Arbor happens to be an insanely hot person who just flirted my pants off. *swoon* Oh, did i forget to mention this was my horribly dressed down day when i didn’t have the energy to even shower *cringe*, dress halfway decent *stab* and even had my beautiful hair pulled back in a painful-to-look-at pony tail? *die* Also, i didn’t have the time this morning to even shave. *sound of the last nail being driven into the coffin* On top of all those things, this is day 60 something on the rag. *sprays air freshener everywhere* Yup. If i wasn’t 100% sure before this moment i can now with authority proclaim that today is definitely not my day. ^^;;

*sips Eli’s Darjeeling Green and wonders if there’s a convenient rock nearby i can possibly go crawl under and sob*