LHR connection. M&S Tea purchase options?
Feb 21, 2016, 3:51 pm
#46
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May 18, 2016, 12:10 pm
#47
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Mission Accomplished
Visited a M&S store in Southern England yesterday and picked up a small haul of tea (English Breakfast and Luxury Gold for the wife, Luxury Gold for a friend in Virginia who loves it, and a box of Assam for my mother to try). Flying home later this week and hoping that airport security does not become overly interested in why I have so much tea in my checked bag 
May 18, 2016, 12:27 pm
#48
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Even if they do, you might just amuse them. A friend left Seattle with a carry-on stuffed with his favourite coffee, which turns up on the screen as 'a dense block that might be Semtex', and the TSA person had a good laugh.
May 18, 2016, 12:46 pm
#49
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... I usually bring back ~500 Waitrose tea bags to the US with me - along with many other 'food' items (including ones from a quick-trip landside to T5 M&S). No real problem getting through US customs; some entry points specifically mention the exclusion of 'meats, dairy, etc', others say 'food' - but when you say what you have, not a problem (even if it does require a 2nd customs scan!).
Meanwhile, Wegmans have tin caddys of loose Twinnings tea - about $5/tin, but a decent amount (English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Earl Grey, Prince of Wales, and Orange Pekoe).
Meanwhile, Wegmans have tin caddys of loose Twinnings tea - about $5/tin, but a decent amount (English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Earl Grey, Prince of Wales, and Orange Pekoe).
May 18, 2016, 1:14 pm
#50
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And just to post a contrary view - check out Harney and Sons in Millerton NY
https://www.harney.com/ ( Free Shipping over $50)
I prefer their Orange Pekoe to Twinings, so usually take some in the other direction!
https://www.harney.com/ ( Free Shipping over $50)
I prefer their Orange Pekoe to Twinings, so usually take some in the other direction!
May 18, 2016, 2:01 pm
#52
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Fortnum's do indeed sell tea, as do the Duty Free shops including a particularly useful assortment box of 6 kinds of F&M tea blends that is ideal for travel to countries that don't understand tea. Essential provisions for travel to the USA, Netherlands, etc.
May 18, 2016, 2:20 pm
#53
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Having had many conversations with HAL security staff and team leads, I can assure you this will not even begin to register on the "interesting" scale. Everyday at least one person really tries it on. I was going to give some vivid examples, but it's a family website, plus LTN_Phobia will be along shortly. 47 x very damp, very alcoholic homemade Christmas Puddings was one that I can repeat - this is hand luggage. The brandy dosing was so high they were a bit worried it was a fire risk, never mind anything else.
May 23, 2016, 12:25 pm
#54
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This is a very amusing discussion.
We always bring tea from the UK to the USA -- and have often travelled with 10+ boxes of loose leaf Assam from Sainsbury's, Tesco or Waitrose in checked baggage. To complete the breakfast necessities, we also like to bring back Tiptree jams which are available for about £2 a jar in the UK but cost at least $8 here in NYC.
One more suggestion: Upton is a good place to get good quality leaf tea in the USA
www.uptontea.com/ -- but they don't have the malty-tasting kinds of BOP Assam which we like for our "standard" drinking tea (the Assams we tasted from their samplers were either too fancy or too insipid). Only the UK supermarket brands provide that... B-)
We always bring tea from the UK to the USA -- and have often travelled with 10+ boxes of loose leaf Assam from Sainsbury's, Tesco or Waitrose in checked baggage. To complete the breakfast necessities, we also like to bring back Tiptree jams which are available for about £2 a jar in the UK but cost at least $8 here in NYC.
One more suggestion: Upton is a good place to get good quality leaf tea in the USA
www.uptontea.com/ -- but they don't have the malty-tasting kinds of BOP Assam which we like for our "standard" drinking tea (the Assams we tasted from their samplers were either too fancy or too insipid). Only the UK supermarket brands provide that... B-)
Last edited by salut0; May 23, 2016 at 1:00 pm
May 23, 2016, 1:09 pm
#55
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When I got to Germany, I usual come back with many tubes of sweet Bavarian mustard, curry ketchup in bottles, boxes of Ostfriesen Tee, little pouches of Maggie and Knorr sauce mixes, larger boxes of sauce base, etc.
Never had anyone mention anything to me :-)
Never had anyone mention anything to me :-)
May 23, 2016, 3:05 pm
#56
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Happened to me with a package of smoked sea salt.
Jan 29, 2018, 6:58 am
#57
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Time for replenishment(?)
The tea saga continues...
The Wife's stockpile of M&S tea has diminished dangerously, but there's hope. We're connecting at LHR this week, arriving on AA metal in Biz class, then onward on BA out of T5. We have a nominal 2:20 minute connection. We're both AA EXP/OWE.
The wife is interested in stopping at the M&S shop in T3 arrivals to pick up some Decaffeinated and some Extra Strong. A friend introduced her to those two and now she's hooked. I'm assuming the T3 M&S still stocks those two and the T5 does not.
We've done the T3 to T5 via HEX route before. The question though is 2:20 enough time to go through arrivals (assuming FastTrack due to Biz class), purchase the tea, hop the HEX to T5, First Wing security, and then to the onward flight?
I'd be quite comfortable if we had 3 hours, but 2:20 seems a bit close.
The Wife's stockpile of M&S tea has diminished dangerously, but there's hope. We're connecting at LHR this week, arriving on AA metal in Biz class, then onward on BA out of T5. We have a nominal 2:20 minute connection. We're both AA EXP/OWE.
The wife is interested in stopping at the M&S shop in T3 arrivals to pick up some Decaffeinated and some Extra Strong. A friend introduced her to those two and now she's hooked. I'm assuming the T3 M&S still stocks those two and the T5 does not.
We've done the T3 to T5 via HEX route before. The question though is 2:20 enough time to go through arrivals (assuming FastTrack due to Biz class), purchase the tea, hop the HEX to T5, First Wing security, and then to the onward flight?
I'd be quite comfortable if we had 3 hours, but 2:20 seems a bit close.
Jan 29, 2018, 7:05 am
#58
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I fear that is too short a time to do landside T3 to T5. Unless stuff happens!
I'll need to check the currently stocked items in M&S T5 - they are forever moving item ranges around - but the best I can suggest is going landside once you get to T5 via the UK Border there, in other words once you can see the queues and can calculate fairly accurately how far away you are from the 35 minute conformance from landside. As an EXP you can use the First Wing. Add a few minutes for contingency and a few more if there is a Visa Check stage which would be invisible at Flight Connections but may bite with a landside entrance. If you were being gallant, you could send your wife via Flight Connections (with the bags...) and just go landside with passport and boarding pass. Hopefully she will get to the lounge first.....
I'll need to check the currently stocked items in M&S T5 - they are forever moving item ranges around - but the best I can suggest is going landside once you get to T5 via the UK Border there, in other words once you can see the queues and can calculate fairly accurately how far away you are from the 35 minute conformance from landside. As an EXP you can use the First Wing. Add a few minutes for contingency and a few more if there is a Visa Check stage which would be invisible at Flight Connections but may bite with a landside entrance. If you were being gallant, you could send your wife via Flight Connections (with the bags...) and just go landside with passport and boarding pass. Hopefully she will get to the lounge first.....
Jan 29, 2018, 7:22 am
#59
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I fear that is too short a time to do landside T3 to T5. Unless stuff happens!
I'll need to check the currently stocked items in M&S T5 - they are forever moving item ranges around - but the best I can suggest is going landside once you get to T5 via the UK Border there, in other words once you can see the queues and can calculate fairly accurately how far away you are from the 35 minute conformance from landside. As an EXP you can use the First Wing. Add a few minutes for contingency and a few more if there is a Visa Check stage which would be invisible at Flight Connections but may bite with a landside entrance. If you were being gallant, you could send your wife via Flight Connections (with the bags...) and just go landside with passport and boarding pass. Hopefully she will get to the lounge first.....
I'll need to check the currently stocked items in M&S T5 - they are forever moving item ranges around - but the best I can suggest is going landside once you get to T5 via the UK Border there, in other words once you can see the queues and can calculate fairly accurately how far away you are from the 35 minute conformance from landside. As an EXP you can use the First Wing. Add a few minutes for contingency and a few more if there is a Visa Check stage which would be invisible at Flight Connections but may bite with a landside entrance. If you were being gallant, you could send your wife via Flight Connections (with the bags...) and just go landside with passport and boarding pass. Hopefully she will get to the lounge first.....