A new loaded tea truck has opened on Auburn’s campus. Located on the West Thach Concourse, The Tea has been booming since its opening on the first day of the spring semester.
This new tea truck is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and sells a variety of loaded teas. Loaded teas are exactly what they sound like – teas loaded with caffeine, many different flavors and supplements.
The Tea’s menu features a variety of teas made from four different bases: coconut, berry, orange and dragon fruit. Each tea is customizable and customers can add and subtract whichever flavors they want. Flavors include watermelon, strawberry, blue raspberry, green apple, pineapple and many more.
Each tea is $8 and contains 225 mg of caffeine, 15 calories, zero grams of sugar and three grams of carbohydrates. Drinks can be made with half or no caffeine. Customers can also add boosters to their teas for an additional charge. The Tea offers beauty, hydration and immunity boosters.
“The most popular flavors are Sweet Tart, Miami Vice and The Rebel," said employee Bennett Harris, junior in marketing. "We also have boosters. You can add electrolytes, collagen, Vitamin C – stuff like that. They’re very customizable."
The Tea is based out of Oxford, Mississippi and had its first location at Ole Miss. It then expanded to LSU and now Auburn. It is entirely student run.
“We’re all students here at Auburn and it’s a ton of fun,” Harris said.
Harris is one of eleven Auburn students that work for The Tea. He enjoys working there because of the flexible hours as it allows him to balance school and work. Plus, it is near most of his classes and makes the commute easy.
According to Harris, The Tea has been very popular since its opening.
“We find it very beneficial being the only one [on the Thach Concourse]," Harris said. We catch a lot of people who live in The Village, students who park and walk and students that ride the bus. I really like this location."
Another reason the truck has been so popular is because there are no others like it on campus. It’s a great place for students to get refreshed and caffeinated. One student said they prefer The Tea as opposed to coffee.
“I’ll probably be visiting The Tea more often because I like alternatives to coffee, said customer Emma Hunt, sophomore in speech language and hearing science. "I love coffee a lot and I love caffeine, but sometimes I want something more refreshing that is better for you."
Hunt ordered the Miami Vice – a coconut base with strawberry and piña colada flavors.
“It’s really good. I’ll definitely be coming back,” Hunt said.
The Tea currently only accepts Dining Dollars, but it hopes to add a cash and card payment soon. Students can walk up and order, or order ahead on the Grubhub app.
While it is a bit out of the way for most students, The Tea is definitely worth the trip.
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Sam Vise, junior in journalism, is the community reporter for The Auburn Plainsman.
