Here’s a way to break the ice with your office coworkers: join them for their morning coffee break.
When you’re in the habit of spending most of your working hours face-down in your cubicle, rituals like coffee breaks can be refreshing ways to become acquainted with your coworkers.
You can soak up office culture (and practice making small talk) without even really trying, just by staking out proverbial office water cooler once in a while. (See: MeltingSpot: First Impressions Matter)
Make it a routine a couple times a week (careful, only linger for a few minutes at a time!) and see if you don’t start making new friends, especially when they get a whiff of your delightful-smelling chai!
Stock up on the varieties below and you’ll be able to skip the tar-like office coffee. You can stash chai in your desk for when the mood strikes, as all of these blends are available in powder or dried forms you can prepare in a flash. These teas will remind you (almost) of the chai at home, but they don’t need extensive brewing.
- Tealuxe’s Masala Chai uses Nilgiri black tea from southwestern India blended with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove and black pepper (giving it a nice but not-too-strong bite). We liked ours with steamed milk, sugar and a dash of honey www.tealuxe.com
- If variety is the spice of life, than Kataluma Chai has living down to an art. Enjoy flavors in powdered latte form ranging from bourbon vanilla to traditional spiced chai. Right now, you can order from their New Jersey outfit and save 10% off for new customers www.katalumachainj.com
- For the socio-environmentally minded, SLO Chai sells only fair trade organic teas www.slochai.com
