tea for one

Despite a sad and narrow selection of swim cap varieties, the beverage industry in Shanghai, per observances to-date, is as diverse and complex as anything I've ever seen. Tea is the dominant potable, a variegated family that's monopolized mealtime accompaniments, subway station banner ads and convenience store frigidaires.
The menu at RealBrewedTea -a food court staple that exclusively vends designer libations- is eight-fold, and speckled with attractive image insets of frosted or steaming glasses of bright yellow, lime green and lavender liquids housed in gleaming, curvaceous chalices. Tea may be ordered hot, cold, 'spun' (a texture akin to a slushie), or in tandem with any combination of coffee, fruit and floral flavors. As if the hundreds-some-odd permutations weren't enough, customers also have the option of accessorizing drinks with an exotic edible additive such as diced aloe, pure malt, almond-milk cubes and the more familiar starched pearls.
To date, I've sipped on tea flavored like ginger-syrup (delicious), watercress (not so much), blueberries, mint-pumpkin (pictured), honeyed blackcurrant, pomegranate, roses (fragrant, but bland) and vanilla, to name a few. I find I most prefer a pot of tea for one. It's an inexpensive and delicious way to spend a winter evening, really, warming oneself from the inside out, breathing in some delightful floral musk, pouring gentle streams of steam and amber water, the tinkle of china.
A convenient transition: one deliberate exclusion is Thai Iced tea - that, my friends, I've saved for tomorrow's week-long diversion to Thailand.