Samantha Brown Travels With These Unlikely Items, Essential To Her 'Non-Negotiable Morning Ritual'

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Travel expert Samantha Brown has been giving us the best vacation tips for years, from where to visit to packing tips to why a scarf is the Swiss army knife of travel. If you hop in a car or on a plane even half as much as she does, you're likely away from home more than you'd like to be. That can mean missing a few creature comforts and familiar items, as well as shifting the habits that keep us grounded. However, Brown has a solution to this dilemma, which is to pack something that makes you feel that same sense of routine and comfort. In a video on her Instagram page, Brown tells us that she never goes anywhere without something she needs for what she calls her "non-negotiable morning ritual." Wherever she travels, she brings her porcelain teacup and a collapsible tea kettle to boil water, something she considers essential for making tea. You can watch the video below. 

Having something that is familiar to you when you're traveling out of town can be really comforting. That's true whether you tend to get homesick or not. Sometimes, just having the same routine in the morning, whether it's tea from a porcelain teacup, a quick meditation on a travel yoga mat, or waking up to see your favorite teddy bear in the hotel bed with you can make you feel right at home, anywhere in the world. 

Brown has worked out the best way to bring her non-negotiable morning ritual along with her. She wraps the teacup in tea linens and later uses them to protect her hotel ironing board, which doubles as a table. Her kettle is collapsible, and similar versions are easy to find. For instance, you can grab the T-magitic Travel Foldable Electric Kettle on Amazon, which features a silicone body and dual voltage. (Make sure you have adaptors if you're traveling somewhere that has a different voltage/plug set-up.) You can also pick up inexpensive teacups like the Pulchritudie Fine China White Teacup and Saucer Set (it also comes in patterns) on Amazon so you're not worried about breaking your favorite ones from home. If you don't want to bring tea towels, grab a bit of bubble wrap to keep your teacup safer in your suitcase, or even that Swiss army knife scarf Brown recommends traveling with.

Anticipating issues like homesickness or a need for routine can make your trip much smoother, and Brown always has great tips for this. For instance, she also tends to pack peanut butter packets on trips to avoid getting hangry when it's difficult or impossible to stop for a snack. A relaxing cup of tea can be a great way to start the morning, or end a long day of sightseeing (maybe skip the caffeinated kind at night). However, if you didn't end up bringing your own accessories, you can also search out a lovely tea garden like one nestled in the heart of Golden Gate Park or the tea shop in the historic London department store Fortnum & Mason to enjoy it with others.