Tea...how to make a great cup! Victoria's Empress Hotel has a tradition...

Americans don't know how to make a good cup of tea!

Maybe it's my English heritage, but when it comes to tea, I want 'em to get it right.

One day last week I popped in to the Farmer's Market to do a bit of shopping.

Afterwards - I was inclined to order up some brew and a snack - and sit back and take a gander at the tourists strolling by.

Sure enough, the young lady behind the counter proceeded to fill up a glass bottle with lukewarm water - at which point - she plunked a teabag on the side of the saucer for me to "dunk" in, I suppose.

Yuck!

To make a good cup of tea, there is a certain protocol to follow, 'ya know?

First - a die-hard Englishman - "hots the pot".

A few jolts of piping hot water are swished around inside the Brown Betty, for instance, to warm up the insides a tad.

Then, the tea bags are slipped into the pot with little more ado.

In the event loose-leaf tea is favored - a tea totaler from the old school - will probably facilitate a hand-tooled perforated ball designed for the occasion.

Now, piping-hot water is poured into the pot, to ensure the full rich flavor is extracted from the blend.

A real fuss budget will undoubtedly crown the pot with a "tea cosy" - perhaps a gayly-colored one hand-knitted by Aunt Gertrude - until the tea has brewed.

The end result?

A delicious cup of English tea!

'Ya know, I am surprised that even Starbucks can't make a tasty cup of tea.

Like others in the cafe business, they just offer up a cup of hot water - and a tea bag (packaged by its lonesome) - to dip sadly into a paper cup.

By the way - for some inexplicable reason - tea tastes much better in a china cup.

Must be psychological, eh?

When you consider the sophisticated manner in which the numero uno coffee-seller has advanced the coffee business in recent years, it makes you wonder why they haven't jumped on the tea caddy!

I just betcha that if they taught their staff how to make a good cup of tea, business would flow in a whole different direction for the Seattle-based giant.

And, I'll take a biscuit with that, please!