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What's in a Beverage?

There's nothing like a good cup of tea. That was one of the best parts of coming back to our little flat in Leeds. I hate to say it, but I think England turned me into a tea snob.

In France, they use steamed milk. If you've never had a cup of tea in France, it tastes like used bathwater with bubble bath that has gone stale.

In Spain they do the same thing. And they also look at you like you're from outerspace. I mean, who doesn't want coffee/expresso?

By the time we got to Portugal, I stopped trying. Also because I was not about to pay more for tea that tasted like warm vomit than a nice 'vino blancho'.

And so, it was always with great anticipation and excitement, we would arrive back to England and the first thing I would do was get myself a 'proper' cup of tea. I'd make a whole pot. Then, I'd relish in the taste for days on end - going on and on as D can attest to - about the glorious taste of a warm Earl Grey.

Always so smooth and intense. The flavour was never dull, like the token 'Yellow Label' brand they seem to have in every other country in Europe. And always plentiful. A variety of different flavours.

As usual, when we ventured out on our last trip, I was saying goodbye to English tea, this time for a longer period. I knew when I returned to Canada I would be staying with British people so access to good tea would not be an issue then. But perhaps it was also more the culture of tea in England.

It's not considered a 'girly' drink, as I seem to get the impression everywhere else - even on the North American side of the pond. It's the drink of choice. It's a hefty beverage. It's a cup-o-brew.

You can have it anytime. When you wake up. Before you go to bed. Wandering in a park. Driving in you car. When you get terrible news. When you get amazing news. No one will look at you funny if you even ask for it in a pub. Everyone understands the 'anytime' attitude about tea.

Who knew tea could pull a country together? I suppose us Canadians have our beer.

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