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!

$3.00 doughnuts in Beverly Hills...hole, extra!

Occasionally I stroll through the Farmer's Market in Beverly Hills to snap up a handful of vegetables and fresh fruit.



Oftentimes, the bluesy strains of a live ensemble charm, as they echo throughout the festive pedestrian-filled street.



Recently, I spied a tasty-looking doughnut in a display case from one of the neighborhood bakeries, and was inclined to stride up and ask the clerk to slip one into a bag for me.



When he told me the price, my jaw dropped!



"$3.00, please."



The folks in Beverly Hills must be out-of-touch with reality. A hop-and-a-skip away in West Hollywood or West Los Angeles the same little sugar-packed treat costs a paltry 75 cents.



I passed on the purchase - probably would have given me indigestion anyway - but the incident triggered a memory of an old song we used to sing as kids.

It goes somethin' like this:



Oh, I went to Toledo

And I went around the block

And I stepped right into a bakery shop

And I gave the lady a five-cent piece

And she took two doughnuts out of the grease

She looked at the money

And she looked at me

She said, "This money is no good to me"

"There's a hole in the center, I can see right through"

Said I, "There's a hole in the doughnut, too!"