This Austrian (but thoroughly Anglicised) troper carries a supply of Earl Grey tea bags at all times, just in case. At home, the day starts with a mixture of Lady Grey and vanilla-scented Twinings (tea bags, I'm lazy), no milk, no sugar. I get through at least four or five pints a day. No black tea after five or I can't sleep, except in one form: the Earl Grey Martini. Great stuff and here's how I make it: Steep two teabags of Earl Grey in two measures of gin (Bombay Sapphire for preference) for a least half an hour, then mix with the juice of two lemons and sugar to taste. Serve cold in a martini glass. Not to be missed. P.S.: Making tea in the microwave?!? Shame on you, that all I can say! P.P.S.: I too was first converted to the cult of Earl Grey by that most English of Frenchmen in Space.

No joke, this troper, who is both a tea lover and a huge ''StarTrek'' fan experimented with Earl Grey because Captain Jean-Luc Picard drinks it. And now....so does he.

Similarly, this other troper is a huge ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fan and decided to try Jasmine tea because of it. I am now hooked.

This troper, llamasrnice drinks tea of gargle blaster strength, Its great for waking up, on the gargle blaster tropers tales page I shared one of my escapades.

This Troper's two university English teachers are of course tea freaks; one has recently gotten into Chinese tea, and carries a Chinese-style drinking bottle with him. The other is a more Quintesential British Gentleman type on the tea front; he once asked if any students were travelling to Britain any time soon, and was willing to pay for someone to bring his some ''real'' tea, because the stuff here is horrid. He also had a kettle in his office, despite several complaints from the department. He also included Orwell's "A Nice Cup Of Tea" to the lecture material of ''Areas In English Literature''.

pagad requires many cups of tea per day, or unpleasant things will happen. It has to be just so: boiling water poured into a teapot with three (PG Tips or Yorkshire Tea) teabags in it, leave for five minutes, pour milk into the mug, pour the tea into the mug (IN THAT ORDER, lest you scald the milk), and let the magic happen. Aaah... as it so happens, whenever I've gone to America, I've needed to bring proper teabags with me because Americans just don't ''get'' it. Some of them even have tea without milk! What is this madness?!

five minutes is of course the proper steeping time, but I would think three teabags would make it much too strong.

Three's been more or less standard since I've been drinking it. Pour in slightly more milk than normal, and it's lovely. Three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt place in thy teapot, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count as it will be far too strong, neither count thou two as it will be too weak - excepting that thou then proceed to three, which is just right. Five is right out, and will probably make your head explode.

This Troper read Adams' article on how to make a proper pot of tea, and tried it. It is much, ''much'' better than American brewed tea -- far superior. Unfortunately, it is more time consuming, so it's almost a special treat to have tea made that way for her.

this tropette is a british ex-pat living in Spain near an area FULL of British OAPs. When the man from the funeral plan shows up, or a friend, or her stepdad, or someone her mother is doing buisness with; "GRACE!!! Put the kettle on!" (the funeral plan-guy said he drank more tea than he should, as this is customary in every british home).

This troper drinks a cup of tea on weekend mornings, first steeping it in a cup's worth of hot water and promptly forgetting about it. When she ''finally'' realizes that her tea's been steeping for ten-or-so minutes straight, she puts in sugar (no more than three teaspoons) and milk, in that order. It comes out strong, sweet, and not very hot, which is good since she doesn't have much heat resistance. Not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a good way to start the morning. Her mother, on the other hand, does everything by the book and punctual. Sometimes she wonders if they're even related.

Pardon me troper, but based on what I know and could find out, the longest steeping time for tea is 5 minutes and that's for certain black tea and English blends. I think that strong flavor you're tasting might be the bitter tannins that seeped out from the long brewing time. A little bit of salt ought to cut the bitter while enhancing the flavor of the tea.

Hm... I may have to try that. Thank you for the advice, sir or madam.

Also, I heard that milk is supposed to cut the bitter, so that could a different option for you.

Thank you, sir or madam, a teeny-tiny sprinkling of salt works most wonderfully. Now I don't need to worry about running out of milk.

This Troper will just about burst if she doesn't have a proper cup of tea in the mornings, and she's always very careful about heating the pot first. Loose tea (usually English Breakfast or Yunnan) in a tea-strainer after that, steep three minutes, ''take the tea out'', milk, no sugar. She was horrified upon discovering that many Americans, including a few friends of hers, think the proper way to make tea is "put a teabag in a cup of water, pop it in the microwave, then put in milk and sugar without waiting for it to brew or even taking the tea out". Frightening.

This troper lives with a roughly pint-sized tea mug in hand(Ceylon, milk, 3 sweeteners), and goes through 4-6 such mugs in an average day. He has been known to subsist on tea alone for days, and is also one of the few mid-twenties people in the world who owns multiple tea-cozies.

When he doesn't have to share the tea in the teapot with anyone else, this troper drinks it out of the huge soup mug his girlfriend bought him in Paris. I've never used it for soup.

This troper dislikes coffee, so he always orders tea when in a cafe. No milk, two spoons of sugar (actually two half spoons, he's been trying to cut down the use of sugar).

This Troper's general cup is a mixture of normal tea and mint with lemon and a spoonful of two of sugar. Often with honey. I have at least five cups daily. I'm 14. There /may/ be a problem. ''May.'' Depending on your definition of problem. Then again a good deal of online Nakama just so happen to either be Brits, or are American like myself and are even more overboard so.

This American troper learned to drink tea while in Australia, having never had proper tea before. I now buy good-quality loose leaf tea online, which I brew with boiling water and a strainer, and am considering getting an electric kettle for work. Tea is at 3pm sharp. My coworkers know I'm having a bad day when I make a cup in the morning.

This troper and her friends depend on cups of tea for survival. Not only does the tea serve as a handy way of fending off the below zero temperatures, but they also bring us closer together. Like when a certain friend ended up in hospital. We brought her tea and scoured the nurses' station for a kettle. Personally I take my tea (which must always be Barry's tea) with about a lot of milk and a few centimetres of sugar. I don't measure in spoons anymore, I find it much easier just to pour and count the seconds in my head. Last time I checked it worked out at... ten? ''Maybe''.

This troper and her entire family loves tea, she has it before breakfeast, after breakfast, inbewteen then and tea time, with her tea, after her tea, with her dinner and after her dinner...even at 11:00 at night. I'm only fifteen and I'm like an alchaholic...without the alchahol of course.

This troper's family is ethnic Chinese, and tea is very nearly our lifeblood. However, to us quality is less important than quantity: standard procedure involves putting a few dried leaves in a thermos, dump in the boiling water, and drinking the lot after a few hours. The thermos typically comes out right around lunchtime.

Update: when this troper was left home alone for a few days, he got into the rather unhealthy habit of making tea by the coffeepot-full and downing the lot. Repeatedly. He did have a cold that weekend, but he is rather worried about what this foreshadows for his college days...

This British Troper has been drinking tea since she was 18 months old, and drinks at least three-four cups of black tea a day. One in the morning, one around lunchtime, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening...and others throughout the day, whenver she feels like one.

This Californian Troper can't stand coffee unless it has a ton of sugar and milk in it... which defeats the purpose of coffee, so he always opts for tea when at a cafe, Black Earl Grey preferabbly.

This American Troper grew up liking tea -- she has no idea how this happened, considering she was taught the method of dropping a (cheap) bag in water, microwaving it, dumping in half a cup of sugar, and leaving in the bag. The first 3/4ths of the cup was fine, but the last of it was like drinking battery acid even with the sugar. As a teen she looked into better teas. These days she has a steady supply of PG Tips into her house, brewed in the proper way and taken with milk and a little honey, and wonders how she escaped diabetes or stomach ulcers. She feels rather enlightened about the whole thing, but her co-workers often joke about her being born in the wrong country. (She would die of embarrassment if they discovered her... fondness of certain accents.)

HOLY CRAP. This troper is British and he'd like to say that he ''literally'' opened his mouth and waved his arms around in disgust. Thank god you figured out how to brew it properly. That method is simply atrocious, darling.

This Troper has one cup of tea minimum per day: at breakfast. However, he is such a fast drinker that a freshly made cup is often finished before it has had time to cool (what can I say, I like my tea hot, not luke-warm). How he managed before he drank tea is a mystery to him...

This troper has made a habit of making a cup of tea just before a boss fight in some games; usually iced, but sometimes he'll make it hot. I don't know what is is, but I typically want a cup of tea during an epic boss fight (Even more so with the .hack series)

This troper has a brew (OopNorth for cuppa) every time she is thirsty and needs a drink. This means at least 6 cups a day. Apparently there is a stronger tendency for Northeners to have tea, whereas coffee seems to be gaining popularity in the South.

We had a group of cadets from the Afghan Military Academy staying with us for two weeks prior to a military competition being held at our school (US Military Academy), and they enjoyed their hot tea very much. My roommate, from North Carolina, introduced them to his iced sweet tea, and after their initial confusion at the idea of serving tea cold, they were hooked. We've received word that they're enthusiastically brewing it back in Kabul now.

This (American) troper grew up with tea and can't go without it. At least one cup a day, often many more. Bag tea, brewed one bag to one cup, is the necessity though loose leaf teas can serve on special occasion. Tea taken with milk and sugar, though slowly weaning down the sugar content of an average cup.

This British troper considers a delicious cup of tea to be one of the best things about being alive. Preferred brands are Co-op Indian Prince, Yorkshire Tea and Lyons' Red Label (I find PG Tips and Tetley too bland). Loose-leaf tea is preferred. Tea is brewed in an earthenware teapot which I've owned for fifteen years or so. I like it strong, but with plenty of milk so it isn't bitter. And just typing this entry is making me thirsty.

This Chinese troper from Hong Kong loves drinking tea, usually chinese tea or iced lemon tea (with plenty of syrup,as lemon tea without enough sweetening doesn't taste right) She's fairly lactose intolerant, but she still enjoys Hong Kong-styled milk tea occationally.

Original poster here. Scrap the last part about milk tea, I drink milk tea more often now. I like Taiwanese style milk tea a bit more though, it tastes sweeter and has those chewy "pearls".Mmm...

This American Troper is drinking coffee. But only because she's out of tea. Someone buy her a good tin of breakfast black before she loses it.

This troper likes tea well enough, but his father is the king of this trope. He drinks at least 2-3 large pots of tea a day -- yes, that's ''pots'', not cups. He also regularly drives over an hour away from his house to go to a specialty tea store, which sells exotic varieties ('this is the tea blend that was developed specially for the Group of 8 meeting in India') that normally go to luxury hotels such as the Plaza. The fact that his personality is all other respects as well exactly like that of Uncle Iroh makes this even more awesome.

This troper likes Ginger Peach flavored tea from a tea company called The Republic of Tea, with some sugar and quite a lot of cream. If that is not available, she likes Earl Grey once it's cooled off and without anything in it. At the moment there is none of either kind in the house, so I'm giving this peppermint stuff a try.

This Troper and her girlfriend are both ''very'' English, and drink an unhealthy amount of tea. This has given rise to a private code (Catholic School + BritishStuffiness + open lesbians = TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, otherwise known as expulsion. You think I'm joking.) - "I have tea - I have time", which roughly translates as, "I love you".

This troper knows well of tea's curative and mood-restoring properties. But his best friend takes this to a ridiculous extent; she would go to work and her parents would phone her to ask her what time she was getting back, in order to have the kettle boiled and ready for when she got home. Ironically, we are both Welsh, and one of her parents is Greek.

This troper loves her tea and has never drunk coffee in her life. Black and peppermint are her favorites, and she drinks it with sugar (2 spoons for black, 1 spoon for peppermint) and no milk. Oh, and if anyone uses the sugar spoon to stir their coffee, they're in trouble.

This troper loves tea. She could give up every drink on earth for tea if the choice had to be made.

After reading the real life section of the main page, this British troper feels like having a spot of tea.

This troper needs a cup of tea every morning She is incredibly lethargic if she doesn't get her tea. DX

This (very American) troper suffers from PTSD and General Anxiety Disorder, but, to paraphrase Arthur Dent: "A proper cup of tea will restore my normality." And he is very picky about it; Hot, Lipton Decaf, one teaspoon table sugar to eight ounces tea. It's the best anti-depressant he knows of.

Averted for this tea enthusiastic troper. When she moved to Great Britain she expected to find great Assam tea sold all over the place. Sadly she didn't.

This British Tropette is tea crazy, simply put. She has a ridiculous amount of mugs and needs her own cupboard, has her own little teapot, sugar bowl and mini milk jug, also has one and a half jars full of biscuits for the tea. She is still yet to own her own tea caddy, tea spoon set among other tea related frivolities... goodness she's going to need more than just one cupboard now that she thinks about it.

The boyfriend of the above Tropette is also tea crazy and rarely goes for a day without a spot of tea. She recalls one rambling by him about what he believes would happen if tea was cut off from Britain, which included "an incredible loss of confidence and wellbeing, which would cause Britain to collapse in mental capacity". He even owns a book called A Nice Cup of Tea and A Sit Down and very near to becoming a true gentleman, thanks to the magical properties of tea.

This troper and all my friends go down to buy Taiwanese milk tea with tapioca bubbles, called boba, at least once a week. There's also a little tea shop in my town that sells high-quality imported tea. Surprisingly, this is in America.

This Indiana troper has just started his tea addiction. He boils water in the microwave (dorm without a stove), and then pours it into a thermos. So far, he is working with Bigelow teabags; Earl Gray, Vanilla Caramel, and Jasmine Green. Drop in two teabags, add some milk and sugar if it's vanilla caramel, then takes it to class.

Averted in my case: I'm British but I ''hate'' tea. And coffee. And pretty much any hot drinks. I do make it for my parents though, who have told me that I make a "lovely cup of tea". When I found out that some Americans use the microwave... wow. I mean, I don't even LIKE tea, and I just found that so weeeeeird.

This American troper (who is convinced he is English at heart) makes it a point to bring home a different flavour of herbal tea each time he goes grocery shopping at Kroger's or Walmart. Not the widest selection, but hey. At least I've gotten a few tips from reading the brewing methods posted here.

This troper living in New Zealand once worked with a refugee resettlement organisation, helping a Lhotshampa (Bhutanese of Nepalese descent) family settle in. Tea for these people is incredibly SeriousBusiness, and refusing an offer of tea is akin to urinating all over the house you are visiting. Good thing, then, that their brew was possibly the most heavenly liquid this troper has ever ingested.

This (Polish) troper really likes her tea, but only if it's black and so strong it's practically KlatchianCoffee.

This Troper's ''entire university'' does this. It offers a single, decidedly liberal-arts major, and attracts vaguely alternative students. Naturally, absolutely ''massive'' amounts of herbal tea are drunk; the cafeteria apparently makes five kettles in the morning just to start with. (To put this in perspective, on any given morning, no more than eighty or so students actually have classes.) !!The Great Intercontinental Tea Debate ''Transplanted off the main page - your tea crazy countries, the best way to make a propper cuppa, etc.''

The gap that exists between the USA and the UK is immense, when it comes to tea. A vending machine in a gift shop in Norfolk can dispense a perfectly adequate cup of tea at the press of a button, and yet a cafe in the average American city can only produce a mug of some watery beverage that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea. Perhaps if Americans learned to actually boil water, they'd catch on to what this tea business is all about.

We figured ''that'' part out, smartass. The problem is that most tea sold in typical American grocery stores is either weak stuff like Lipton or stinky herbal teas.

Oh you did NOT just insult herbal tea. It tastes good without turning you into a caffeine junkie.

It still doesn't smell good.

What herbs are you using? Different blends smell completely different.

Problematically, many chain stores sell only the stinky stuff. Loose herbs or quality processed herb teas are virtually non-existent.

W-w-what's wrong with being a caffeine junkie? To this troper, feeling like you've just had half your peripheral nervous system replaced with gold wiring and subsequently got yourself tased is an important part of the experience, as long as it doesn't impair the flavor.

Tell me where to get a box of Earl Grey and I'll drink it. Otherwise, I'll take my tea iced, sweetened, without milk, thank you very much.

I might get lynched for this, but my local [=WalMart's=] got a decent box of Earl Grey (admittedly, I've never had the luxury of importing the stuff from the UK, so).

Actually learning to boil water is part of the problem, at least for tea you order in restaurants. Also many stores sell popular English (and Chinese or Japanese for Green Tea) brands of tea, for example I can find a great selection of teas at a store called Meijer that's found in the midwest and primarily the state of Michigan (Meijer is almost but not entirely like Wal-Mart, but the Wal-Mart near where I live has no imported goods, for some reason Meijer does).

It should be noted that, in general, Meijer has been able to outcompete Wal-Mart in markets where it has established itself. It is probably because they actually have quality products.

And an import section. In general where I live Wal-Mart is always cheaper, but if you want quality European or Asian products (such as good tea from Britain, China, or Japan) your only options are Meijer or, if you live in the city, an Asian Grocer or fancy import store. Actually the Asian Grocers tend to have good prices too, but they don't carry British teas.

This troper in Indiana has never had any trouble finding Twinings or PG Tips at his local Kroger, Meijer, or Scott's. Failing that, "upscale" groceries like World Market and Fresh Market have them for slightly higher (but still reasonable) prices.

And this troper, even in her small Indiana town, can find Twinings at the local Martin's supermarket. (Several bagged varieties and three loose, just for the record.) Heck, my Big Lots has PG Tips on the shelf right now. So it *can* be found...just not at a restaurant. (And it is nice, on those occasional Meijer or World Market trips, to know there will be a box of PG Tips waiting. :))

Wegmans (grocery chain originating in Rochester, NY and found across the Mid-Atlantic) carries lots of loose tea in the health/organic section (including, for a while, pretty decent and reasonably priced tea sold under their own name) and tins of loose Twinings in the regular tea section (they are a little upscale as grocery chains go). They're this tea-crazy Troper's best bet when she can't afford ordering over the Internet. I'll barely touch bagged tea anymore except for some herbals and for iced tea (where really high-end tea would be wasted.)

This troper's father was born and raised in Britain (although, interestingly, he only drinks coffee), but he has always said the local King Kullen is more than adequate when it comes to imported and mimicked British foods and drinks.

Foreign countries (or for that matter, anywhere north of Virginia or west of Texas) are hell for a Southerner used to drinking iced, sweet tea. In Japan I just got used to the taste of green tea; in my stay in London I had to add tons of sugar to all the tea I was served. I'm not sure I drank anything for two days after I saw milk being added to tea.

The various tropers with Asian backgrounds pity you and understand your pain at the sight of milk being added to tea.

Since [=McDonald=]'s started selling sweet tea, the rest of the country seems to have begun picking up the Southern habit. As a Hoosier (person from Indiana) who loves sweet tea, this is a refreshing turn of events, no pun intended.

You know what else is nice? Iced Earl Grey with peppermint. (Also, this American troper was raised with milk in his tea, and was surprised that other Americans were surprised by that.)

On the other hand, Northerners are often put off by the amount of sugar in Southern sweet tea, and usually prefer their iced tea to be unsweetened or fruit-sweetened.

For reference, this troper's friend's recipe for sweet tea involves two single serving green tea bags to (IIRC) 24 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar, and that isn't as sweet as some other teas.

Either way, considering iced tea is mostly American and Southeast Asian, we find it rather amusing that iced tea is sometimes considered ForeignQueasine.

This northern troper cannot understand the idea of sweet tea. He'll just stick to his Earl Grey with two sugars, thank you very much.

This British troper can't stand either Earl Grey or sugared tea. PG Tips with milk all the way.

This Asian troper can't stand either creamed or sweetened tea and accuses all foreigners of committing Tea Blasphemy.

Disclaimer: Just Kidding.

This other Asian troper from Hong Kong who currently lives in Canada will let you know that she, and all of her other friends who have gone overseas for school, always gets a cup of Hong Kong milk tea first thing when she gets home. FIRST thing.

This troper from Michigan drinks a wide variety of teas, hot or cold, with or without sugar or milk, black or green, etc., and he even enjoys coffee, albeit not as much. However, he never really liked the Iced Tea common to the American South. Far too sweet for his taste.

In Finland, the average person can't understand tea. At all. Especially applies to males, who consider it a women's drink. Fortunately, non-shitty tea is available, even if everyone prefers coffee.

This British troper will have her tea white and bitter, just like herself thank you. And the OH'll take a NATO Standard, but go easy on the milk.

Puertorrican troper here: most people here hate tea, or think of it as yucky. Iced tea is generally accepted, and those who drink hot tea only do it for health benefits, like the popular herbal diet teas. No milk, no sugar, just awfulness. This troper has tried all sorts of teas in every way, but generally prefers a nice peppermint tea with sugar, or else Irish Breakfast without sugar but with milk. Southern-style iced tea is for drinking with meals.

In the South sweet tea is very SeriousBusiness. The Georgia House of Representatives put forward a bill making it a misdeameanor to sell tea without the option of sweet tea in reasturants. Turns out it was an April Fools joke.

This Troper knows sweet tea is SeriousBusiness in the South because she used to work at a [=McDonald's=] in northwest North Carolina, where she would often have to leave customers waiting at the drive-thru so she could start some tea. We simply ''could not'' keep up with the demand for sweet tea. A manager was once in tears because some idiot forgot to put sugar in the tea after brewing it, resulting in one customer screaming at her like a cranky toddler.

Not sure if it takes the tradition from American South, but Indonesians love their tea...ice cold, sweet, in the middle of a hot day. Not any tea, mind you, it's jasmine tea. Though traditional hot tea is just as popular, especially in the countryside.

One particular brand of bottled tea has this catchphrase, "Apapun makanannya, minumnya Teh Botol Sosro!" Which means, "Whatever you eat, drink Sosro Bottled Tea!" Indonesians have a nasty sweet tooth, to boot. Often times the taste of the sweeteners overwhelms that of the tea.

It's only fair to blame it on the Dutch and "their" sweet tooth. For reference, stroopwafel.

Picture it this way. It's a hot, humid, 37+ degree Celsius (or around 100 Fahrenheit). There are cars zooming everywhere, and a lot of people around you. You then go to a stall, orders one of these nice cold bottles, have them open it for you, and then, you take a swig. Absolutely refreshing. Either that or you drink it in a cold day, after you've eaten the common hot noodle-soups-with-meatballs they always sell in stalls. Cold, rainy day, and then you eat the warm, probably spicy noodle soup to warm your body up. What better way to end the feast than a botle of these jasmine tea? Yes, we Indonesians are crazy about it.

And then they also introduced Tebs, Teh [=BerSoda=] (Soda-added jasmine tea). I can picture tea lovers everywhere else going nuts about the abomination (this Indonesian troper included), rest of Indonesia loves it.

As a person born in Soviet Union I approve this Russian Tea HOWTO (extensive view on tea cooking and history in Russia and CIS countries).

This Irish Troper is still constantly amazed at just how important tea is to the average person here - from methods of preparation to fierce debates about which brand is superior (usually Barry's vs. Lyons; if you're wondering, it's ''definitely'' Barry's). In schools, for instance, often one of the main privileges associated with becoming a prefect is having your own little office, where you can make tea; accommodating teachers will often let you drink it in class, too. During World War Two, when there was very strict rationing, tea was actually one of the most sought-after black market goods in Ireland.

This (Polish)Troper always though that tea was something very precious.Back in Poland,she always had green and fruit tea,everyone there add lemon into their black tea which she didn't liked unless she put extra 3 spoonfuls in.As for the tea with milk,they call it 'Bavarian' out there..no idea.But anyway,Lipton and fruit teas are most common in Poland.Now that this troper emigrated to the UK,she drinks milky tea everyday .It became a butt joke among her friends that she's becoming a naturalized citizen.She also likes her green,white and other flavoured teas like Earl Grey or fruity.To add,selling the tea for the UK customers,milk is a very SeriousBusiness and she suffered their wrath when she forgot to bring it.

When Troper was visiting family in India, there was a strict set of rules as to when, how, and to whom tea was served. In the mornings, tea is given to the family as they wake up and to the servants before they begin work. In the afternoons, its served to the elderly. In the evenings, it is served as everyone returns from work or school. If you have a guest, you give them tea on arrival, no matter what time it is (if they brought a driver or servant with them, get that guy tea too). It can be the fancy masala chai with all the spices or just plain black/gray tea (no green or white tea; that stuff is for pansies). Unlike the other Asians, we missed the lactose-intolerance boat or something, because Indian tea always has milk in it. And this being South India, the tea can be replaced by our stereotypical filter coffee anytime. Children who are too young for all that caffeine are indoctrinated with 'training coffee' (milk with Ovaltine/Horlicks/Boost).

Back when I was a kid, this troper would of course make a cup of tea the American way: plop a cup of water in the microwave and then drop a cheap bag into the cup after heating the water for about a minute and a half, often adding a fuckton of sugar. I genuinely have no idea why we do this, British tropers. Fast forward several years, and I'm boiling water in a kettle, pouring it over (Twinings) loose leaves in a strainer, and then adding plenty of milk after removing the strainer full of tea leaves three minutes later. Iced sweet tea isn't off the table either, unless it's made using that powdered crap everyone insists on calling "instant" tea.

My dad loves tea for breakfast. He even makes two cups of it! And if you think he's British, he's from Southern Illinois (although he spent most of his life in the Chicago area). He told me he doesn't like coffee.

This American troper asks, am I doing tea wrong? I never put sugar or milk in my tea (except for one or two times when I tried the "British" way) and I tend to just make my tea in my coffee maker.

Personally, I'd use result as a kind of tea ''syrup'' that could be diluted with hot water to taste. Which sounds like a marvellous way to make a small quantity of expensive loose-leaf go a long way, actually...

This British troper, soon to be studying in the United States, is more than slightly worried about maintaining access to a ready supply of reasonably palatable tea. In a subversion, however, what I'm ''really'' going to miss is reasonably palatable instant coffee.

Any true Brit with the spirit of the Empire in their heart will know about toleration, hence the expression, Not My Cup Of Tea. People take their tea different ways, to their own taste. Mine's PG Tips, two non-heaped spoonfuls of sugar, with tiniest amount of milk to give it a beautiful golden brown hue. Cheers!

This American Troper detests hot coffee (but will drink iced coffee, go figure) and simply adores tea. I take it the British way, three spoonfuls of sugar and a few drops of milk. I love it and I will keep drinking that way, thank you very much.

This American troper does often enjoy a good cup of Masala Chai with two spoons of brown sugar, just a dash of milk and steeped long enough for it to climb out of the cup and punch you in the face. I am sickened, however, by all the damned coffee houses selling iced chai lattes without offering the proper stuff.

This troper, whenever upset or unwell, breaks out the peach teabags and lucky peacock mug. She has gone through a box of twelve teabags in about a week in some cases. Being American and impatient, she takes it straight and it is DIVINE.

My version: Take a pot of brewed Chinese tea (My personal favourite is Pu-erh tea, boiling water, 1 unheaped teaspoon per cup capacity, 6 minutes) a 500ML (or pint) beer stein, filled to the top with ice cubes, and pour the tea from the pot into the stein. Enjoy.

Or, if feeling less blasphemous: Loose Leaf English Breakfast from a Wholesaler, teapot, boiling water, 1 teaspoon per cup capacity, 6 minutes, *no strainer*, hint of milk, pour milk first. Refreshing! Also, if anyone puts sugar in their tea when it is hot come the revolution they shall be first against the wall.

This French troper does not understand why people insist on ruining their tea with milk and sugar, especially when we're talking about Earl Grey. On the other hand, tea is considered to be a girl drink or something old people like in her country and drinking tea rather than coffee will automatically make you a freak (we do have various different teas though).

This American troper (the one above with the coffee maker) agrees, putting milk or sugar in your tea just seems like blasphemy!

I usually drink Earl Grey or plain black tea, loose, made in a porcelain teapot, lightly sweetened. While this behaviour sounds very British, as does my spelling, I have never liked milk in my tea, even though my whole family drinks it that way. I am also puzzled by the apparent consensus that Americans don't drink much tea. Nearly everybody I know inhales at least four or five cups a day. I must hang out with the right sort of people.

This troper's favorite cup of tea; Earl Grey (Two Leaves and a Bud or Twinings, usually the latter since it's cheaper) brewed to maximum strength, a dash of whole milk to give it the pleasant color, a teaspoon of honey, and a little bit (aprox. 0.25 teaspoon) of vanilla blend (not actual vanilla extract). She only drinks this every other morning though, otherwise she'll have green or oolong with nothing extra, though she does love the taste of green tea with honey and ginger or ginseng.