We love to visit the US and we'd been wanting to see our friends in Houston for a very long time, so, last week - half term week - off we went. One of the things you accept, however, is that you can't get a decent cup of tea in America. On our first evening we were offered iced tea in a glass, but that tasted like, er, cold tea. However, we'd been before, we knew the score, so we comforted ourselves with American coffee. Americans do coffee much better than we do. (Yes, they really do, even though my husband does a mean cafetiere at home at weekends.)
However, by the time we got back to George Bush Intercontinental for our return journey, our throats were dry and tickly and we were both suffering from periodic paroxyms of coughing. Lee Marvin, in 'Painted Waggon', sang that 'the plains will make you dry', but I can assure him that air conditioning makes you dry as well. Houstonians are addicted to air conditioning, ... in shops, restaurants, homes, the Johnson Space Center, even churches. It was explained to us that, with their hot humid climate, air conditioning was not only what made Houston great, but possible at all. But, really, in late October? I was getting into the habit of taking a cardigan, not for outside, Dear Reader, but for indoors.
Picture us at the airport, with our tongues hanging out. We needed tea. We sat down at the cafe in Terminal E. 'Tea? No problem.'
'Hot tea,' my husband added.
The waitress shook her head. Iced tea, yes, but not hot. She didn't have any tea bags.
We trundled over to Terminal B, were seated by the hostess and made our request again. 'Hot tea? OK, y'all.'
She returned a few minutes later with two cups of hot water with teabags brewing nicely at the bottom, although there were sliced lemons over the rims. She was about to disappear when my husband uttered the word 'Milk'.
'OK, y'all.'
She served another customer. She seated a couple at a table. She did various other things... all the while our tea was going cold. She did produce the milk eventually - horrible creamy full milk - but it was too late by then.
Is making a good cup of tea so difficult? As was explained by the elderly concierge at the hotel we visited in Prague last Easter, 'In England you drink tea strong so you need milk. In rest of world we drink it weak so we don't.'
Driving home from Heathrow, we stopped at the local Coop to buy some fresh skimmed milk, and, as soon as we got inside our own front door we switched on the kettle. Then, Dear Reader, we made a Proper Cup of Tea. Heaven.
