Try finding a good cup of coffee in England. I don’t mean all that fancy-ass Starbucks stuff you talk about in the article, just a nice, rich, well-brewed cup of Joe—with cream and sugar if you insist, though I take mine neat. Ask for coffee over there and they bring you a cup of tepid water with some foul-tasting instant powder stirred in. Undrinkable.

On the other hand, the American version of tea consists of that same cup of tepid water with a paper tea bag hanging over the side. I never knew what real tea was like until my first visit to the UK. We arrived in London late at night after the train/hovercraft/train journey from Paris. Checked into our hotel (it was the Lowndes in Belgravia), tired and bedraggled, and they sent a complementary pot of tea up to the room. Properly brewed, bright and bracing, with cream and sugar; divine. So that’s how it’s supposed to taste!

So I suppose it all depends on where you’re from. And don’t even get me started on beer.