'Anyone for a cuppa?'

Tea. I am in a long term relationship with the stuff. When everything else is going wrong in your life, a cup of tea (or five) will sort you right out.  

When I get up in the morning, the first thing to go on is the kettle. When I get home in the afternoon, the first thing to go on (often even before I take my coat off) is the kettle. I only have to step through my Nan's front door, and without even knowing who it is, my Nan shouts: 'Roger...put the kettle on'.  

Nothing quite compares to a good, traditional, cup of tea. Although I'm partial to a gingerbread latte from time to time in Costa, it just doesn't hit the spot.

The British are known for their obsession with tea but it originates from China, where it was used as a medicinal drink as early as 1500BC. Although it was not introduced in Britain until the 17th century, we have certainly made up for it over the years, with an average of 67 billion cups being drunk in the UK alone per year.

The recommended health guideline is 4 cups a day, I however generally have between 6-8, and I'm not talking about those pathetic little tea cups, I'm talking mega mugs. Although I clearly don't drink it for it's health benefits, there are still plenty of reasons why you can afford to go overboard:

• It is a natural source of fluoride that can help protect against tooth decay and gum disease.
• It contains half the amount of caffeine found in coffee
  
  
  

  Most importantly though ...
  
  
• 80% of office workers claim this is how they find out the most gossip.

Making a good cup of tea however is no mean feat. It has to be perfect. If you're not going to make it properly,  just don't bother.

My pet hates when it comes to tea:

• When someone makes one for themselves and doesn't ask anyone else.
• When you slip with the milk and it's essentially just milk with an 'essence' of tea.
• When you leave it stewing for too long and you get some sort of floating substance on top.
• When you forget about it and let it go cold.
• When the biscuit's too big for your cup.
• When you drop half your biscuit in your tea.
• When you drop your whole biscuit in your tea.
• When it's just not a Yorkshire Tea bag.

Personally, I think Doc Brown's got it down to a 'tea' ... (excuse the pun)

 (This video does contain explicit content)