Ok.. Let me clarify...

A few years ago in a Starbucks in Banff, I asked for a double espresso. The guy said he'll make it stronger than normal because we have our coffee stronger in The UK.

He shouted "real coffee for my English friend!" I thanked him profusely and took it to my table. It was, to misquote a relative, "water bewitched, coffee be buggered."

I never mentioned tea because we have excellent tea in each and every hotel room we use abroad. Mrs Musket takes "Yorkshire Tea" teabags in her luggage. I was raised on Glenghetti but it's difficult to come by, and only sold loose.

Not sure what Lilo means by British coffee. I didn't realise there was such a thing. Sure, instant coffee is awful but I doubt I've had any in thirty years. I stick to tea in homes where I don't see any coffee ironmongery. Sadly, being a caffeine freak, I have two bean to cup machines. One built into the kitchen and its predecessor in my study.

Funnily enough, despite all that, it was in Canada where I had possibly the best coffee outside of Europe. On Granville in Vancouver at a microbrewery. (Sobering up after a tasting session or seven.)