Tea is actually simple we just speak of ceremony for those totally out of it. Actually I picked up the term from archeologists who use it to discuss the tea paraphanalia that turn up on sites.

Starbucks is a strange establishment. I keep going there because I am too poor to afford a proper italian large scale espresso maker. I dont want a small one.

Starbucks has taken something ordinary like a coffee bean and made it a ritual to empty ones pockets for. One of two things that finally caught up from the peasant far from his european roots.
When I arrived back here many moons ago I could not get good capachino nor crusty european bread.
Now finally for the past several years I can get both but like the micro beer industry companies supplying the same have made it as much their business to extract money as to produce a product. As a result I shop with them 1/3 as often as I would ordinarily do and they are forced to throw out expensive product that remain unsold.

You would think it would dawn on them to price their product so I can turn up for a good loaf, coffee, or micro brew every day instead once every month or so.

Conrad