Baxter wrote:

Well, there's some of us Americans that appreciate good tea. Do note that
Portland (OR) has at least two tea companies creating their own blends of
tea (Tazo, The Tao of Tea), and several teahouses. (note that Starbucks now
owns and sells Tazo).

Hmm, some of us visitors would disagree about "good American tea". We
find the product sold by Starbucks et al to be totally unsuited to an
English palate. Most US cafes totally fail at tea making, never having
quite grasped the idea of boiling water being necessary. The automatic
iced tea makers however do quite a good job. The Starbucks "English
breakfast" tea is appalling, not a patch on Sainsbury's or Tesco's
cheapest products and the prospect of Raspberry etc flavoured tea is too
awful to think about! Starbucks have failed at tea in the UK, as they
have simply imported the US product, which most of us Brits would never
buy. As a coffee drinker, I like some of their product, but prefer
Caribou to Starbucks when in the US. It seems to be a particularly US
style to take a product and then to corrupt the taste and flavour to
completely mask the origins. However, it sells to Americans, so really
that's all that matters!

Regards
Capitol