"It is bad luck," he cautions, without doing anything else to stop the toast from happening. "One should never drink to success with tea. I appreciate the daring, it is very bold of you. How blessed you are in your ignorance, to come out on the other side as a kind of innocence."

His next drink nearly empties the cup. With a critical eye, he peers at the dregs and the sludge of sugar at the bottom of it.

"We might find a better tea. Let this be another thing 'entirely new'."