"Gloria P" > wrote in message
...
>
> Do your local Chinese restaurants charge for a pot of tea?
>
> When we lived in New England, and now in Colorado, the waitstaff
> brings a free pot of tea after taking your order even if you don't ask for
> it, and it's usually quite a nice tea.
>
> We were quite surprised on my first trip to California, back in the 70s
> when things were cheap, to ask for tea along with our other drinks, and
> find a $2 charge on the bill for it. I think it was in L.A. We ate a lot
> of Chinese and Japanese that trip because it was such a nice change from
> New England's bland Cantonese style.
>
> What's customary where you live?


Some do some don't in SoCal. Tea is not usually served unless requested.
Down here most people seem to want soft drinks as often as tea. I myself
order tea with my dinner, not lunch. Good tea is not cheap, in fact it can
be quite pricey, so you'd expect them to charge for it. One way or another
they charge for it, even if it does not appear on the bill.

Paul