Making tea is not difficult

or is it?
My father has a friend who makes terrible tea. I suspect the problem is that Nev does not make it with boiling water.
Nev is here frequently. If he is using the shed when Dad is out I make him cups of tea on the same schedule as I make them for Dad. He sees me make tea. He knows the water should be boiling but, if for any reason I leave him to his own devices, he does not boil the water. He just lets it get what he calls 'hot enough'. I suppose he cannot taste the difference. Dad can.
We use rainwater of course. That makes a difference too. Adelaide's water supply has improved over the years. Once ships would not take it on as drinking water when they were in port. Nobody could have blamed them.
When we went to live in Wirrulla, a tiny hamlet in the bush, the water was even worse. Everyone thought my father was mad when he demanded the Education Department put in a rainwater tank fed from the roof of the house. It had to rain of course (and it did eventually) and the next head of the school thanked him because he could at least have a decent cup of tea.
So tea making requires a few basics. Rain water. It must be gently and freshly boiling. Warm the pot. Add enough tea for the number of people drinking it and pour the water on. Was that difficult? Apparently. Nev will continue to make it his way. I will continue to make it our way. I still like Nev.