"It's challenging to keep the taste buds engaged, but it keeps them sharpened, " he said.

WSJ: Steven Smith, Teamaker: The All-Star Alchemist of Top-Shelf Tea | Creating

But his recent behaviour has sharpened doubts that have long been lurking.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot

Speaking to the Institute for Government, the Cabinet Office minister said the civil service has "great strengths" but accountability to ministers needs to be "sharpened".

BBC: The cast of Yes Minister

But it is true too that DeLay "has sharpened the issue, " says Peter King of New York, the leading Republican proponent of censure.

CNN: The big push to impeach

But the veteran is struggling to regain his former zip and the knives are undoubtedly being sharpened.

BBC: McGrath faces march of time

But centuries before intercontinental carbonation or the rise of the European coffee house filled with intellectuals with brains sharpened by caffeine, the first beverage which marked civilization's improvement upon nature was beer.

NPR: Looking at the World Through Beer Glasses