THE search is on for the best cup of tea in the country - and North Yorkshire is one of the hot favourites for the title.

Three of the county's tea-rooms have made the national finals of the Tea Guild's annual contest.

Mystery tasters will be visiting the three challengers this month before judges make their final decision.

Bettys, in Northallerton, Little Bettys, in York, and Elizabeth Botham and Sons, in Whitby, are among 24 finalists nationwide.

They were selected from more than 130 to go through to the final of the competition that the Tea Council's Tea Guild has been running for seven years.

The mystery tasters will be sampling the tea and testing the service on offer, in their quest to hunt down the best cuppa in the nation.

However, the judging is not just about the best brew. Judges will also examine each tea shop following strict criteria - considering the flavour, taste and temperature of the tea, as well as staff knowledge and atmosphere.

Tea Council executive director Bill Gorman said: "This competition is a celebration of British heritage with special recognition of the great British cuppa, a unique symbol of our nation.

"It highlights the skill involved in perfecting the art of tea-making and, considering the high standard of the competitors so far, I would say that the judges will be stewing over who the overall winner for 2003 should be."