I just started lurking around in this news group but just had to add my
two cents worth here particularly since you asked "why tea when the
world is interested in coffee?". Well, what got me interested in tea
actually was coffee. I started drinking coffee back in college to help
me stay awake when studying or when working nights. I never drank it
because I actually enjoyed the flavor until later when a friend of mine
introduced me to beans and a grinder. Recently I started experimenting
with french press and vacuum brewing and promptly tossed my Mr Coffee
Gourmet in the garbage. I'm also roasting my own beans now. As with
coffee in the past I was never very fond of tea particularly green tea.
I figured I could just grab a hand full of grass from my backyard and
do just as well. I was amazed at what a difference fresh beans and
proper preparation made to coffee so I decided to see if the same
applied to tea. Maybe I would like tea if it was fresh, high quality
and prepared properly. Of course, you know the answer to that question.
I find it interesting that most people seem to like either tea or
coffee. I love them both. This is advantageous since I can brew a pot
of coffee that will knock the socks off of my coffee drinking friends
and then turn around and brew a pot of tea to knock the socks off of my
tea drinking friends. One or the other usually turns into the topic of
conversation since most of my friends had never experienced tea or
coffee outside of the supermarket variety. It's amazing what people
will accept because they don't know any different. What's really fun is
that I'm just barely beginning to scratch the surface of the coffee and
tea world and there is still so much to learn and experiment with.

Matt

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:
> How did everyone get interested in tea? Many of you have lived in
> Asia, but are not from Asia. Did your interest develop after you went
> to Asia? Why tea when the world is interested in coffee? (I,
> personally, have never liked coffee, but I envy those who do.) How do
> those around you view your fascination with tea (for those fascinated
> with tea)? Do they see it as eccentric? It is obviously not very
> eccentric when you're caught up in it, but I fear most people cannot
> understand this interest, regardless of where in the world one might
> be.
>
> Excitedly awaiting your stories,
>
> Rufus T. Firefly
> Tokyo