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?

Actually, my first visit to Japan in my college years got me
sucked into the cult of coffee. This was well before the current
Starbucks phenomenon, a time when privately run coffee shops
could be found a few steps from any locale. It was only
afterward, when I returned to Japan as a resident and not a
student/tourist that my appreciation of food and tea really started
to develop. Now, like most Japanese themselves, I rarely bother
with teas from outside Japan.

--crymad