(Rufus T. Firefly) writes:
>
>> How did everyone get interested in tea?

Now in my 50's, I was in my teens when I came upon loose tea. In those days,
the mid-1960s, in my American town, loose tea was a "gourmet" item, found at
the "gourmet" shop. "Gourmet" shops featured such weird stuff as marzipan and
chocolate-covered beetles. Some loose teas could also be found at the
department store -- mine carried the Wagner brand.

Anyway, I took a liking to the only available oolong, the rather heavily
oxidized "Formosa Oolong" -- I drank Twinings back in the day; I wonder if
their FO is the same now?

I stayed with tea for all these many years with a brief departure into the
world of good coffee -- had a piano student who owned a coffee roasting company
-- and that was on the West Coast. Now that I'm in New York, the coffee hasn't
seemed as good, though the occasional good cup is always tempting. The heavy
caffeine rush is often unpleasant though.

The world of teas available has expanded multifold since those early days and I
am grateful for it. I'm always learning and enjoying. Onward and upward!

Joe Kubera