On 27 Nov 2004 21:09:07 -0800, 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,

It's not a very exciting story.

My parents are from "The South." I grew up with a pitcher of iced tea
in the refrigerator no matter the season - granted, it was the
"instant" variety, which I now can't stand.

In high school, I wanted a hot beverage with caffeine to help keep me
awake. Coffee literally makes me sick to my stomach. I love the smell
of the beans, but the flavor is not to my taste, and it's not worth
the after effects.

So, tea it was. Simple things at first - whatever I could get in the
Twinnigs cans in the grocery store, then Republic of Tea products as
they came available. But in graduate school, I discovered real tea. A
local tea shop existed with a wide selection of loose leaf teas.

That first visit was when I started my path down the long black
road... well, actually, sometimes it's green, white, or oolong.


--
Derek

"Ever wonder why people are so determined to reach for white picket
fences, supposed normalcy, a nuclear family? Well, try growing up
without one." -- Chuck Eddy