What's your story with tea?

33 Replies
Zizu said

I feel like it’s usually a family member or someone close to you that introduces you to something that you really like because you’re more likely to try it because you trust them.

Except for my case: I didn’t have a choice, because I was really young! :P

My mother stopped drinking coffee when I was around 6 or 7 because she convinced herself that caffeine will destroy her. So, she started drinking herbal teas, and started blending her own herbs in teas and started selling her teas when I was 10.

Naturally, I got sick of tea.

Upon coming to college, I started drinking tea again as an alternative to coffee as a pick-me-up in the morning and and as a chill-out at night (I’ve never been too keen on coffee). I started drinking teas that I drank when I was a wee one (Celestial Seasonings’ Mandarin Orange Spice comes to mind) and it escalated from there.

Cofftea said

How did your mom sell them?

Zizu said

In bulk mixes, but mostly in bags. I used to help her iron tea bags together after school. She also sold potpourri and (my favorite) honey sticks.

Cofftea said

I mean did she have her own store, sell them online, etc?

Zizu said

Oh! Silly me! Yeah, she ran a store. She shut it down after 3 years or so to go into cosmetic chemistry, but tells me sometimes that she wishes she’d kept it up. She still whips out her tea blends on occasion when I come to visit her.

Cofftea said

She should reopen it. I’d work for her:)

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well on eof my best friends mother is fresh off the boat from England so she grew up drinking tea. to her it’s like water. well i was over her apartment, and was feeling adventurous and when she asked if i wanted a cup i said yes (defiantly surprising the heck out of her as i would always say no, but she would always ask) from that moment on i have fallen madly inlove with tea. it was a nice start, i would have only bagged because i didnt know loose leaf even existed. aroudn the same time my fiancee (at the time boyfriend) was deployed down in Washington DC (he was airforce so he lived in a hotel) discovered tea. our tastes evolved with bagged teas that summer as i made the 6 hour drive down to live in the hotel with him. then his brother whom im close to aswell brought over to our house (i was home, my Fiancee wasnt yet) the IngenuiTEA and opened my eyes and exploded my tastebuds with loose leaf tea! he sent me a 10$ gift certificate and thats how it started, now i have a shelf in my cupboard FULL with sample tins and large tins with 2 IngenuiTEAs and tea balls and paper filters :)

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Rijje said

I like this tread :)

My parents drank coffee like water, but my mother always kept some Pickwick Earl Grey in the shelf. It only came out when one of us caught a cold. (Mainly because my mother associate it with medicine. We have a tea here in Greenland called qajaasat – Kayaks in english, we belive it’s good against fever)

Later, my cousin introduced me to a Strawberry tea by Pickwick, but I only drank it when it was raining or I was feeling down. Then I read an article about becoming more healthy. It recommended people cutting down their sugar intake in drinks. It said that you could make it easier by buying alot of alternatives like tea. It even said “make a storage of tea” I didn’t run to the store, but it kind of stuck to my brain.

Then one day I found this pretty blue package of tea.
I really like beautifull things, so I bought it just for appearance (and that article).
The tea was “Himalyan snow” by Happy Elephant, and It rocked my world.The next day I went down to the store and bought all the other teas available.

Since then raw curiosity and the hunt for the greatest tea has kept me going! ;)

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Cofftea said

Isn’t it funny how many people start drinking tea because it’s healty or even because they believe the false miracle statements, but then keep drinking it because they find they genuinely love it- even if it doesn’t serve the same purpose they sought it ought for?

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Danielle said

~well…I think it was my gram that got me into tea drinking. Back in the day before we were allowed to drink coffee she used to make us tea. I wasnt as crazy about tea then as I am now. I started drinking iced coffees and then that was ALL I drank for years. Still do once in a while but I am cutting down tremendously. There is just something about tea. I am not big on the fruity teas, or red and black tea. I LOVE green teas and i drink at least 2 cups a day. I always drink a bed time tea before bed, and i swear by it. I just recently purchased my first loose leaf tea and cant wait to use it! I get overwhelmed at the stores and online b/c i just want to try them all! haha. Umm im curious what does the pai mu tan taste like?? i get head aches at least once a month (usually rite around u know what time) and i usually try a tension tamer tea. I would love to try something new if it does indeed help with the headaches :)

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I was raised on coffee (even when I was little I would get an extremely milky and sugary cup of coffee – even my DOG used to get a saucer of coffee!!!), but used to be given tea when I was sick. I liked the tea very much and started drinking a cup every morning (always bagged Lipton!).

Once I moved out on my own, I lived near South Street in Philadelphia, where there was (is! it’s still there!) this amazing tea shop called House of Tea. That is where I had my first exposure to loose leaf tea! I bought a few selections, and I was hooked! (I remember the first tea I chose was called Eros, and the owner said "Now young lady, please be advised that EROS spelled backwards is SORE!!!!) I can’t remember the exact year, but I know it was in the 90s that I started getting loose teas there :)

I started getting really obsessed with tea when I bought my first house in 2000. It was an old house built at the turn of the century, and it cost a fortune to heat!! We would keep the heat at 58 degrees so the pipes wouldn’t freeze, and drink tons of tea every night! We now live in a house that is comfortable :) but we still drink tea every night.

Around the same time, my husband told me about this place that sold tea online called Adagio – his boss got teas from there and gave him the certificate to get started! I began getting tea there, and eventually started experimenting with other online sellers.

I’ve also been very interested in the Victorian period since probably high school. I was an English major in college, and my specialization was Victorian literature. I’ve always loved the descriptions of afternoon tea in the novels I read. I try to go out to tea houses that offer nice fussy afternoon teas whenever I can. I think this is part of the reason why I gravitate towards black teas and flavored teas that are good with food and pastries. I also like to prepare afternoon tea at home, and make scones, tea sandwiches, lemon curd, etc.

Since joining Steepster (just December 2009!), I’ve been experimenting with oolongs and greens! I am an absolute beginner with these.

Cofftea said

I had to smile about your “milky and sugary coffee” comment. When ever coffee was made when I was at my grandma’s when I was little, I was given a very small amount (like 2oz) in a glass of milk. Come to think of it, the ratio didn’t taste very good, but I felt grown up and special. We lost her 5 yrs ago Nov. and her birthday would have been in 4 days. Thank you for making me think of her and putting a smile on my face.

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:) I was pretty much raised by my grandmother so I totally understand. I used to sit around the kitchen table with my grandmother, her sister, and their cousin drinking my milky and sugary coffee and hearing their stories. I wouldn’t be me without those three women!!!

I hope you have some milky and sugary coffee in 4 days in honor of your grandmom’s birthday! I will too :)

Cofftea said

Awww… no sugar, but it will definitely be very milky coffee:) She was my babysitter after school and she lived right next door:)

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jennlea said

I didn’t grow up drinking tea. A lot of my family would drink the Southern sweet tea which I despised with a passion and so I figured I hated all tea. During college I got into herbal/tisanes because as an Opera major it was the norm to have hot drinks around for our throats. Most drank coffee, I don’t like coffee and I thought I didn’t like tea so I mainly drank Celestial Seasonings herbals. Slowly ventured into trying real tea and found it not so bad.

The real turning point was when my dad and I shared a pot of green tea that he enjoyed at a Japanese restaurant and I was in love. From there it has turned into an adventure and I can’t imagine going a day without tea and exploring all it has to offer.

Best part is, I am starting to turn family and friends into tea lovers so I have people in my life that I can share it with!

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