Wednesday TeaDay 12/22/10 First taste?

[Chip]

Merry TeaDay everyone. Let's get happy and drink lots of tea ... and share what is in our cup throughout the day.

Monday and Tuesday we discussed humble teaware, etc. You can still vote and discuss Monday/Tuesday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. When did you have your first cup or taste of tea? What your impression was of that first cup. And, have you been drinking ever since? So, share with all of us your earliest TeaHistory! Have fun.

I am looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with everyone, bottoms up.

[IPT]

I was 6 years old. It was Yunnan Dark Tea. I remembered thinking it tasted like medicine, but I drank it almost every school day and quickly grew to love it. I wish I had some of that 1970's dark tea now.

[artmom]

Mama said I was under 3 when she first gave me tea, mixed w/much milk and a wee bit of sugar. (It was wartime.) I don't remember that first cuppa', but certainly have fond memories of many ones after that. She always read my tealeaves.

It was black tea. Mama drank Tetley, Lipton, and Twinings while in Scotland, whatever she could get.

[brad4419]

I've been drinking tea for about 5 years now. It was my senior year in high school. My brother was home on Christmas break and he brought this strange thing called tea. I think the story goes that his roommate was a tea drinker, who sparked his curiosity. Then, while at a small coffee/tea shop he bought some Republic of Tea loose leaf lapsang souchong. He liked it so much that he brought it home over his break and thats where I got my first sip of tea. Sitting on the back porch with my bro. I can't think of many better ways to get started.

Jumping ahead, I drank twinnings and stash teabags for about 2 yrs but all that time I couldn't forget how good the lapsang was. I went online to buy some lapsang and ended up buying like 6 different teas. I didn't have a clue how to brew them. So I searched online and found teachat. Then it really began

seasonal da hong pao this morning

[JBaymore]

I don't remember .... but it had to be under 15.

best,

............john

[iannon]

I don't remember .... but it had to be under 15.

best,

............john

yes...needed a "dont remember" but i believe it was when i was in first grade or so living in england..

[debunix]

Less than 18....when I drank some of the tea we were served with our meal in a chinese restaurant. Don't remember any details of where/when/why, but I think it was after I'd done that a few times that my Dad started sharing his TGY with me occasionally.

No tea yet today....trying to decide whether my sore throat wants chamomile or sencha.

[AdamMY]

Started drinking tea from teabags at a rather young age, then for awhile I was having a nearly nightly cup of honeysuckle white from Republic of Tea. About 7-8 years ago I had my first loose leaf tea experience, due to finding an Asian themed shop in a local town. The tea I bought was labeled as "Sencha" but from how I remember it looking I am not so sure about that somehow I remember it looking much more like Long Jing.

[geeber1]

When I was in 3rd or 4th grade, my mom would drop my brother and me off at my dad's before school because she worked early in the morning. My brother would stay with my grandma for the day and I would go off to school. My dad drank tea with milk and sugar and would give me sips. That started me on my tea journey!

I drank tea off and on through the years, usually iced, finally discovering loose-leaf a few years ago.

Yunnan Gold in my cup now.

[Proinsias]

I read the poll wrong, voted less than 24 but meant less than 24 years ago, which would be somewhere around the age of 5. Milky, sugary teabag tea, Tetley or something similar.

A girl in work kindly made me a cup of tea today, complete with two sweeteners and some skimmed milk - euuguhuuhuhggh. Now I can see why many people have such a tough time switching to just plain old tea.

About to brew some 70's oolong from Hou de to begin the recovery process.

[Chip]

My earliest recollection not including mom's Lipton iced tea mix with saccharin would be around 20, studying for finals and out of a vending machine. I think there was an urgency for caffeine which is kind of odd since I had been decaffeinated my whole life up to that point.

Somehow I still sought out tea despite that first experience.

Great TD today beginning with Sencha 7132 organic asamushi and then Tsuru Jirushi Gyokuro with the Mrs. 2 very fine teas!

[Peacock]

I was probably 8 or 9 and it was a lipton black tea. It was the best I've ever had! No sarcasm intended..

[murrius]

I was 5 years old and it was GREEN tea. There were leaves floating in the bottom of the cup which amazed me. I liked it. I was also aware that this was an adult indulgence which made me like it even more.

Yutaka midori in my cup this morning and I suspect a nice anxi oolong this evening.

[Skippyandjif]

I think I was four years old, maybe three. I'd been watching a cartoon called "Little Bear" in which one of the (few) human characters had a tea party. Thinking it looked fun, I asked my mom about it, and she was more than happy to break out her tea set and make us some tea and cookies (she also enjoys tea). After that first taste of English Breakfast with a little milk and a lot of sugar-- I was very young, after all-- I became what my friends jokingly call a "raging tea-holic" and never looked back.

Rose congou this morning, along with some iced green tea. Currently waiting for a ginger tisane to go from "scalding" to "drinkable".

[nickE]

I probably had Lipton's at less than 12 years old. The first taste of tea that got me hooked was about 2 years ago. It was some junky Shupu from Upton's that I threw in with an order. It was just so complex, I had to keep tasting more!