How I got into tea: the epic story

When I was 11 years old, I had my first cup of tea. I was in middle school in the midwestern United States and my World History class was having an exploratory event where students could bring food or drink from any country but the United States. I remember walking around, looking at all the options. Unfortunately for me, my World History class was 4th period right after lunch. There were so many good options but I really wasn't that hungry. Then I stumbled upon a girl in my class' set up. We all knew she was from England. She didn't have an accent because she moved to the US when she was very young, but her parents had strong British accents. The entire family was very nice. In fact, they were extraordinarily nice.

One time my dad walked up their cement steps that lead to their front door and he fell right through them. Can you imagine, a grown man falling through cement steps? He was so embarrassed because he isn't exactly skinny, but it was obvious that everyone involved was mortified. Anyways, they didn't ask us to help pay for the new ones, but that's another hilarious story for another time.

Anyways, this girl brought in tea and biscuits. She offered me some and I gladly accepted. She put milk and sugar into my cup and I was in heaven. I couldn't believe I hadn't been introduced to tea before. This began my taste for tea. For a long time it was all about black tea. Until college, actually. I remember growing up and every Sunday my family would go have breakfast at this family owned restaurant in our home town. I'd order tea and the waitress would walk away and come back with this wooden box of tea that I'd get to select from. I'd always pick the English Breakfast tea and I was always so amazed at the silky tea bag shaped like a pyramid.

When I got to college, one of my roommates loved fruit tea. I'd never tried it, but I'll try anything once. I remember trying it, it was raspberry flavored. It was delicious! That same week I went out and bought a box of Celestial Seasonings' fruit sampler box. I have one of those in my tea cupboard right now, actually. My love for tea has grown over time, a couple years after I discovered the fruit tea I was at a shopping center in San Francisco, California where I went to college. The store was offering free samples of tea and I thought why not! I walked out of the store with a bag of loose leaf tea, a tea ball that filters the tea and a free cup of tea in addition. David's Tea introduced me to the world of fine teas and I haven't gone back since.

I want to hear your stories of how you discovered that you love tea! Comment below :)