How It All Began: Confessions of a Former Coffee Lightweight

I was a dedicated coffee drinker for decades — but let me be clear, I was not a coffee connoisseur. My coffee was so weak my mother used to tell me, “Joan, just drink tea. At least tea is supposed to look like brown water.”
Looking back, she may have been onto something.

Fast-forward to a few years ago. I was in Orlando, Florida for a quick getaway with a fellow ex-teacher friend. Naturally, my body waited until vacation to stage a full rebellion, so I spent most of the trip sick. One morning I felt so awful that even my usual mug of beige coffee didn’t appeal. I thought, “You know what? A hot cup of tea might not kill me.”

And that was it.
No fanfare.
No dramatic music.
Just me, sick in a hotel room, drinking a humble cup of tea — and unknowingly ending my coffee era right then and there. I haven’t had even a sip of coffee since.

At first, though, I was the least picky tea drinker on earth. If it came in a box from the grocery store — Celestial Seasonings or Bigelow — into the cart it went. My beloved Bengal Spice tea bags? I would’ve followed them into battle.

But then came the day everything changed.

My friend Monica invited me to a Christmas tea at a tea house in Richmond, Virginia. I had never been to a tea house and had no idea what to expect. We walked in… and I swear I instantly became a different person. Soft music, gracious staff, cozy holiday atmosphere — I was enchanted.

And then the tea arrived.
Loose-leaf tea.
From Fortnum & Mason, no less.

I had no idea tea could taste like that. Why was this not common knowledge?! Had people been keeping this a secret from me?

But even with my newfound appreciation, something was missing:
the ritual.

With coffee, I had a whole morning routine — measuring grounds, listening to the gurgle of the drip machine, inhaling that first steamy (weak) cup loaded with half-and-half. Tea bags in the microwave just didn’t scratch that itch. It felt… anticlimactic.

It wasn’t until last year, when Monica and I visited The Queen’s Library Tea Room in Richmond, that it all finally clicked. The place is in a historic brick building downtown — warm, charming, and timeless. We sat on couches at low tables for a traditional afternoon tea, and I remember thinking:

“…Oh. Ohhhh. THIS is the ritual I’ve been missing.”

The atmosphere, the ceremony, the care — I finally understood why tea people are tea people.

And from that day on, the journey began:
teahouses, loose-leaf explorations, teaware, flights, blends, the whole beautiful rabbit hole.

And now here we are — this blog.
A tea novice’s guide to discovering joy, one teacup at a time.