What age did you start drinking tea?

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Quality_Controller@reddit

I had an irish nan, so was probably bottle fed milky tea from birth! 😅 I remember drinking it from a very young age though. Lot's of milk added and a spoon of brown sugar.

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Ok_Satisfaction_6680@reddit

English, had tea with sugar in a bottle as a baby too

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cari-strat@reddit

Likewise. And half a teaspoon of brandy in it, if I was teething or fractious!

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Livid-battle-4589@reddit

Was pretty normal. Can you handle your drink now?

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Livid-battle-4589@reddit

I’d like to go for a beer with you! 😂

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BritshFartFoundation@reddit

Baby's speedball we used to call it

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blackistheshade@reddit

Yep, same! I think the word ‘tea’, was one of the first words I learned lol! Loved it as a baby, and still love it now.

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Same here! I hated the bottle apparently, and one day out of desperation when I was about five months old my mother dipped a teabag in the milk very very quickly to see if it would change the taste. The health visitor was horrified but did not take my mother up on the chance to take me home with her and see if she could do any better and had to admit that I was, finally, gaining weight.

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TheOtherMother91@reddit

Irish nan aswell . She gave me black coffee too.

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Difficult-Week7944@reddit

Same here if you have an Irish nan you get introduced round a young age

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pocahontasjane@reddit

My indian family gave us milky tea as babies. I also had the ceremonial hot sauce to get me used to spice 🤣 times have changed!

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BlueAcorn8@reddit

Same but Indian. We all grew up drinking Indian tea & it’s what we had before & after school. Most of us only started drinking English tea when we got older but chai is still what we revert back to for true comfort. It’s also had a huge renaissance & there’s chai places opened everywhere now:

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DreamCloudz1@reddit

Welsh here. Yup milky sweet tea in a bottle.

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fluffyteafairy@reddit

Welsh here also. Milky Tea out of a baby bottle from age 2-3.

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LotusFlowerLady@reddit

English, had milky tea from a bottle!

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Livid-battle-4589@reddit

Guess it saves on milk lol

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Livid-battle-4589@reddit

You should see my comment. 🤣🤣🤣

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Scarred_fish@reddit

Same, always hated fizzy drinks, tea was the way to go. However unlike you, I still love it. On my fourth mug this morning as I type this.

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Livid-battle-4589@reddit

It’s already 11! Are you still going?

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Scarred_fish@reddit

Literally just sat back down with another just now.

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Livid-battle-4589@reddit

How many did you have that day? 20?

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Emperor_Pod@reddit

Weak numbers, need to pop t'kettle on

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Yooustinkah@reddit

About 5 or 6. My dad used to leave early for work before the rest of us were awake. He left us all a cup of tea with a little lid on top beside our beds, ready for us when we woke up.

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Majestic_Clam@reddit

Aw, I love your dad.

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Yooustinkah@reddit

He was a good egg 😊

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Necessary_Mammoth982@reddit

according to my grandmother, from the age of 1 she was giving me lukewarm milky tea

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EmiAndTheDesertCrow@reddit

Another one with a grandmother getting you into tea early I see! Me too

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Ok_Acanthisitta_2544@reddit

I remember having tea parties with my grandma around age 4. Mine was about half tea, half milk. I remember asking her why mine had more milk than hers and she said because I was still young and my bones were still growing my tea should have more milk. Never questioned it after.

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EmiAndTheDesertCrow@reddit

This has just reminded me of “milk time” at infant school. We had little glass bottles of milk that we lined up for at the canteen and drank through a straw to “grow healthy bones”. I always had mine cold but some kids had theirs hot, and it always smelled weird when they got theirs!

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Spiderill@reddit (OP)

I'll have to ask my parents - they may have done the same for me. Its fascinating to see how ingrained tea drinking is in our culture from such a young age!

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691980@reddit

Will let you know when I have

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MelodicAd2213@reddit

As soon as I was no longer bottle fed most likely. Parents were both big tea drinkers, mother being Irish and all. I do remember being given milky tea with two sugars until I was around 10. However even from a young age my preference was for strong brewed tea, like you used to get on British Rail trains back in the day. I’d always ask mum for ‘train tea’ but got a milky, sugary mug of tea instead :(. Must have been a bit of an odd kid with my tastes as around 10 years old I decided I loved tonic water.

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Lemonsweets25@reddit

Parents are South African so I started drinking milky Roibois tea with honey probably age 4, then probably started having normal tea occasionally from age 7? Couldn’t live without a milky tea, I have breakfast tea up till 5pm then switch to Roibois for the rest of the evening

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Spiderill@reddit (OP)

That sounds nice - I'll have to try some Roibois tea 😎

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Lemonsweets25@reddit

It’s the best in the evenings, it feels like the perfect mix between a regular tea and a herbal tea. Plus it’s really good for you!

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klc81@reddit

I was bottle-fed with it (a dash of tea in abottle of milk). Probably about 3 or 4 by the time it went from "milk with tea in" to "tea with milk in"

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Candid-Bike-9165@reddit

I know my siblings were given tea from a very young age so I would've been too I imagine

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Preacherjonson@reddit

I don't think I had tea until I was about 8. Definitely had alcohol before then.

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AbaloneOk4521@reddit

When I was rly little my nana would put a dash in my milk, increasing more and more as I grew - was probably 50/50 by the time I was six and then from 8 or so I was drinking tea about the same way I have it now, if a little stronger.

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DentrassiEpicure@reddit

It was in my bottle as a toddler. Who knows, maybe my mother's breast expressed it 🤷🏻‍♂️

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mellonians@reddit

About 2 probably. I had it in a bottle when I was a kid. My boy didn't take the teat of tea unfortunately.

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spine_slorper@reddit

Hot drinks make me hot and sweaty, always have, my temperature regulation software obviously has a bug in it. Grandparents always used to try and feed me tea when I was younger, that along with my grans famous soup would make me need to lie down and fan myself acting like I'm menopausal at 6 years old haha. Because of that I just never caught the tea bug, nice taste, unpleasant side effects.

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portinuk@reddit

I remember my first cuppa. I was 6 and my grandma brew it to me. It was an English breakfast. She added sugar and milk. We had it with some freshly baked toasts. It was around 3pm in a Saturday. It was a rainy day and I had some temperature, so I was told to stay indoors. I miss my grandma. Shit, I’m crying now.

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FinancialFix9074@reddit

Avoided it until I was 27 and my little sister died. I stayed home for 2 weeks (was living 400 miles away) between her dying and the funeral, and there was just so much tea happening for every day of those two weeks, it was impossible to avoid. Then it just stuck. Just occurred to me that my sister would happily drink tea. I guess the tea gods made sure the balance of tea drinkers was maintained.

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IansGotNothingLeft@reddit

Weirdly, I hated coffee until well into my 30s when my mum died and I just... Started drinking it. Death does weird stuff to us. I'm sorry for your loss. Losing a sibling must be incredibly difficult.

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FinancialFix9074@reddit

Strange! I literally never made the connection until I wrote this comment. And thanks 💜

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Spiderill@reddit (OP)

I'm sorry to hear that, I hope you're ok. It's nice that you have the connection to your sister through tea though.

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FinancialFix9074@reddit

Thanks. I am good now. It took a while!

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Actual_Elk3422@reddit

Sorry for your loss - I think she transferred her love of tea to you

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FinancialFix9074@reddit

Yeah I think so 😂 funny that I never thought of this before -- it's been 11 years!

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TheRealSlabsy@reddit

I wish there was tea rather than whisky after my brother died, I'd much rather have a tea addiction.

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meemi1108@reddit

My British friend drinks tea more than 3-4 a day and he says people drink tea even the kids it’s traditional thing that’s crazy isn’t bad for your health? 😳

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Maximum_Scientist_85@reddit

About 10 years of was the first time I actually enjoyed drinking tea, although it's tried it before then.

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IansGotNothingLeft@reddit

My grandparents used to make us milky tea when we went to stay. I was probably about 5 or 6.

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No-Village7980@reddit

Young. My first words were 'cup of tea'.

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Indigo-Waterfall@reddit

I think when I was about 12 because it felt like the “grown up” thing to drink then I got addicted.

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GeneralDefenestrates@reddit

Probably around the same age, also cant stand it now coffee became a thing for me

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Spiderill@reddit (OP)

When was the last time that you drank tea ?

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GeneralDefenestrates@reddit

Probably a few years ago out of desperation lol

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TwattyMcSlagtits@reddit

Ha! Same. "It has to better than nothing". Wrong

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Visible-Management63@reddit

Probably mid teens.

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Philluminati@reddit

I used to have it in my bottle as a literal baby. It was called “a bobot of tea”. I was born early 80s.

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ancientestKnollys@reddit

Not yet.

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RaedwaldRex@reddit

When I was a kid, 5 or 6 I reckon. Love the stuff. My friends would always say i was addicted. Cup in the morning, mid morning. With Lunch, mid afternoon, with dinner before bed. On school days it was when I got up, and when I got in, with dinner and before bed. Today I drink tea and water. Just love the stuff. Yorkshire Tea FTW

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TinyLittleWeirdo@reddit

I'm the same! I love tea! Yorkshire is the best tea. That and Mariage Freres Wedding Imperial are the only two I ever drink anymore. That first hot sweet cup of tea in the morning is everything, my friend.

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TinyLittleWeirdo@reddit

Can I answer even though I'm American? I drink as much tea as you lot. :-) Probably since I was about 10. My dad would make me hot cocoa in the morning, and then around middle school, we transitioned to tea. My dad drank tea and coffee equally, as does my older brother. I think our tea drinking tradition is more from our Russian ancestry though. I now drink about 2-3 cups a day with milk and sugar and never make it in the microwave (the horror). I have an electric kettle! Please don't downvote me for being American.

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FinanciallyFocusedUK@reddit

Aged 6/7 I discovered a choccy digestive dipped in tea absolutely slapped. I think I mostly used tea as a biscuit dip until I started studying for the 11+ near the end of primary school. I drank tea properly with my tutor because it was kind of the done thing, couldn’t be rude and just dip

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WatchManWolf2112@reddit

This is the wrong question. The right question is “What age did you start drinking coffee?”

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Spiderill@reddit (OP)

Yeah nah.

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BananaWanX@reddit

I'm in the PNW but had English grandpa and Scottish nan. I can't remember a time that we weren't given milky sweet tea. We have an adopted Korean child; his welcome baby boxes had barley & other teas. I drink at least 10 mugs of F&M tea each day

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Significant-Leek8483@reddit

Too late, wish it was earlier

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Thestolenone@reddit

Quite young, maybe six or seven but became intolerant or allergic in some way to camilia sinesnsis in my 20's and can't drink it at all now.

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AlbionRemainsXIV@reddit

I'm 38, and possibly hold the record for the longest time for a British person going without tea. 38 years and counting!

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Cultural_Usual7258@reddit

My mother always tells people that she used to give me tea in my baby bottle, and I struggled to get used to drinking out of a cup as a result once I grew out of that.

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LemonTrifle@reddit

I stopped when I was a baby, given a baby bottle of tea made with loose tea leaves, that got into my mouth. I never had another baby bottle or tea ever again. I was so repulsed by it & cannot stand the smell to this day.

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Dapper_Plan_3781@reddit

I had tea in my bottle. Ah the good old days of caffeinated babies...

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Big-Ad4382@reddit

American here, from the south. My mother put tea in my baby bottle, probably with a ton of sugar in it. But it was iced, thank you very much.

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sammy123reddit@reddit

9

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overthinker46@reddit

About 7. ..Love it.. my mum gave me a cup with sugar, couldn’t stand it. Gives me cup sugar free, couldn’t get enough of it..

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LifelessLewis@reddit

I'm 30 and I still think it's shit.

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Pure-Obligation8023@reddit

Three.

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charley_warlzz@reddit

Ive never liked it, but i think the first few times i *tried* it i was probably about ~4. I probably wouldve had it before that, but we lived in spain at the time and its a *tad* too warm over there, lol. Most of the kids in my family start off with milky tea about 2-3, from what ive gathered.

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SpaceTimeRacoon@reddit

Probably like... 7? My nan used to let us drink teas at hers I always loved it. As iv gotten older iv also developed a taste for green teas

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SnooPeppers7701@reddit

Probably around 11

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dobber72@reddit

51 years old, not a fan of tea to be honest but it kept my hands warm this past winter and is not as fattening as hot chocolate. With the heating off trying not to die of hypothermia, there is nothing more satisfying, I have found, than a hot brew held tightly with both hands.

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TheChunkyScale@reddit

I'm 18 and have never drunk tea in my life.

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sadlunchboxxed@reddit

I drank tea sometimes, usually once a week on a Sunday night from the ages of 5 until I was about 10 or 11. I would have it really milky with honey. I then didn’t touch the stuff until I was about 14 when I started drinking it regularly. I ended up swapping honey for sugar and taking it without milk

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illbehere231@reddit

I'm Eastern European but I started drinking Mint and chamomile (straight from the garden) in kindergarten

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intangible-tangerine@reddit

About 5/6 my parents don't drink tea so only got started when I was old enough to make tea for my gran and would also make a cup for myself

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Rasty_lv@reddit

Oh, I'm going to get lot of hate for this, but I never liked tea. I was forced to drink it when I was sick with cold and since then I hate it with passion.

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wildgoldchai@reddit

Same here. I like the biscuit dunking part but never the actual tea. Leftover cold tea went to my poor old dad

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Mattybear30@reddit

A sweet cup of tea with a cheese sandwich is the bollocks

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wildgoldchai@reddit

Ooh dunking buttery toast in tea was a favourite

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GoHomeCryWantToDie@reddit

Same here. I also find the obsession with tea to be a little bit weird.

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oldtrack@reddit

it just tastes like water but a bit worse

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MadamKitsune@reddit

I cannot stand tea! I tried to drink it once and once was enough.

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Luna259@reddit

Neither do I. I’ve only ever tried tea once and didn’t like it. Same with green tea and coffee

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vinedin@reddit

When I was 27. I was in a region where we couldn't drink the water without boiling it, and hot water just seemed weird (I had nowhere to store cooling water). I started drinking tea. Couldn't stand it with milk. Could drink it quite weak without. Since then I've progressed, I drink it all day and have progressed to Ceylon, earl grey, orange pekoe, Darjeeling, EB. Still no milk though. I drink green tea and chai etc well, but they are occasional, whereas tea I drink regularly throughout the day.

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PinkSudoku13@reddit

Probably very, very young. Tea was a staple drink at my house, I don't remember starting to drink it, I just remember always drinking it. Apparently. it was a thing for nursing mothers to drink milky tea so I suppose I started drinking it from day one.

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1234onions@reddit

I used to have tea in my bottle so I must have been a toddler! My daughter is 4 and has recently shown a huge interest in tea. So much so, she now drinks it as strong as I do!

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WiccadWitch@reddit

I had milky tea in a bottle and/or sippy cup so from birth likely!

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poppi_10@reddit

Water is the way to go 🤗

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Direct-Respect1050@reddit

Bout 10 years old

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thischarmingscum@reddit

I didn't even try tea until I was 15 because it was always a drink for adults in my family and not given to children. I drink it every day now of course

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Bearded_Viking_Lord@reddit

As a British man never I don't like hot drinks at all

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Nine_Eye_Ron@reddit

I thought it was illegal to serve tea to under 10s?

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TheSexyGrape@reddit

From the umbilical cord

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HyperDogOwner458@reddit

5 or so. I think my parents got into an argument over it. One of them made me a cup of tea and the other got mad.

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Large-Meat-Feast@reddit

when I was about 7, I was diagnosed with an insensitivity to several (now banned) artificial additives that would make me lose my control of my anger. These additives were in most drinks so I was restricted to tea, coffee or 7-up (not very popular at the time). I drank lots of tea. Even now, we get through tea-bags like they're going out of fashion

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Superssimple@reddit

Coffee for a 7 year old also sounds terrible!

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BlakeC16@reddit

Not sure but probably by the time I was about 10, my mum would wake me up with a cup of tea next to my bed each morning. My 4 year old always asks for a couple of sips of my tea these days.

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Sammiebear_143@reddit

Probably as soon as I could drink from a cup. Tbh, I don't remember my bottle years! But my mum tells me back in the day, it was carnation condensed milk that she fed me on as a baby. 😳 I can't believe my teeth were as healthy as they are.

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eldritchcryptid@reddit

about 14, never drank tea before that but i spent most of my time at my grandad's house and he'd always make tea for me when i came over and it was always really nice. my parents always complained about his "howling tea" but i always liked it 😅

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El_Zilcho@reddit

To start properly drinking it, probably 23 or 24. My family gave it to me as a kid but with loads of milk and sugar, and I thought I didn't like tea until I realised I didn't like milk or sugar. I like it pure.

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boredathome1962@reddit

Are you seriously saying you don't like tea on a UK based page? For shame...

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Spiderill@reddit (OP)

Just being honest lol. I like green tea but rarely drink it. I stick to water or beer.

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Own-Entrepreneur5052@reddit

Should be stripped of their citizenship and deported forthwith. No appeal.

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WhiteyLovesHotSauce@reddit

33 years old. May have the occasional peppermint tea when I have an upset stomach. Don't drink hot beverages otherwise. I'm a water kind of guy.

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Spiderill@reddit (OP)

I'm exactly the same. I'll drink green tea occasionally but that's about it.

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Dimac99@reddit

Peppermint tea gives me heartburn. Why, yes, I have always been an awkward sod. Why do you ask?

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leugeneskabs@reddit

First tried it at 12, didn't like it and still don't. I don't mind some herbal teas, but I don't like a Tetleys etc. Might have something to do with it needing milk to be palatable. Plant milk doesn't cut it in tea like it does coffee.

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rrainingcatz@reddit

From a very young age. We always had a teapot on the go as kids. I'm still a tea drinker now. In fact, sipping as I type.

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PsychSalad@reddit

Mum taught me to make tea when I was about 7 so that she could use me as a tea butler. So that's when I started drinking tea.

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SkipMapudding@reddit

Probably around 3. And coffee. Had my own little tiny cup and saucer. My mother used to add sugar. Thought of sugar in tea now turns my stomach. My son is in his 20’s and won’t even try tea or coffee - dislikes fizzy drinks as I never let him have them when he was little I suppose.

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RodLUFC@reddit

Can we please ban these boring topics. Why the fuck would anyone care?

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KezzaK2608@reddit

I can remember sleeping over at my Grandma's as a small child, probably 3 or 4 and sharing her cup of tea.

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SupervillainIndiana@reddit

I apparently picked up my dad’s (thankfully fairly cool by that point) mug, took one sip and then drained it when I hadn’t been walking very long. I don’t remember it of course but I know I’ve been drinking tea for as long as I can remember!

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leem7t9@reddit

About 7 I think

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EasyPiece@reddit

Probably aged 7/8 and never looked back. I love a cuppa and fortunately so does my wife. Of our three teenage children though only our eldest daughter enjoys a cuppa. The other two won't touch it.

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TheAshtonish@reddit

The 2 that don’t like it. Put more sugar in and no milk. So a black tea. It’s usually enjoyable if you don’t like it with milk.

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ConsciouslyIncomplet@reddit

Probably pretty young - my Dad makes the best tea. The only change nowadays n that I can’t stand sugar. Yorkshire Gold all the way.

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TheAshtonish@reddit

3 years old?

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dyinginsect@reddit

I don't remember not drinking tea

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swapacoinforafish@reddit

Very late, 20-21 when I got my first office job.

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folklovermore_@reddit

I think maybe when I was about 9? I was drinking it almost every day by the time I was at secondary school though.

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Softspokenclark@reddit

-9 months

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Bazahazano@reddit

At age 40. But only one in the afternoon when I'm at work. Coffee in the mornings. Before that I only drank when staying at hotels and ran out of coffee sachets.

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Cool_beans4921@reddit

(British) Early twenties. I had tried it before that but because my parents liked weird combo of Darjeeling and English breakfast 🤷‍♀️ I didn’t like it. Then I discovered at work it didn’t have to taste like that.

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bertiethebastard@reddit

Very young. 4 or 5 maybe, but I was brought up living above my dads cafe. I was cooking meals for pocket money by 9 or 10.

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Salt-Ad567@reddit

27

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BigKingKey@reddit

I fucking hate the stuff. Yet everyone of my family asks me what I want when I say yes to a cuppa. It’s coffee! It’s always coffee

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Medium-Science9526@reddit

^(I still don't)

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InFocuus@reddit

Same here. Not in UK. No milk or sugar ever.

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ramirezdoeverything@reddit

Too young to remember when

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Felgrand3189@reddit

From the age of about 9. Though I haven’t drank it in years. But I’ll have one if you’re making one.

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Rechamber@reddit

I think from 3 or 4. Still going strong 30 years later, though I prefer coffee now.

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DeltaRocket@reddit

I'm 18 and never had tea. If I like my coffee quite milky and with 2 sugars, am I likely to want my tea the same?

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RuntOfTheLitter222@reddit

Tea, when brewed properly for the amount of time stated on the package, can be quite strong. If you drink coffee regularly though I think you’ll be fine with just a dash of milk and one sugar to start with. You can always add more later :)

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Jealous-Art8085@reddit

I use to have it in my ‘sippy cup’ at about 1 but no suger then at 6 I was allowed suger😂

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Physical-Cheesecake@reddit

When I was very young I always had my own cup of milky tea to dip my biscuits in, didn't drink more than a sip or two though. It grew on me eventually though.

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shotgun883@reddit

My mum tells of a story of visiting my grandparents, waking up with my grandad at the crack of dawn and sitting in their living room drinking tea, nappy round my ankles so I must’ve been 2 years old. For the record. Yorkshire Tea, strong, white, one.

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Bring_back_Apollo@reddit

I never really craved tea as a child but the smell of coffee was engrossing. I would say I properly started drinking coffee at 14. I drink tea now but it’s either Earl Grey with a slice of lemon or something herbal but only occasionally.

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jaBroniest@reddit

8 years old love a brew

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LetFelicityFly@reddit

I started drinking tea at uni because it was cheaper than putting the heating on

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Livid-battle-4589@reddit

Favourite loose tea??

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Livid-battle-4589@reddit

They switched to tea bags. No wonder.

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AbuBenHaddock@reddit

Straight from the womb. First thing I did was put the kettle on. Then slapped the nurse for slapping me instead of putting the kettle on - I didn't expect that level of service on day one.

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Livid-battle-4589@reddit

Not like it used to be

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Shenloanne@reddit

Probably 3 or 4. Born in Ireland.... I had no chance haha.

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pebblesandweeds@reddit

18, real ‘rites of passage’ moment :)

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Livid-battle-4589@reddit

Just before I moved onto breast milk. Wby?

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RelaxKarma@reddit

20. Drank coffee a lot younger but now I don’t really drink caffeinated drinks.

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Papertache@reddit

I'm ethnically Chinese and was born and raised in the UK. Pretty sure mum gave me tea as soon as I was able to drink it.

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Old-Relationship-458@reddit

Too young to remember.

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SmegmaSandwich69420@reddit

Suckled it from my mam's tit.

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rvpuk@reddit

My first memory of it is drinking very milky tea at about age 3 or 4, it was before primary school but definitely preschool age so probably 4. No idea if my parents gave me it before then! I've been hooked for life ever since!!

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Ancient-Awareness115@reddit

46, I don't really like it, but my stomach decided it no longer could tolerate coffee, so I drink tea with spices in

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TheDevilsButtNuggets@reddit

My mum told me I used to live it as a kid up until about age 5. Then, I didn't drink tea until my early 20s when I'd go on break at work and get criticised for having a can of coke each time. Eventually got back into tea. Went off milk so started having it black (and managed to cut put the sugar too!). Then went off tea completely while pregnant. Now I'm back to black with 1 (large) sugar, about 5-6 cups a day if I'm at home

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Actual_Elk3422@reddit

About to out myself as a huge stereotype: I drank a tonne of tea when I was at boarding school. Plain black tea with digestives. I was probably 14-15. Funnily enough, I almost never drink it now. I love coffee.

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bopeepsheep@reddit

Under 12m (very milky). I stopped at 5 when I discovered that primary school didn't have tea breaks. (Not kidding. I went kinda cold turkey on it, and after a few weeks stopped missing it. I've had 2 cups of tea in the 47 years since, both in crisis situations.)

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Consistent-Use-7982@reddit

I can’t remember exactly when but I’ve grown up loving Tea, My mom and Nan and Auntie loved Tea. My kids all love tea too lol

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justhonest1986@reddit

from an early age think around 4 or maybe younger

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elgrn1@reddit

Late 20s or maybe early 30s.

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Normal_Animal_5843@reddit

Irish and in my bottle during my first few months,according to my Mam-with sugar,till I was 17 and on holiday with friends,who did not take sugar in theirs,so I came home cured of that habit 🤭.How I have all my teeth is a wonder.

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SSpotions@reddit

4/5 years old. Would have it with sugar.

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AliveAd2219@reddit

Can’t stand tea anymore? Have you sought medical advice yet? There’s probably something wrong with you.

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purrcthrowa@reddit

Probably at 2-3, very sweet and milky from a sippy cup. At about 10 I gave up taking sugar. I still drink a fair amount of tea, but not a lot by normal British/Irish standards (probably 2-3 mugs a day). Yorkshire, strong AND milky. I also ditched the sippy cup.

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alamcc@reddit

4

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New-Measurement-7385@reddit

As a baby 61 years ago, still drinking now

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JonRoberts87@reddit

Not sure how old I was, but I remember being 11 on our schools residential trip and the first morning there at breakfast, everyone having some kind of juice with their breakfast, and me trying to convince my teacher that i have a tea every morning with mine and they wouldn't budge on giving me a tea for whatever reason. So definitely started young, though I much prefer coffee nowadays

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lysette747@reddit

As young as I remember. If you’ve gone off tea, try some of the specialist teas, especially Tea Pigs. Lapsang Souchon is great. Supposed to have a wood infusion but tastes like fish

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ArcticPsychologyAI@reddit

If you British you’re weaned on tea.

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Ok_Onion7335@reddit

Hoping to get the taste for it in my 30s

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Glozboy@reddit

7. My parents had me making the tea as soon as I was tall enough.

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MAXIMUMMEDLOWUS@reddit

About 10. But as a kid I always used to like the smell of teabags and would always carry one around with me to smell it...

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SceneDifferent1041@reddit

About 5

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ooh_bit_of_bush@reddit

Occasionally I would have a cup of tea when I was about 8 or 9 but tea and coffee became a staple when I started secondary school.

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Fred776@reddit

Probably the same sort of age as you, but with sugar back then. Stopped the sugar as a teenager. Still drink tea regularly. One thing I notice on this and similar threads is that there's always a few people saying that they prefer coffee as if they are interchangeable in some sense. I like a decent cup of coffee and will typically have a couple of cups a day, but I'd be ill if I were to switch all my hot drinks to coffee. To me tea and coffee are two different drinks that fulfil different roles over the course of a day.

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gymgirl1999-@reddit

Used to have a support class in school and the teacher used to always make a cup of tea, so around 13/14

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Ill_Pumpkin8217@reddit

I used to steal my dads tea when I was 3/4, it started my dunking my biscuits into his brew, then he’d get me my own cuppa more on the milky side. Excellent stuff.

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EmiAndTheDesertCrow@reddit

I don’t remember I time I didn’t! When I was really young my grandma started making it for me with two spoons of sugar and for years I always had one after school (including primary school). I can’t believe I was drinking something that sweet! No sugar for me now, obviously.

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disco_biscuits_84@reddit

On the bottle, West Midlands everyone did

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Dam_sondam2828@reddit

Around 13 or so. I think I was around my nans or something and wanted to try it

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ashyjay@reddit

Under a year old, I used to have it thrown in a bottle.

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mixedupfruit@reddit

I'm 36 and I hate tea. So still not yet started

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FantasticWeasel@reddit

7 or 8 when I learned how to make it to earn my brownie badge.

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continentaldreams@reddit

My mother used to give me a 50/50 milk/decaf tea combo before bed when I was a kid. I had a bottle that was tea-stained, that I used for this purpose only! I was addicted and still am - I have about 6 or 7 cups a day. I love tea!!

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AvoriazInSummer@reddit

No idea. Earliest tea was with tea leaves left at the bottom of the cup, and tea bags were a change my family was not yet ready for. I dimly remember getting weaned off the sugar, going from like four heaped spoons to none.

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SimpleManc88@reddit

Birth 🇬🇧

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peculiar-pirate@reddit

10

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thatcambridgebird@reddit

Probably about six or so, but it was very sweet milky tea. My mum used to make a big pot of milky sweet coffee sometimes, too, which as a poor 80s kid growing up with Kwik Save food always felt right fancy. I guess it was like the equivalent of a latte nowadays, almost. I let my seven year old try a sip of my coffee yesterday, which he said he loved, so there'll be no more of that for a while because he's already the world's most energetic labrador child.

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Fausty72@reddit

I don't think I can remember ever not having tea

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MadQueen_1@reddit

I think I'd drink a cup or two each year as a child but started consistently drinking it as an adult, maybe 2-3 years ago. Can't live without it now.

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CalligrapherSimple39@reddit

Well I'm from England. So young. About ,3 years old

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Luna259@reddit

I tried it once, think as a teen, didn’t like it and never tried it again. Same story with green tea and coffee when I was older

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ARK_Redeemer@reddit

About 18/19 as a regular thing. Was a nice way to start my work day.

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yourmomsajoke@reddit

Occasionally at my grans when I was maybe 7ish. She was a coffee drinker and my mum didn't drink either often so it wasn't readily available or given. I've ended up more for coffee like my granny so my kids don't really bother with tea, I'm honestly not sure if my 12 year old has ever had it. The oldest will have a cup occasionally, he's 19. He used to drink tea at his grandparents from toddler age but again not very often. I don't know anyone who regularly drinks tea or coffee my age (not quite elder millenial).

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ghostlight1969@reddit

My (55M) mum used to give us very milky tea in our bottles as babies. Been drinking it ever since!

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smileystarfish@reddit

Probably around 16-17? Just didn't like it when I was younger but tastes change.

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astromech_dj@reddit

I’ll let you know when I do. So far it’s been mainly coffee.

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Rockfords-Foot@reddit

Probs about 2 or 3. I used to say I want a tuppa tea.

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hannahbeliever@reddit

As a toddler. I used to have it in a baby bottle

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FixTraditional4198@reddit

Can't remember the exact age but definitely started with the old milky tea. Have memories when I was 8/9 of doing movie marathons with my siblings and having a pot of tea to myself. Mum wasn't a big fan of fizzy drink back then

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Bubbly_Direction872@reddit

I’ve drank it since I was a toddler? So have all my siblings and cousins. I remember going to my grandparents and all 11 of us kids drinking tea as children. My parents took us to Bulgaria on holiday like 20 years ago when I was around 12 years old and they wouldn’t serve us tea or coffee but they would happily give us alcohol 😂

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JP198364839@reddit

I was 24. Tried it a few times as a kid and wasn’t impressed but started a new job and wanted to fit in so tried to find a way to like it. Turns out that too much milk and sugar were ruining it for me.

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Tymexathane@reddit

I don't know when it started but I remember being told I wasn't allowed to drink it out of a bottle anymore when I was about 2 1/2. Formative memory along with being too big for the pram..

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Cardboard_rocks@reddit

My mum put it in mine and my siblings baby bottles, she's often talks about having to bleach the tea stains out of my brothers babygros. Like it's a source of pride for her... Wild.

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Whole-Sundae-98@reddit

I'm 67 so as a small child I guess.

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toady89@reddit

Early teens, I started with coffee aged 9.

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Rumhampolicy@reddit

I don't like any hot drinks. Apparently i was given it in a bottle as a toddler though

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booklover170@reddit

Probably about 8? Id had bits of other peoples teas but I didn't drink it regularly until about 7 -8. Basically just that my parents didn't trust a clumsy (it turned out to be dyspraxia) child with hot liquids

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Overthinker-dreamer@reddit

Tried it, don't like it, don't drink it. I've been asked if I am sure I am British

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anotherangryperson@reddit

Same here, children drank tea when I was young. Not drunk it for years; the smell makes me feel sick.

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Thenedslittlegirl@reddit

I remember my mum trying to get me to give me 2 year old milky tea and telling me I used to shout for my tea as soon as I woke up as a toddler. Yes that was because I was a baby caffeine addict.

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Jenschnifer@reddit

I had it in my bottle so basically from birth?

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Crichtenasaurus@reddit

3

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Rig88@reddit

My 3yo likes to have tea with me and the Mrs in the morning haha. Decaf though. I think I was very young as well. I can't be sure on age, but I know I was very young.

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nettlesthatarejaggy@reddit

I haven't.

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CherryLeafy101@reddit

Young enough that I don't remember 😂

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EdmundTheInsulter@reddit

18. A few of my mates said they'd tried tea and I wasn't sure if they had, but when I was a student I got offered tea by another student and decided to try it. At first I thought it was an easy pick me up, but at age 21 I tried coffee for the first time. By 24 I had a coffee habit and drank far too much of it. It's under control now, I can handle it.

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PerceptionGreat2439@reddit

Didn't like it without sugar until I was about 8, then I preferred it without. I guess about 5 years old.

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newfor2023@reddit

Not sure, not really a fan, it's fine if that's all there is but I won't choose it over other things.

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hhfugrr3@reddit

Been drinking it as long as I can remember.

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dobbythedobbster@reddit

From as young as I can remember. Mainly cos my mums a massive tea drinker I think 😅😂

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Triana89@reddit

Last year, at 33. I still say I don't like tea though becuase I only drink a few specific green teas with an unholy amount of sugar so only it drink at home. I only discovered this because I was gifted a Korean snack box which happened to have a green tea boiled sweet which very much confused me when I loved it, and realised I may like tea with a lot of sugar

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inviolablegirl@reddit

Probably around twelve, took me a while to warm up to it.

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bettybujo@reddit

I don't remember

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PowerfulFuture1562@reddit

Always remember drinking tea when I was little and to this day it remains my favourite drink. I only started drinking coffee when I got to my 30’s (now 46).

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Jlaw118@reddit

I still don’t like tea (unless fruit) but do drink coffee. I struggled to like coffee until I was in my early 20s when I started my previous job. My colleagues kept buying rounds out of the machine and I’d feel rude declining them so I’d drink them and started to realise I quite liked it. Then I moved into an office based role where people were making them all of the time and I really enjoyed them too

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MRRichAllen1976@reddit

Very early age, but I've always preferred coffee to be honest.

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Fumb-MotherDucker@reddit

Before memories formed

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Strong_Roll5639@reddit

Started drinking herbal tea at 34. Never got into 'normal' tea. Always drank coffee.

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slothsnoozing@reddit

Before I can remember. I have a photo of me as a toddler with a tiny little teacup, which was apparently my first cup of tea.

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hocfutuis@reddit

I never really liked it that much, and grew up to prefer coffee, but probably about 4ish. It wasn't really offered to us for some reason, even though my mum, and the maternal side are all massive tea drinkers.

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Dependent-Range3654@reddit

As long as I remember. My only memory relating to teas beginning was being allowed to use the kettle myself. I've been having it since at least 4, if my memory went back further I'd have more data haha

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missuseme@reddit

I'll let you know when I get there

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GarethGazzGravey@reddit

I am the same as you. I used to drink it on and off when I was younger, but i've come to hate it as I've got older. Case in point, I tried a sip from my girlfriend's cup a few weeks back and the flavour hit me like a tonne of bricks. I don't recall the flavour I was tasting, but it wasn't pleasant, even with milk and 2 sugars. Oh and yes, add my name to the number of English people that don't like Tea

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GrandWazoo0@reddit

Probably 2 or 3. My parents would drink tea in the mornings and I wanted in. It was basically a cup of warm milk with a dash of tea, but it was tea to me.

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tinkapiggo86@reddit

A long as I can remember I had my 1st brew as a child so about 5/6 year's old

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AtebYngNghymraeg@reddit

So long ago that I really couldn't say. Definitely as a small child. Probably 5 or 6?

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NumeroRyan@reddit

I don’t drink tea at all, I don’t dislike it in any way but I’ve just never got the point of it. Same with coffee, although I hate the taste and I also have a distaste for peoples breath who drink it because it absolutely stinks like shit.

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NortonBurns@reddit

From too young to remember, maybe 3 or so. Stopped at about 12 & haven't touched the stuff since. Can't stand it, though I don't mind making it for others - & people tell me I make a good cuppa.

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Ok-Professional-9320@reddit

Early enough that I can’t remember. I went right off it though and switched to coffee in my teens. I did have one cup of tea a few years back when I crashed my motorbike and ended up on an old ladies lawn. She took pity on me in the form of a brew. Quite generous considering I wrecked her hedge.

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Fukthisite@reddit

First tried it as a kid, never liked it. Don't like any warm/hot drinks, drinks ain't supposed to be warm or hot.

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imminentmailing463@reddit

I'm in my early thirties and I haven't yet.

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Friendly_Speech_5351@reddit

I been getting into green and oolong these days it’s funny because it has caffeine but it just makes me calm and aleery

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