APAD: Not my cup of tea

Meaning:

I don't like it; it's not to my taste. Can be used in a variety of ways, such as

in reference to activities (skiing isn't my cup of tea) or people (he's not my

cup of tea).

 

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The phrase naturally came after the British developed a yen for the hot drink

made from the young leaves of an Oriental shrub. There must have been tons of

demos, pamphlets, scientific studies, etc., to educate (read dupe) the public

about the benefits, just like today we are bombarded with stories of health

boons of exotic foods from faraway lands. I suspect, however, after living

abroad for years, that milk and sugar could be more responsible for spreading

the mildly bitter drink, as most of my friends and I, growing up in the old

country, acquired no taste for tea, no matter how heavenly it smelled. The mania

for the beverage that swept Britain and Europe in the early 18th century could

well be the result of a successful off-line ad campaign, sponsored largely by

clever sea-going merchants. The trade deficit and the Opium Wars followed. Lao

Tzu would have warned: things hard to get are not my cup of tea.