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.
