I think it was mostly the idea of *doing* something with the miniature tea sets. And it wasn't as if I was having a tea party *with* anyone. It was just me. (Only girl in the family and no particularly close friends.)

A couple of times I've had adult tea parties, just to have fun using the equipment.

I don't recall my mom drinking tea much, though we always had Lipton or the equivalent in the house. And she'd tried coffee in college and found it made her heart race unpleasantly. My dad is a solid coffee drinker, though when I was a kid he mostly drank instant decaf unless we were on a road trip (when he'd be driving all night). I didn't really get into coffee until after college, and didn't *like* it until I got all finicky with grinding my own beans and brewing fresh and whatnot. I'd been more of an indifferent and erratic tea drinker until I made it part of my work-from-home routine.