I did. And also got into lapsang souchong because of an interview with Patrick Stewart where he mentioned it's his favorite type along with Yorkshire Gold. He asked to use that on the show, but the producers thought it would be too obscure or hard to remember and changed it to Earl Grey.
Good question. I've been drinking Earl Grey for so long I don't remember which came first, that or STTNG. It's possible I first tried it because of the show.
I’d had it before and disliked it. Probably because it was dried out, crappy, US grocery store stuff that gad been on the shelf for who knows how long.
Tried it again because of TNG, except it was a good loose leaf, and man it was good. Had a box or bag around consistently for decades now.
Yep. I tried it because of TNG, and found I rather liked it. Now I drink it near daily. I also opted to try Yorkshire Gold after Patrick Stewart mentioned in an interview that he prefers it over Earl Grey, and I found I don't prefer it. Plain black teas are fine, but ... they're not my cup of tea.
I tend to go for rooibos when I want something without the caffeine.
No, I drink Earl grey daily, but I didn't even knew (until a couple of moments ago) that it was Picard's drink. I first had one on a train in Russia, and fell in love with it. The ones I have today are not the same as that one but still very good.
In Russia, this is basically a default option alongside straight black tea with lemon.
It goes so far that even some name brands made international series based on Russian Earl Grey (btw, none I've tried capture the correct taste, but the general direction is right):
So, in my case this was just growing up on those great teas
It definitely made me want to like Earl Grey. It's just not my jam though. It even made me start trying all the different teas I could find because I wanted to be cultured enough to have a preferred tea. I even tried Lapsang Souchong which is basically barbecue tea.
Turns out tea is pretty easy to drink and I'm pretty basic. Oolong, black, or green are great.
I still do. At one job my manager said, "Don't forget your coffee," that I had left on his desk, and I proudly said, That's not coffee, it's Tea, Earl Grey, Hot." He took a closer look and said, "It doesn't look like tea, Earl Grey, hot." I replied, "It has milk, two percent, cold." Sigh, you don't see days like that anymore.
Unfortunately I developed a Romulan Ale addiction when I was only 12. To this day I'm very adversarial and distrustful of the Federation and its principles.
I drank Earl Grey even before I was aware of TNG. For me, the smell of loose dry Earl Grey is by far the most appealing smell ever. The brewed tea loses some of that aroma, but not that much.
kinda of. If I see it Im a bit more likely to have it but I tend to prefer oolong or the fermented stuff or orange or the non tea stuff from south america. If im not concerned about caffeine then hibiscus. but after my favs its earl grey all the way and sometimes just because I like saying it.
Another recent favorite of mine is Thompson's Titanic Tea. Very full flavor. Big picture of the ship on the label, but only because their grandfather's tea shop in Dublin was "a stone's throw" from the shipyard.
I first tried it in a hotel as a teenager, and thought it'd be a good choice because an Orc in the game Arcanum went into a long conversation about Bergamot. The fact Picard liked it too was a bonus. 😁
I never really got into tea because I always found the flavour disappointing compared to its aroma. But I recently tried yerba maté, which isn't a tea but definition, but is similar. It's made from the leaves and stems of Holly and has a strong, bitter flavour that definitely does not disappoint. It's enjoyed in places like Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil. Now I start my day with a mug of coffee, then sip on maté the rest of the day.