cup of tea

1. Something one prefers, desires, enjoys, or cares about. Often used in the negative to mean the opposite. I invited you because I thought long-distance cycling was your cup of tea. When I found out that reading wasn't his cup of tea, I knew that there wasn't much of a relationship in store between us. A: "You've always been something of a homebody, though." B: "Oh yeah, staying in and relaxing is definitely my cup of tea."

2. Any issue or matter that is entirely different in scope, description, or nature from that which was just being discussed. She did finish all of her chores, but her homework is another cup of tea altogether. I thought being pregnant was stressful enough on its own, but house-hunting while pregnant, that's an entirely different cup of tea! I know you think you're some hotshot just because you worked in television once, but working on a film is a another cup of tea entirely.

not (one's) cup of tea

Not something one prefers, desires, enjoys, or cares about. Thank you for the invitation, but long-distance cycling just isn't really my cup of tea. When I found out that reading wasn't his cup of tea, I knew that there wasn't much of a relationship in store between us.

cup of tea

n. something preferred or desired. (Often negative.) Driving children around all afternoon is not my cup of tea.

cup of tea

1. Something that one excels in or enjoys: Opera is not my cup of tea.

2. A matter to be reckoned or dealt with: Recreational sport is relaxing. Professional sport is another cup of tea altogether.

not one's cup of tea

It doesn’t suit one, it isn’t to one’s taste. The ultimate origin of this term is not known, although it definitely is British. Tea had become an immensely popular beverage in Europe by the mid-eighteenth century, and the positive version—he or she is my cup of tea—was used from the late nineteenth century. The negative is slightly newer, from the 1920s. Josephine Tey used it in The Franchise Affair (1948): “Probably she isn’t your cup of tea. You have always preferred them a little stupid, and blonde.”