Posts Tagged ‘afternoon tea’
Piper & Leaf
The best place to buy tea in town is Piper & Leaf now located at Lowe Mill. I had to do a double-take when I discovered them last year at the Madison Farmer’s Market. Original loose leaf tea blends created and sold right here in my hometown? Amazing! I stopped and talked with them and…
Read MoreAgatha Christie
“Tea! Bless ordinary everyday afternoon tea!” ― Agatha Christie
Read MoreMother’s Day 2014
We continued our afternoon tea tradition for Mother’s Day. Our theme this year was locally-made food! Up front on the left are the requisite crumpets served with toppings of lemon curd and locally-made Queen Bee Blueberry Lemon Jam. My sister made beautiful open-face cucumber sandwiches (front right, bottom tier) and olive nut sandwiches (front right, top tier).…
Read MoreThe Tea Hour
“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” …
Read MoreCrumpets
Tea and crumpets. Sounds good, right? But what are crumpets? Crumpets are fat little pancakes. They are soft, spongy, and chewy. They are basically good jam delivery systems. The surface of the crumpet is covered with holes that fill up with your favorite tasty topping. You can top your crumpet with butter, jam, jelly, or…
Read MoreMother’s Day Tea 2013
For the last few years we’ve had afternoon tea on Mother’s Day. Last year’s menu included: Savories: Pimento cheese sandwiches, chicken salad in mini phyllo cups, cucumber sandwiches, olive and nut sandwiches. Crumpets with lemon curd and strawberry jam. Sweets: Petit fours, Nutella and raspberry jam sandwiches (a refined version of peanut butter and jelly),…
Read MoreThe London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea
One of my favorite reference books is “The London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea – The Art and Pleasures of Taking Tea” by Helen Simpson. Despite the long title it’s just a tiny little book but chock full of useful information. The book is a history lesson on tea interspersed with tons of recipes, including the required standards like…
Read Moreafternoon tea not high tea
You may hear others (I know it’s not you) mistakenly call afternoon tea “high tea.” It’s understandable because it does seem a rather highfalutin’ affair but it is incorrect to call it high tea. Afternoon tea originated, so they say, with Lady Anna Maria Stanhope, Duchess of Bedford who was a lady in waiting for Queen Victoria. The custom…
Read MoreBook Club Tea Party
Feb. 25, 2014 My friends support my tea habit. Encourage it, even. Our book club met and had a four-tier service. Forget three-tiers! We’re nothing, if not over-achievers! We read The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal. (You can see it on the table.) We had blueberry infused tea and it was perfect for the evening discussion.…
Read MoreThe Best Tea Room
I had my first real afternoon tea at the Boston Harbor Hotel when my brother was getting married 25 years ago. To date, it has still been the best afternoon tea I have had. They set a very high bar and it hasn’t yet been repeated anywhere else. We had loose leaf Black Currant Tea…
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