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Goodies served up at Crapapple Tea Shoppe and Bakery
Plan your visit by deciding what type of tea experience you would like. A reservation is usually required twenty-four hours in advance for a full afternoon tea (tea, savouries, scones, sweets and dessert). If you prefer a cream tea (tea, scones, jam and cream) or a light afternoon tea (tea, scones and sweets), a reservation is not necessary in most cases. Your best bet is to call or visit their website for additional information.
I recall a wonderful afternoon tea a few years ago at the Crabapple Tea Room in Alpharetta, GA. Sadly, this tea room is no longer in business. The tiered tea-tray included four types of sandwiches, blueberry scones with homemade lemon curd, fresh fruit, mini heart-shaped red velvet cakes, phyllo pastry cups with custard and pecan praline garnish, and more.
It is interesting to see how the menus vary from one tea room to another. For example, a tea room I visited in Toronto, ON served seafood gumbo as part of their afternoon tea. Another place might serve mini quiche, sausage rolls or some other type of savory. Some may use edible flowers. One of my favorite tea rooms in Savannah, GA uses fresh orchid flowers on their beautiful tea trays.
Tea served in an elegant cup and saucer
Maybe you’re looking for a tea room with a more masculine decor, where your hubby can feel comfortable. I visited one in Ontario that had very dark rich wood paneling, geometric pattern carpeting and framed caricature drawings on the walls. They offered a cheese platter with Stilton cheese, among others and a glass of port wine. In Charleston, GA there is a grand hotel with a tea room featuring lots of plaid and an equestrian theme decor. There are many Asian inspired tea rooms out there as well. So don’t think that you must take tea in a room filled with lace, hats and the color pink.
To me, the best establishments should have a large assortment of loose teas. Many times the servers are quite knowledgeable and will be happy to recommend a tea for you to try. The tea should be brought to the table properly steeped and decanted. There is nothing worse than tea leaves that are left to stew in the pot and produce a bitter cup.
So, treat yourself to a visit to your local tea room, or find one when you are traveling like I do and enjoy the afternoon tea experience. I almost forgot to mention another great reason for visiting a tea room – their gift shop where the tea enthusiast can find lots of tea theme treasures as a memento.
Don’t forget to check out the parTEA Lady’s blog, Tea and Talk!
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© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Scones are thought to have originated in Scotland in the 1500s and today they are popular in every region of Britain. They are a favorite traditional teatime treat. If you have ever attended an afternoon tea, then you were probably served some variety of scone.
Here in the South, scones are often made with self-rising flour and can be quite light and cake like. In the UK they have a denser texture and are baked plain or with the addition of raisins or currants. I like to make Scottish style scones with currants. I pat the dough into large rounds and then cut them into wedges. For those who like a more convenient method, there are lots of delicious scone mixes such as Ivy Cottage Scone Mix and others.
Most tearooms will serve scones with jam, clotted cream or lemon curd. Unless you are given an individual portion, you should spoon your serving onto the plate with your scone. I like mine with cream and homemade lemon curd (which can be made quickly and easily in the microwave). Once, while visiting La Tea Da Tearoom (now closed) in the Beaches area of Toronto, I was served some really delicious scones. They were so good that I asked the owner for her secret. She told me that she always used the recipe from the book “Taking Tea At The Savoy”. Also, the butter she used was at room temperature, rather than ice-cold as usually recommended.
As for how to eat the scone, you should break off a bite sized piece and spread it with cream, lemon curd or jam. Place your butter knife on the right side of your plate between bites. Keep in mind that it would be impolite to dunk the scone in your tea. However, teatime etiquette aside, the point is to relax and enjoy your tea and scones.
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© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Like this:
Cups and saucers make wonderful collectibles for any tea lover. They are easily found at antique stores, flea markets, estate sales and online. There is a large price range (budget to exorbitant) and a variety of styles and colors, which means something for everyone. There is nothing lovelier than a grouping of pretty cups on display in a china cabinet, or set out ready and waiting for afternoon tea. A collection can be eclectic or have a theme, such as roses, gilding, pink, tartan, etc.
You can decide to collect pieces from a certain manufacturer like Royal Doulton, Spode, Limoges or Wedgwood. Perhaps your collection will focus on where the cups originated. I like pretty bone china that was made in England, but you may like Czech, Bavaria, France, Occupied Japan and other sources.
Learning the history of cups and saucers, the differences in bowl shapes (Pompadour, can, swirled), types of handles (ring, loop,curled), and other features can really add to the enjoyment of building your collection. For example, did you know that the first European teacups didn’t have any handles?
Another fun aspect for collectors is meeting so many others who share your passion. You can find many people online who have blogs and like to share photos of their prized cups and saucers. One site that I highly recommend is Teacup Tuesday with hostesses Terri and Martha who have both amassed amazingly beautiful collections.
Finally, a word of caution about starting your own teacup collection. It can grow very quickly and planning some storage strategy is a must. My mother-in-law has a very large collection and it fascinated me to see the way she would nest four cups on their sides, so they would fit on a single saucer. This would not be recommended for very old and delicate cups, or those that are quite rare, but it helped her store much more in her china cabinet.
I’ve also seen some wonderful wooden wall display units specially made for displaying cups and saucers. There are also many pretty wire teacup holders used for display on table tops, sideboards and end tables.
So have fun building your collection and be sure to use those pretty cups at your next afternoon tea, or just for your own special tea for me time.
Don’t forget to check out the parTEA lady’s blog, Tea and Talk!
[Editor's note: Our blog is chock full of great articles on this topic. Use our search feature to find them!]
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Bubble tea comes from Taiwan and made its way to the United States in the 1980s. It contains tapioca balls (the fun part) called boba, which I think of as the bubbles. Boba literally means big pearls. Actually the real bubbles in bubble tea is the foam that appears when the ingredients are shaken together during mixing.
Tapioca pearls are made from the starch of the cassava root. They are sweet and chewy and you eat them with the help of a special extra-large straw with an angled cut at one end. Use caution until you get the hang of drawing these large tapioca balls up the straw. If you enjoy tapioca pudding, then you are well on the way to becoming a fan of this drink.
There are many varieties of bubble tea, including delicious fruit flavors and milk teas. I prefer mine with a predominantly tea and milk flavor. One of the popular bubble tea chains is Lollicup. I enjoyed my first glass of bubble tea at the Lollicup outlet that is part of the Pho Mimi restaurant in Duluth, GA. This is a Vietnamese restaurant with the most tasty noodle bowls or pho, as it is called.
Talk about playing with your food (or drink). What fun to order a cup of fruit flavored tea that is colored pastel green, pink or yellow. It certainly looks unusual with the large pearls sitting at the bottom of the cup. Maybe you’d like to host a bubble tea party and include some friends in the fun.
In her recent book, Tea With A Twist, Lisa Boalt Richardson has included a chapter on how to have a Bubble Tea Party. It has some wonderful recipes for foods to serve along with the tea such as crystallized ginger and green tea scones, Asian-O chicken pasta salad and more.
Since it can sometimes be difficult to find a local restaurant that serves this beverage, you can easily find an online supplier like Bubble Tea Supply or others. You will also have no difficulty finding some great recipes to try at home.
Don’t forget to check out the parTEA Lady’s blog, Tea and Talk!
[Editor's note: Our blog is chock full of great articles on this topic. Use our search feature to find them!]
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Oolong tea, also known as Wu Long tea, has been widely touted as a weight-loss tea. This could be due to the result of caffeine on the nervous system and the increase of metabolism from the polyphenols. You could probably say this about all teas, that combined with proper diet and exercise, they aid in weight loss. Tea also has lots of antioxidants, which help fight cancer. All the more reason to enjoy a nice cup of tea.
Oolong is a semi-oxidized tea that can be almost green to nearly black. The greenish black leaves can be infused more than once, making it economical even for the better grades of tea. I like to refrigerate leftover tea to have on hand for iced tea. Most oolong tea has a delicate fruity flavor and is enjoyable hot or cold. This makes it quite surprising to me that oolong consumption is very low compared to other teas.
This type of tea originated in the Fukien province of China and is mostly produced in China and Taiwan. There are many varieties, but some consider Formosa Oolong to be the best of them.
You may have already tried oolong tea in your favorite Chinese restaurant. Jasmine, green and oolong are the teas served most often. Many Chinese restaurants include complimentary tea with your meal. The first time I remember drinking oolong was at P.F. Chang’s restaurant. They served the tea in a little black tetsubin pot. It was so delicious, I asked my server what brand of tea they used. It turned out to be Revolution Tea called Dragon Eye Oolong. It is delicious and I’ve been enjoying this tea ever since. It comes boxed with 16 premium full- leaf infuser bags.
But what about the dragon? Oolong means black dragon and was named this because of the long twisted black leaves.
Make sure to stop by the parTEA Lady’s blog, Tea and Talk!
[Editor's note: Our blog is chock full of great articles on this topic. Use our search feature to find them!]
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
