I've been thinking about a small breakfast tea. Our back porch is lovely in the morning. The tree guys aren't here yet with their noise, it's cool, the birds are about, sometimes even the deer go by. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know morning is not my best time, brain-wise. However, if most of the preparation is done the night before, I should be ok. Set the table with my grandmother's china or my new Satsuma set. We have some pretty silverplate and tablecloth and napkins that actually match, so that's ok.
Of course, we'll have some nice English Breakfast tea and I can make scones if I have all the ingredients ready. We have lots of nice jams and plenty of fresh fruit, including some tiny plums I got at the farmers market. I can put out some ham and cheese and chutney with them and get my husband to make poached eggs. Or I can make a strata the night before. Now all I need is a couple of guests and we'll be all set.
Have you bought into the decaffeinate your own tea in 30 seconds hype? That's all it is, sadly. 30 seconds will take out about 5-10% of the caffeine. To get as much as 80% removed, you need to brew it for 5 minutes or more and I sure wouldn't want to drink the next cup. You'd do better letting the experts handle this one.
If you have certain types of cancer and are taking the drug, Velcade, do NOT drink green tea, as it renders the drug ineffective. This comes from hospital studies on the West Coast. Check with your physicians and caregivers about this.
What sort of tea shop do you prefer? I was thinking about this the other day and I decided it's not the shop so much as it is the tea, the food and the service. I do not like going to a tea shop and being served tea bags. I expect them to go the extra bit and serve top-quality tea. I expect food that is also top quality, presented as nicely as possible. The food doesn't have to be expensive, but must taste really good. Lastly, I want service that is friendly and efficient, without being too chummy. That will do me whether it is the most over done "Olde Englishe Shoppe" all the way to the most slick moderne. Oh, yeah, clean and not too noisy will go far, as well. I want a get away, not somewhere loud and frenetic. How about you? What do you prefer?
Showing posts with label Tea Shops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tea Shops. Show all posts
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The Spoiled Tea Woman and the Tea Shops
Okay, I will now admit that I am thoroughly spoiled about tea. Oh yeah. I did not take my water filter to Cape Cod because it would have to be taken off the faucet, I'd have to find the doohicky that would fit it to another faucet, etc. etc. I did take a couple of my favorite teas and a teapot. First morning, I make my tea, "Aargh, it's disgusting," so I settle for coffee, neither happily nor silently. I went and bought bottled water, having no clue what to buy. Now the tea tastes like tarnished copper. I try another brand, it's back to disgusting. I settle for coffee and try to go to tea shops, vowing next time I will take some sort of filter for my tea or find the right kind of bottled water.
Speaking of tea shops, I did manage to hit three of them, all quite different. The first was Beth's Special Teas in Sandwich. This was a small charming cafe with kind of a "front porch" decor of old chairs and tables and lots of whitewash and summery curtains. The tea was Harney's, loose-leaf and always top notch. There were lots of baked goods for our "Elevenses" and I chose a cannoli since they didn't come already filled. Sadly, it was just okay, as the baker had put too much confectioner's sugar in the filling and I could taste the cornstarch. The shell was nice and crisp, however. Never buy a cannoli that is already filled, they're a soggy mess.
The next was a real disappointment. The Tea Shoppe of Mashpee Commons is very nicely decorated in blues and yellows, with attractive tea-related pictures on the wall.. Service was quite slow, we had to wait nearly ten minutes to be seated although we were the only people waiting and there were a number of empty tables. The menu concentrated on "Old Cape Cod " food and afternoon tea, which I, of course, had. I also ordered the house blend tea, which came as an over-stuffed tea bag, making the tea weak and bland. A second pot was merely a wash of the first - colored water. The waitress had to be reminded twice to bring me some cream. My scone arrived first and was dry. The Devonshire cream wasn't really, and was ever so slightly off, but the raspberry preserves were exquisitely good. When the sandwiches and desserts finally arrived, they were very nicely presented, but we could smell the onion in the chicken salad before it arrived. The desserts were pretty and imaginatively presented, but not very tasty. It was all not very good. However, in the shop part, there were a host of teapots and accessories, good teas by Mark T. Wendell and pretty "tea-shirts", so all was not lost.
However, the third restaurant we visited was a real gem. The Dunbar Tea Room, also in Sandwich, presents an outwardly plain front. Inside, however, it is quite elegant, with pale green walls and cream trim. We'd all had a very late breakfast, so we weren't up for much. Our friend, Marcel ordered scones and cream and we had crumpets, those holey buttery griddle cake wonders. We each had our own pot of tea, Marcel's was a Formosa Oolong and mine Ice Wine. Himself had a really good and spicey Ginger Black, very well balanced. The service was excellent and comfortable-friendly. The scones were moist and buttery, the crumpets yummy and the jam was superb. The Oolong was a heavy roast, which is not my cup of tea, although I could tell it was quite good and the Ice Wine was delicious, winey, floral and with a touch of pineapple. Well worth going to. What I could see of other people's orders looked really good.
Coming and going, you had the opportunity to indulge your need for yet another teapot, accessory or tin of tea. Dunbar's carried top brands, such as Harney's, Grace Fine Teas, Mark T. Wendell and others of that ilk. I bought a tin of their own special blend, a cranberry/almond mix, which you will hear about soon.
Much farther out, in Truro, we hit the Atlantic Spice Company, a foodie's piece of heaven. Just to smell all the wonderful spices and herbs was a super treat, as were the low prices. I have gotten stuff from them before and been very pleased with the quality. Marcel and I got huge bags of necessities and then traded. Frank found spice jars and other things for me, including a teapot to replace my go-to everyday favorite which I broke just after we moved. They had teas as well, but only in one pound packets, which were very inexpensive - all less than $10 a pound, but what if I didn't like it? Expensive mulch. So I left them there. They had a large collection of tea pots, creamers, T-sacs and other tea utensils, all at very good prices.
Speaking of tea shops, I did manage to hit three of them, all quite different. The first was Beth's Special Teas in Sandwich. This was a small charming cafe with kind of a "front porch" decor of old chairs and tables and lots of whitewash and summery curtains. The tea was Harney's, loose-leaf and always top notch. There were lots of baked goods for our "Elevenses" and I chose a cannoli since they didn't come already filled. Sadly, it was just okay, as the baker had put too much confectioner's sugar in the filling and I could taste the cornstarch. The shell was nice and crisp, however. Never buy a cannoli that is already filled, they're a soggy mess.
The next was a real disappointment. The Tea Shoppe of Mashpee Commons is very nicely decorated in blues and yellows, with attractive tea-related pictures on the wall.. Service was quite slow, we had to wait nearly ten minutes to be seated although we were the only people waiting and there were a number of empty tables. The menu concentrated on "Old Cape Cod " food and afternoon tea, which I, of course, had. I also ordered the house blend tea, which came as an over-stuffed tea bag, making the tea weak and bland. A second pot was merely a wash of the first - colored water. The waitress had to be reminded twice to bring me some cream. My scone arrived first and was dry. The Devonshire cream wasn't really, and was ever so slightly off, but the raspberry preserves were exquisitely good. When the sandwiches and desserts finally arrived, they were very nicely presented, but we could smell the onion in the chicken salad before it arrived. The desserts were pretty and imaginatively presented, but not very tasty. It was all not very good. However, in the shop part, there were a host of teapots and accessories, good teas by Mark T. Wendell and pretty "tea-shirts", so all was not lost.
However, the third restaurant we visited was a real gem. The Dunbar Tea Room, also in Sandwich, presents an outwardly plain front. Inside, however, it is quite elegant, with pale green walls and cream trim. We'd all had a very late breakfast, so we weren't up for much. Our friend, Marcel ordered scones and cream and we had crumpets, those holey buttery griddle cake wonders. We each had our own pot of tea, Marcel's was a Formosa Oolong and mine Ice Wine. Himself had a really good and spicey Ginger Black, very well balanced. The service was excellent and comfortable-friendly. The scones were moist and buttery, the crumpets yummy and the jam was superb. The Oolong was a heavy roast, which is not my cup of tea, although I could tell it was quite good and the Ice Wine was delicious, winey, floral and with a touch of pineapple. Well worth going to. What I could see of other people's orders looked really good.
Coming and going, you had the opportunity to indulge your need for yet another teapot, accessory or tin of tea. Dunbar's carried top brands, such as Harney's, Grace Fine Teas, Mark T. Wendell and others of that ilk. I bought a tin of their own special blend, a cranberry/almond mix, which you will hear about soon.
Much farther out, in Truro, we hit the Atlantic Spice Company, a foodie's piece of heaven. Just to smell all the wonderful spices and herbs was a super treat, as were the low prices. I have gotten stuff from them before and been very pleased with the quality. Marcel and I got huge bags of necessities and then traded. Frank found spice jars and other things for me, including a teapot to replace my go-to everyday favorite which I broke just after we moved. They had teas as well, but only in one pound packets, which were very inexpensive - all less than $10 a pound, but what if I didn't like it? Expensive mulch. So I left them there. They had a large collection of tea pots, creamers, T-sacs and other tea utensils, all at very good prices.
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