The Village Teahouse, West Point, PA

Members of the Mid-Atlantic Tea Business Association recently gathered at The Village Teahouse in West Point, PA for their April seminar. 

 Representing a wide range of tea businesses, including tea room owners and wholesale vendors along with speakers and writers, the Association members gather quarterly to meet in person. In addition, Zoom sessions are held throughout the year. We arrive early in the morning and enjoy a welcoming reception that includes tea and a small nibble. Tea by Two owner Erin B. traveled from MD with co-owner Janet M. to enjoy the day.

A warm ham and asparagus quiche was served alongside a scone with cream and jelly. Members were able to select individual pots of tea from an extensive list of tea flavors.

Following the welcoming reception, President Karen D. from Greenhalgh Tea and hostess Meg S. and The Village Teahouse owner begin the meeting. 

After the program, it's time for Afternoon Tea. Tea pots are refilled, and a fresh spring salad is served. The tiered tray is presented and features assorted sandwiches and a delectable array of desserts.

The sandwiches included an egg salad spiral, a chicken salad triangle, a open faced cucumber 'flower', and a sweet cranberry sandwich.

The dessert course included a chocolate mousse, their signature 'tea bag' sugar cookie, an apricot bar, and sweet cake.

Following the Afternoon Tea, a business meeting concludes the day. The opportunity to gather with fellow tea business owners provides a unique opportunity to share concerns, learn about new tea trends, and network with fellow members.

Spring Tea - Chef de Crepe, Camp Hill, PA

The local creperie in Camp Hill, PA, Chef de Crepe has started offering occasional tea time experiences. They featured a holiday tea during December, and recently offered the Spring Tea from the middle of March until the end of the month. Reservations may be made on-line, for either the featured tea, or simply to enjoy their various flavorful crepes from sweet to savory.

A friend and I had their Spring Tea this past Saturday. Hot tea choices included Chamomile, Raspberry, Moroccan Mint, Earl Grey, Decaf Ceylon, Green Tea or Red Rose. As I discovered, the Red Rose is not the traditional black tea found in the supermarkets, but rather Numi Teas White Rose tea with a delicate hint of roses.

The tea is served in pretty pink pots and macaroons are tucked in a bowl served with the tea. Perhaps a subtle lesson in the difference between macaroons (traditional drop cookie made with coconut) and macarons (a French specialty, a sandwich cookie made with almond flour and filled with sweet icing, curd, or jam) as both were served at different times with this tea.

Fellow tea room owners (past and present) enjoyed the unique interpretation of afternoon tea. One of the joys of visiting different establishments that offer Afternoon Tea, or Spring Tea in this case, is that they are never alike. Variations on the theme make the experience fun and enjoyable, and the owners interpretation of taking tea is to be appreciated.

The tiered tray was laden with sandwiches on the bottom and assorted sweets on the middle and top tier. The sandwiches featured Mom's Chicken Salad Croissant and Pop's Salmon Biscuit Sandwich with a creamy dill spread. On the middle tier there was a large slice of New York cheesecake and a Strawberry Belgian Waffle. The top tier held an Italian Puff Pastry Chocolate Braid, assorted Parisian Macarons (chocolate and vanilla), and Tulip shaped Frosted Sugar Cookies.

Nancy (left) of Sweet Remembrances and Janet (right) of Over the Teacup shared tea time on a rainy Saturday in March, and shared many of the tea time sweets with family later in the day.

 

TranquilaTea, Waynesboro, PA

A quick trip south (a little under an hour) took us at TranquilaTea Tea Room and Gift Shop in Waynesboro, PA. We enjoyed the Queen's Tea here which includes endless pots of tea, chef's choice of soup or salad, scones, assorted sandwiches, and petite desserts. The tea list is extensive, and the option includes either hot or iced, and no need to commit to one or the other as they will make your first pot hot, and a second glass iced. It was fun to have that option available. 

Several of us selected hot tea to begin, others choose iced. Susanna and I tried the iced Sweet Tea after first having a pot of hot tea. Little warmers keep the tea hot. Sugar syrup is offered as a sweetener for the iced tea.

A tomato bisque soup was the first course served. There are packets of the soup available in the gift shop if you want to recreate the flavors at home. Once the soup was completed, the tiered tray was presented. The bottom plate had two petite scones served with cream and lemon curd. The middle tier held a variety of tea sandwiches described as little bites with lots of flavor, including their signature cucumber sandwich tied with a colorful ribbon. The dessert trio included a chocolate cheesecake (yummy), a tea bread, and chocolate peanut butter layer bars.

We certainly enjoyed our visit at Tranquila Tea. Any opportunity to take tea is a joy. The two young adults in our group had just spent several days navigating Washington, DC, including the metro and various museums. They regaled us with their adventures during tea.

 For tea tea room details, menus, and photos follow the Tranquila Tea Facebook page.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Afternoon Tea

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day in the tea room with our annual tea. The tables were set with cheerful green shamrocks and gold chocolate coins. Shamrocks decorated the tea list and the menu.

The first course was an Emerald Isle Kiwi & Blueberry Salad with fresh zested lemon dressing, topped with blueberries, kiwi pieces, and shredded KerryGold Dubliner Cheese. Various specialty tea offering included Irish Whiskey Cream Tea, Irish Breakfast Tea, Creamy Irish Breakfast, or Shamrocks & Shenanigans Tea. The Shamrocks & Shenanigans tea is a whimsical blend of chocolate strawberry flavor with shamrock candy pieces and ice cream bits. Delicious hot or iced. These specialty teas are still available at The Rosemary House for a limited time.

The sandwich course included Savory Feta Shamrock Sandwich, Blue Cheese & Asparagus Rollup, Good Luck! Goat Cheese Tomato Tartlet, a Top O' the Mornin' Reuben Wrap, Good Cheer! Wee Cottage Pie, and Grannie's Flavorful Sausage Roll. Many of the sandwiches featured were served warm from the oven.

Next up, scones and tea breads which included Orange Marmalade Tea Bread and Luck of the Irish Soda Bread Scone served with Sweet Cream and Lemon Curd alongside fresh orange slices and dried Kiwi pieces.

The dessert medley featured Lucky Leprechaun's Very Minty Trifle, Lad & Lassies Irish Cream Truffle Fudge, and Old Irish Pub Chocolate Guinness Cake. A sweet ending to a festive tea time. Following dessert, we welcomed some step dances from Coyle's School of Irish Dancing. With the upbeat music, the fancy footwork, and energetic stepping, it was an uplifting way to end the day. Sweet Remembrances shared a live video on their Facebook page which can be viewed here.

May you always have

walls for the winds, 

a roof for the rain, 

tea beside the fire, 

laughter to cheer you, 

those you love near you, 

and all your heart might desire.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Miss Pat's Tea Pot Museum

We headed south towards Gettysburg, PA and journeyed to Orrtanna, PA where we visited Mister Ed's Elephant Museum & Candy Emporium. The grounds of this unique destination feature whimsical gardens, an enchanted forest, a talking elephant, and Miss Pat's Tea Pot Museum. The little blue and white out building, in the shape of a tea pot, holds their grandmother's collection of over 200 tea pots.

These tea time trinkets were on the path leading to the museum.

This whimsical wooden hanging greeted you as you entered the museum. Once inside, glass display cases along the back and side walls grab your attention. Tea pots of all shapes and sizes are grouped and displayed for all to share in the collection. From vintage tea pots, to tea for one sets, coupled with children's tea party sets, there is a wide variety of themes and colors represented. We spotted several tea pots that are in our own personal collection, and enjoyed picking out a favorite tea pot or two.

Susanna quickly found her favorite; a bold and colorful tea pot with Snoopy resting in his usual pose atop the dog house roof and Woodstock tucked down along the edge. If you look closely, perhaps you can see Susanna in the background, being transported back in time to her youth when Snoopy held center stage. 

It's hard to capture the teapots behind the glass doors, but I hope you can enjoy some of these photos until you are able to venture to Mister Ed's Elephant Museum & Candy Emporium. Their grandfather's elephant collection now holds 12,000 elephants on display! It's quite a museum. All of the small to medium elephants are inside, behind glass cases. The candy emporium has an amazing variety of sweets of every type; home made fudge, loaded pretzels, roasted peanuts, and chocolate galore. A visit here will satisfy any sweet tooth for a long while!

Wonderland Tea

Earlier in the month we attended the Wonderland Tea at The Willows at Ashcombe Mansion, in Mechanicsburg where they say 'Let's make some Magic'. The 1891 Victorian Queen Anne style mansion has had three owners over its long history. Most recently purchased in 2017, it has been transformed into a destination wedding venue. In addition, a few themed afternoon tea events have been held here, including the Wonderland Tea this February.

The tables are set up throughout the mansion from the Crystal Dining Room to the Moser Dining Room to the Parlor where we were seated. Reservations are taken on-line, and you are able to select where you would prefer to be seated. 

The tea selections included English Breakfast, Early Gray, Country Mint, or Apple Pear. A pot of hot water is brought to the table, and each guest is provided a strainer filled with their tea of choice. Hand crafted coffees and cocktails, or hot chocolate are available at an additional cost. A glass of Champagne was included with the tea.

A menu card on the table lists the tea time treats on the tiered tray. This tea included Smoked Salmon on Pumpernickel, Avocado Toast Bites, Chicken Salad Croissant, Cucumber Fingerlings and Quiche Petite. There was a French Toast Muffin cup served with maple syrup and a Classic English Scone served with clotted cream, lemon curd and blackberry Vanilla jam. The desserts included assorted Petit Fours, and a Macaron Medley.

Alice and The Queen made their appearance visiting each table in the various dining rooms throughout the day, sharing a little banter and offering a moment for photographs. After tea, we were invited to explore all three floors of the mansion, via the winding Victorian-era staircases, admiring the stained glass windows and the fabulous decor in each room. It was indeed a magical way to spend a mid winter afternoon.