Crest Hill Tea Room, The Plains, VA

A journey south took us to Crest Hill Tea Room in The Plains, VA to connect with an old family friend for afternoon tea. This tearoom is nestled in a little community surrounded by golf courses and horse country. An easy jaunt down route 15, we admired the beautiful countryside and realized we were on the outskirts of the DC area without having to navigate the traffic!

Originally a small tearoom within an antique store, the new owners have turned it into a full-time tearoom, open seven days a week offering afternoon tea, specialty drinks, unique themed events, or simply a stop to grab a quick lunch with sandwiches or salads as an option. There menu is extensive, including a wine and cocktails list.

Billed as a Victorian tearoom, we spotted the queen tucked in the corner and admired the clever and whimsical display with a British flag, frames, and decor on the far wall. Upon arrival, we were seated quickly and began the decision of selecting our teas.

In the center of the table, there was a tray with individually labeled jars showcasing the variety of tea flavors offered. Opening the jars and sniffing the different teas helped to decide which flavor to choose. We each selected a different tea from their extensive collection.

We chose the Afternoon Tea menu which included the option of having soup or salad. The salad was seasonal and tasty with green apple, feta cheese, and a flavorful vinaigrette. The soup was a hearty vegetarian chili. Both options were well received and enjoyed. It was observed that the chili had a little zip to it.

Teatime is extra special when enjoyed with family and close family friends.

The tiered tray always brings a bit of excitement when it is brought to the table. An assortment of sandwiches on the bottom included a classic cucumber sandwich, pimento cheese, chicken salad on a mini roll along with two others. When ordering the afternoon tea, there are different scone flavors to select. Among our group we opted for the Cinnamon chip, Butterscotch, and Plain served with a Devon cream.

The two sandwich plates are slightly different as one of us ordered the High (Afternoon) Tea and the other ordered the seasonal menu. There were slight variations in the sandwiches, and scone flavor options.

Fresh fruit and a variety of cookies, tea bread, and s pumpkin muffin rounded out the fall harvest menu. They are currently promoting their All Hallows Tea and their upcoming Christmas teas. Be sure to check out their Facebook page.

 

The Tea Trolley at Sweet Remembrances

Introducing The Tea Trolley at Sweet Remembrances. We are excited to begin this new journey for the tearoom. The Tea Trolley is located in Delta, PA, near the MD border. However, we welcomed Jordan and her talented crew to create the Tea Trolley experience in Mechanicsburg. The inaugural event was this past Friday, and from the enthusiastic response we received from attendees, it looks like we have found a match. 'Everything was delicious' was a frequent comment.

Once guests were seated and selected their tea, a seasonal green salad dressed with a pear vinaigrette and topped with fresh pear matchsticks, Chevre crumbles, and a streusel topping was served.

Jordan presented the three-tiered tray and the selection of scone toppings to each table. A variety of sandwiches filled the bottom tier, warm vanilla scones with Devonshire cream, lemon curd, and homemade apple butter were placed on the middle tier, and a lovely assortment of desserts completed the top tier. 'We really enjoyed it.'

The sandwich variety included a chicken salad with craisins, green apple, and walnuts on pumpernickel bread. The triangular sandwich on butter bread was a spinach artichoke filling, and the petite square held sliced ham and cheddar cheese with apple butter on white bread, and the crisp phyllo cup held melted brie and apple butter. The sandwiches were all fresh and tasty. 'Our whole table of six voted to come back again.'

The dessert trio included a miniature peach cobbler with a delicate glaze, a snickerdoodle cookie with cream cheese frosting and a caramel drizzle, and a mocha chocolate petit fours. The desserts were as tasty as they look. 'Thank you, ladies, for such a wonderful event!!! It was perfect from beginning to end!'

Here's the kitchen crew in between seatings. 'We had a great time and were so happy to see familiar faces!'

There is an 11 am - 1 pm seating, followed by a 2 pm - 4 pm seating. Events will be posted on The Rosemary House Special Events page with a link to make your prepaid reservation. The Tea Trolley can accommodate special dietary needs as long as they are notified in advance.

 The next available teatime is Saturday, Nov. 28th with availability at 2 pm. And there is also availability on Saturday, Jan. 2nd at 2 pm. The tearoom will be decorated for Christmas for these special teas. Watch for additional teatimes to be announced on the Special Events page. 

Afternoon Tea - Irish Eyes Tea Room, Lititz, PA

We joined members of The Royal Tea Club at the Irish Eyes Tea Room in Lititz, PA this past August for a club organized event. For those familiar with PA tearooms, this location used to be A Tea Affair and is now under new ownership. We shared our experience during a visit in 2023 with this blog post, and during an earlier visit in 2013 when we were much younger.

Once everyone was seated. pots of tea were provided to each table, and a triangular pumpkin scone with orange curd was served.

Following the scone course, a plate with a slice of Quiche and a fresh summer salad was offered. The salad featured a drizzle of a creamy ranch dressing. Tea pots were refilled as needed and new flavors offered if requested. 

Susanna and Nancy are members of the Royal Tea Club, but nonmembers are welcomed to join the club events for a slightly higher price. Angelica journeyed with us to Lititz, and our friends Tina and Maryanne met us there. We shared the table with several other members of the club.

The presentation of the tiered tray is always a highpoint of afternoon tea. The tiered tray had an assortment of sandwiches on the bottom tier, their famous creme Brule on the middle tier alongside a rolled cookie. Fall cookies and a brownie square completed the top tier. 

The sandwich medley included an Egg Salad sandwich on pumpernickel squares, Sliced Tomato with a cube of mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of balsamic glaze, and a Cucumber Sandwich on pumpernickel with a savory spread on the bread and a seasoning sprinkled on the sandwich. Such a colorful sandwich plate and an interesting combination of textures, shapes and flavors.

The dessert featured their famous Creme Brulee, a Maple Leaf Sugar Cookie, and a Rolled Cookie. There was also a Brownie Bite. Reservations are required by the tearoom. They also have a tea shop around the corner in downtown Lititz. This community is fun to walk around and visit the various shops along with a stop at the Wilbur Chocolate Store downtown where you can visit the museum and pick up some famous Wilbur Buds. We featured Wilbur Buds at our Pennsylvania Proud Tea as a favor. We offered Hershey's Kisses and Wilbur Buds to our guests to compare the two.

 

The Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow, Scotland

When traveling with on a group tour, time is limited and free time is precious. We actually skipped the planned agenda for this day and made our own adventure which included the tour of the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow, a walk around the Glassgow University and the Hunterian museums and a taxi ride to the Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow on Buchannan Street. This tearoom came up frequently in our quest to decide what tearoom we would visit. We were able to make reservations for 2:00.

The menu options include a Savory or a Sweet Afternoon Tea. We selected both so we could see how they differed.

Our table was filled with assorted tiered trays. Between the savory option that included an extra assortment of petite savories instead of the dessert selection, and those that selected the sweet option were able to select a large dessert from their pastry case, which was a hard decision in itself.

Sandwiches included Egg Mayonnaise and cress, Cucumber and cream cheese, Avocado with tomato, and Cheddar Cheese and chili jam. The sandwiches were served on a mix of white and wheat bread. The middle tier held a Sweet Scone with jam and clotted cream while the savory tier held a Cheddar Cheese Scone served with butter.

Among the dessert selections, we opted for the Victorian Sponge Cake and a slice of Carrot Cake. In the background you can see the Cheesecake with a yummy cherry topping. They were all a large portion. Shortbread cookies were also on the top tier with the desserts.

Instead of the desserts, if you selected the savory option, you were served additional warm and tasty savories made with puff pastry or miniature tart shells.

The history of tearooms in Glasgow dates back to the late 1890s, when an eccentric Glasgow businesswoman, Miss Catherine Cranston, a pioneer of the Glasgow tearooms, joined forces with a young architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh to design every detail of her tearoom to create her perfectionist's vision, and his artistic style to include every detail in the interior from structure, to furniture, to the uniforms worn by the waitstaff. Their tearooms became internationally famous. Influenced by this dynamic duo, the Macintosh design can be seen throughout the Willow Tea rooms of today, from the high back black chairs to the lighting, to the graphic designs on the napkin. All complemented by the blue willow China. These two pictures are from the Charles Mackintosh display in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

Glasgow Botanic Garden and The Tea Room at the Botanics, Scotland

We enjoyed an early morning stroll of the Glasgow Botanic Gardens located in the west end of Glasgow providing a lovely green oasis among this bustling city. There are several greenhouses including a Victorian glasshouse and a tropical greenhouse, one which features the United Kingdom's national collection of tree ferns. Wandering around we found the chronological bed which had us wondering what might be featured, only to discover it was a bed with plants arranged according to their introduction to Scotland.

Kibble Palace

Scotland's national flower is the thistle. Said to have protected the Scots from barefooted Norse invaders of the country, when they were sneaking into the country, suddenly letting out a loud yelp after stepping into a thick thistle patch thus awakening the Scots so they could then defend themselves from this secret attack.

This bench was fun to discover, covered in a patchwork of different knitted squares, it was colorful to behold.

As noted, many of the destinations we visited had tea rooms, and the Botanic Gardens are no different.

Although we had our typical hearty Scottish breakfast, we didn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy a Cream Tea in the courtyard on a beautiful day. A Cream Scone with jam and clotted cream and a pot of tea just hit the spot after our morning walk about the grounds. And in the background, students were practicing for the bagpipe competitions that were to be held later in the week in Glasgow. There was no doubt we were immersed in Scottish culture.