Front Room - Highest Shelf

When you walk into the front room of the tea room, your eyes are directed to this high shelf that spans the length of the wall.  It features a display of tea around the world.  Starting on the left there is a vignette devoted to England, the center theme is tea in the orient, and on the far right, the red white and blue of America.

Each individual collection is comprised of an assortment of tins, memorabilia, trinkets, and treasures accumulated over the years at yard sales, gift shops, or received as gifts.
England, with a backdrop of a towel purchased in Harrod's on a long ago visit to England, has a little section on the left devoted to the Royal Family.  The antique tin of Queen Elizabeth II is a souvenir from her commemoration in 1953.  Tea tins, biscuit tins, and teapots that feature Big Ben, the London subway map, and a sweet little English cottage complete the scene.

The tribute to the Orient has a sweet cloth from my Japanese pen pal as the backdrop and features many of the gifts she has sent to me from Japan. On the far right are lacquer matcha bowls, complete with the little wooden spoon used to measure the powdered green tea, and the bamboo whisk to gently stir the tea to the desired frothy consistency.


The backdrop for the tribute to tea in America features a tea towel purchased in Colonial Williamsburg with a nice assortment of teapots.  Tetley tea, Betsy Ross Tea, and White Rose tea tins in red white and blue subtly salute the nation.