Elden Street Tea Shop, Herndon, VA

  In mid-January we journeyed south with the destination being the Elden Street Tea Shop (on Pine Street) in Herndon, VA for the quarterly seminar of the Mid-Atlantic Tea Business Association. This pre-Civil war era town offers a sense of community with its small town charm coupled with the opportunity to experience the hustle and bustle of Washington, DC, a mere 22 miles away. 

Members of the Association gathered at this new tea shop operated by enthusiastic entrepreneur Rachel Eisenfeld. Having just completed her first year in business, Rachel was pleased to welcome fellow tea business owners from MD-NJ-and-PA, Following a welcoming reception with tea and mini-quiche, the morning session included a presentation on Social Networking by Danielle Daily. 

After the program, afternoon tea was provided. The menu for the day was tucked under the colorful napkin, water was offered in mason jars, and assorted teacups and plates completed the casual place setting at both high and low tables.

Owner, Rachel Eisenfeld

The bottom tier of the tiered tray included Chicken Salad on a Biscuit, Cucumber Cream Cheese Tarragon Bites,Traditional Egg Salad Sandwich on whole wheat, Beet chip with Garlic Hummus and Olive Tapenade. The middle tier held Black Currant Scones with little jars of clotted cream and raspberry jam while the top tier featured the desserts including assorted Macarons, Traditional Butterfly Cupcakes, Russian Tea Cookies and Creme Brulee Panna Cotta.

Blood Orange herbal tea and Black Currant teas were offered during tea time. Rachel noted that these are teas from fellow WV member Larkin Tea Company.

Hanging in the main dining area, this funky hand crafted 'chandelier' captured our attention.
And yes, of course we picked up one of these 'specially designed for Elden Street Tea Shop' t-shirts offered for sale.

Afternoon Tea at Emigs Mansion, York County

After the holiday season, a gathering of family and friends journeyed south to Emigs Mansion in Emigsville, PA to enjoy an elegant afternoon tea in the stately 1810 mansion. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the mansion is presently a bed and breakfast establishment and destination for afternoon tea for groups. 

This stately dining room with the gorgeous stained glass window was the setting for our Afternoon Tea.

 A fresh fruit cup was served first.

Two types of tea were offered. The first tea, poured during the first three courses was a nicely spiced seasonal black tea, perfect for the holidays. A second flavor was served during the last three courses and that was a garden blend with a hint of spearmint.

Scones with sweet cream and lemon curd were served next. The cranberry orange scone was topped with a glaze. A hearty creamy cheddar corn soup was presented next.
 

Salad with fresh leafy greens, thinly sliced apples, and walnuts dressed with a delicate vinaigrette was offered next. 

A plate of savories included a broccoli cheese quiche, cucumber sandwich, and  mozzarella and tomato skewer. We could smell the quiche baking as we arrived. Everything is so fresh.

A dessert medley included a miniature cheesecake, lemon squares, and yummy caramel chocolate. Following the tea, the owners offered a tour of the mansion. We were able to peek into the beautifully appointed guest rooms and learn a little history about the mansion.

An enjoyable time was had by all.

  

Camellia's Sin Tea Parlor, Carlisle, PA

Once Angelica was home from college, and the hustle and bustle of the holiday season was pretty well under control, we were able to schedule an Afternoon Tea at a local tea room, Camellia's Sin Tea Parlor in Carlisle, PA. An easy drive from Mechanicsburg we eagerly anticipated a very relaxing Sunday before family would arrive for the Christmas holiday.

A signature of Camellia's is their wide variety of beautiful place settings, each table unique. We enjoyed the winter snowmen at our table. Since the tea room was aflutter of activity, I wasn't able to snap the other coordinated table settings, but a post from 2018 can be found here that includes a peek at some of the other table settings.

Once we ordered our tea, a choice of soup options were offered including Wild Mushroom (Susanna's selection), Butternut Squash (Angelica selected this soup) and a Tomato Basil Bisque (Nancy's choice) shown here. Served piping hot, we all enjoyed our choices.

A lovely salad of seasonal greens, fresh fruit, feta cheese and a poppyseed dressing was presented next. This was fresh and tasty and just the right portion size. We sampled a variety of teas during our visit here from Snowflake (always a favorite) to a spicy Nutcracker.

Camellia's offers a choice of scones, and you are served one. Knowing this, when we made our reservations, we requested extra scones because we didn't want to decide among the selection of different flavors! The selection included Andes chocolate mint scone, pumpkin spice, white chocolate cranberry almond, caramel apple cinnamon and a savory rosemary cheddar scone. We enjoyed them all! And were quite happy to be able to savor each one. Cream and curd were included with the scones.

A tiered tray plated with sandwiches and desserts completed the tea service. The sandwiches included a Cucumber tea sandwich, Gruyer mushroom and caramelized onion tart, Tiny Tim's Christmas tree bites, and Turkey breast in a cranberry orange muffin. The miniature desserts featured Snow Fairy Cupcake, Decadent Chocolate Cheesecake, Sticky Toffee Pudding, and Traditional Thumbprint Cookies.

The tea room is located on Pomfret Street in Carlisle which has a nice variety of little shops and galleries. They coordinate activities throughout the year, have painted statues and artistic touches to discover. It was a mild day, so we enjoyed 'shopping the block'. and found these clever wings on the side of a brick building waiting for a photo opportunity.

Happy New Year!

Life is short! Eat dessert first! Here's a sampling of sweet treats served in the tea room.

May your new year be sweet!