Pennsylvania Tea Festival

Coming up very soon! Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28, 2019 in the gardens of the Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances in downtown Mechanicsburg, PA. Celebrating our third year, we feature the Camellia sinensis plant from which tea is harvested and processed.Visit our tea festival website for all the details, programs, specialty tea tastings, and vendors.


TICKET information HERE
FAQs and Online Ticket Purchase.
Tickets are also available at the Rosemary House.

There will be vendors in the gardens, and also along Rosemary Alley. Specialty teas, unique tea and herbal blends, yixing teapots, hand whisked bowls of matcha, tea advent calendars, travel tea ware, tea cozes, and more. Everything tea!

There are featured programs scheduled throughout the day (Friday schedule, Saturday schedule). These lectures are included with the price of the admission ticket. Seating is on a first come basis. New this year is the Literary Corner. Cozy mystery authors will be joining us for a casual chat session and book signing. (Friday schedule, Saturday schedule). These sessions are also included with the admission ticket.

Specialty guided tea tastings are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, but are limited in size and need a separate ticket. It is strongly suggested you purchase this ticket in advance (Friday schedule, Saturday schedule).

We are grateful to all the sponsors of the PA Tea Festival.

Tea Time Magazine           Tea by Two Tea for All                  The Essential Herbal
International Tea Sippers Society                     Mid-Atlantic Tea Business Association

Chicago - Out and About!

A few pics from our three day adventure in Chicago.

Don't look down!

103rd Floor. See the cars?

 

The Chicago Picasso 

Millenium Park

Cloud Gate "the Bean"

Les Mis at the Cadillac Theater

Chicago Skyline

Lincoln Park Conservatory

Crown Fountain (Faces) in Millenium Park

Hamilton The Exhibition - Northerly Island

My name is Alexander Hamilton

Hamilton - CIBC Theater

Afternoon Tea - The Drake, Chicago, IL

Afternoon Tea at the Palm Court, The Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago was an elegant treat. Seated around the fountain, we selected our teas from a wide assortment of options. Our visit, on a Friday afternoon, meant that there would be live harpist music to accompany our special experience. Once tea was served, we eagerly anticipated the presentation of the three tiered tray.

Loose leaf teas are served in individual pristine white tea pots with personal tea strainers to catch the leaves when pouring into your cup.

The tiered tray included dainty desserts on the top tier, gourmet artisanal finger sandwiches fill the middle tier, and scones and tea breads round out the bottom tier. The little black tray with lemon curd, double Devon cream, and housemade strawberry preserves was placed on the table shortly after we sat down.

The finger sandwich selection included: Cucumber with cream cheese, spiced tomato jam, and baby tomatoes; Shaved Roast Beef, horseradish, arugula, and aged white cheddar on  brioche roll; Thai Spiced Chicken Salad Tartlet with scallion and black sesame. Vegetarian options included Roasted Vegetables on a white bread, and a petite rolled asparagus sandwich.

The Scones and Loaves course included English Scones and Lemon Poppy Seed Bread to be enjoyed with an array of toppings. The dessert assortment featured an Orange Creamsicle Macaron, French Silk Tart, Blueberry Buttermilk Panna Cotta, and Strawberry Shortcake Bellini.

    

            Such a very special Afternoon Tea at The Drake.

Chicago, yum!

                          While vacationing in Chicago, we managed to savor a few traditional culinary delights.  Chicago deep dish pizza was on the list to sample, and well, oh my! One must allow plenty of time for the pizza to be prepared, up to 45 minutes! The pizza crust is relatively thin, and is pushed up the sides of a deep pan to create the edges of the pizza. A thick layer of cheese fills the shell, and well seasoned chunky tomatoes generously cover the top. It's pizza in reverse with the sauce on top, cheese on bottom. And what a layer of cheese there is! As our future niece-in-law commented on FB, 'that's not pizza, that's a casserole'!

The Chicago-style hot dog with all the fixins completed our personal foodie tour. It includes a steamed hot dog, sweet pickle relish, a whole dill pickle the length of the bun, chopped onions and tomatoes, two sport pickles, and mustard, all specifically placed on a poppy seed bun. The important secret ingredient is the addition of celery seed. The vendor where we purchased this dog was pleased to be able to show off this traditional Chicago-style hot dog. They specifically noted that there is never any ketchup on said dog, and that many vendors don't even offer ketchup as an option. This is a far cry from the simple hot dog with ketchup that is a staple in our home!

Palmer House Brownie

The Palmer House in downtown Chicago is famed for their legendary brownie! From their website: "The first reference to the 'brownie' in America appears in the Sears Roebuck Catalog published in Chicago in 1898. Specifically at the direction of Bertha Palmer to be served at the Columbian Exposition World Fair in 1893, the brownie was created at the Palmer House Kitchen in the late 19th century. The recipe is well over a century old, and is the exact same one used for the brownie served in the Palmer House Hilton today! It remains one of the hotel's most popular confections."

So, of course we purchased several of these brownies as our souvenir, and shared them with the family once we returned home. They are packaged in a clear plastic box, and tucked underneath is the history of the brownie and on the other side is the now famous recipe. This pretty little gift package is tied with a black ribbon. They have them available for purchase in the Lockwood Restaurant.

Follow this link to find the recipe for the brownie..

They are yummy! Rich chocolate, lots of eggs, very little flour, nuts and a special glaze of apricot preserves all combine to make a tasty little morsel.

The Palmer House, Chicago, IL

The Lockwood Restaurant at the Palmer House in downtown Chicago, IL offers Afternoon Tea by advance reservation, Monday through Sunday from 2 pm - 4 pm. Ascending the escalator, you are treated to this breathtaking vista of ornately decorated frescos on the ceiling in the main lobby. Once seated, the high back chairs create the feeling of your own personal dining area.

We were offered a selection of teas, from a variety of black teas, green teas, and herbal choices. Once we were served our tea, the tiered tray was presented. Sandwiches on the top, scones in the middle and a beautiful array of sweets on the bottom tier.

The sandwiches included a turkey sandwich with havarti cheese, cranberry mayonnaise, and arugula. There was a chicken salad with Michigan apple and tarragon dijonnaise. The prosciutto sandwich had Mascarpone cheese, arugula, and shaved asparagus. And the white cheddar had roasted tomato with a basil mayonnaise. That lovely combination tasted like pizza! The presentation was simply lovely with the little tuft of shredded lettuce and wisps of carrot in the center.

The scones featured a round buttermilk scone served alongside a Mexican hot chocolate scone. Homemade blackberry jam (yummy!), lemon curd, and devonshire cream were plated beside the scones.

The delicious array of sweets included a carrot cake verrine (in the glass cup) and described as carrot cremeux, white chocolate, and mascarpone. There was a mini raspberry eclair, a key lime meringue tart, hazelnut cube (sponge cake, chocolate mousse, caramel mousse, caramel-chocolate glaze) and pistachio macaron with a pistachio chocolate ganache.

The carrot cake verrine was topped with an edible flower blossom, yellow and purple pansies. It was a pretty little touch.

We enjoyed our visit here!