Tea at Saint and Scholars in Snoqualmie

After a Mother's Day luncheon and gardening with my mom, Dan and I ended the day at our friends' Irish pub, Saints and Scholars for their special occasion High Tea.

Everything was delicious and we happily ate through all of the options. Two standouts were the salmon rosette and the salted chocolate pot. It was so nice to slow down and enjoy ourselves at this little tea party.

#hightea #snoqualmierestaurant #irishpub 


 

Time and Attention: Your Most Precious Gift to Give

I have a suggestion for the 12 Days of Valentine's Day. Invite a friend for tea at a cafe or tearoom. Extend the invitation now and pick a date in February that works for both of you. You will be giving your friend a precious gift: your time and attention. 

Talk about the good old days. Listen to her dreams.
Talk about what's bothering you and if it's as it seems. 

This is the beautiful 3-tier tray presented to us at TeaHaus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It.Was.Gorgeous. They know what makes a girl's heart go pitty-pat.
A pink macaroon. Homemade scones with super tart lemon curd. A hot pot of tea for each guest. I can drink you under the table with a good pot of English Breakfast, just try me.

I have had a lot of tea-related meals in my day and this one was top notch. If you are ever in Ann Arbor, this is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.

High Tea: An Afternoon of Delight

My friend Kathleen loves absolutely everything about tea and tea parties. I've mentioned her growing scone business, Flour, Sugar Salt and am lucky to be on the advisory board of women she relies on for feedback when she is testing new recipes. 

Kathleen loves hosting tea parties for her friends and she goes to great lengths to offer a full English high tea. Last week, she invited five of us to an afternoon of tea and conversation.  We ate ourselves silly and relished the chance to really talk. 

There is storytelling that invariably happens when someone hands you a cup of tea. The topic turns to grandmothers, tradition, memories. I think that is how you really learn about someone; Listen to them talk about their grandmother. Kathleen's maternal grandmother was Scottish and her ritual of tea and treats made an indelible impression on Kathleen. 

Our first course was Kathleen's homemade tea sandwiches: Tarragon chicken salad in a lettuce wrap, Dilled cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches, Curried egg salad in phyllo cups and Sun dried tomato lavosh. Yum and yum. I was feeling a little rattled that day (I had only 6 days in Michigan between my trips to Palm Beach Gardens and Seattle), so I was happy to drink cups of hot Citrus Chamomile tea and let my blood pressure come back into range.

Our second course was Kathleen's famous Lemon Cherry and Cranberry scones served with homemade lemon curd and whipped cream. Her scones are perfect: tender, flavorful and just the right size for tea. Don't tell anyone, but I ate three.

Could we find room for dessert? Oh, we managed. That is the beauty of high tea - no rushing allowed. And with time comes room for more sweets. The dessert tray was loaded with chocolate-dipped brownies, almond madeleines, biscotti and lavender shortbread. 

It was a perfect afternoon. We all had a chance to catch each other up on our lives and let our conversation wander into hobbies and trends. I have a feeling that Kathleen may branch out into hosting tea parties professionally. She certainly has the passion and skill set to wow any tea lover. Everything Kathleen serves is always spot on.

Have you been to a tea party lately? Or visited a new tea room? I am drawn to them, of course and what I love most is the time commitment it requires. You are not meeting for a cup of coffee, when you go out for tea. A longer time frame is understood and that is a beautiful thing.

Time and Tea at The Royal Park Hotel

My friend, Nancy and I had tea for two at The Royal Park hotel in Rochester, Michigan just before Christmas and it was lovely. In a hustle bustle season, it felt wonderful to steal an afternoon for ourselves. 

My favorite thing about having high tea is that it requires a certain mood and pace that cannot be rushed.  The tea hostess at The Royal Park is Mary and she is a gem. Kind, efficient and delighted that you can enjoy tea under her watch, Mary makes her guests feel welcome. She gives her guests Time and Tea. The cell phones are off and we have the luxury of a good chat. Besides, sandwiches this pretty need to be savored.

The sandwich tier includes roast beef in pretty puffed popovers, piped egg salad and a cheddar cheese brûlée, all of which are picture-worthy. You can see the entire tea menu here.

Did you notice the pair of gingerbread men on the dessert tier? A sweet touch in December, and very delicious.

Nancy is a Catholic children's author, and we talked about writing stories, blogging and our desire to always produce meaningful content. We understand each other and it is always wonderful to hear Nancy's perspective on things. We had a chance to really talk things over under the guise of tea time protocol. 

If you can, make a reservation for tea with a friend. You will have time and tea - what more could you need?

Royal Park Hotel: Tea For Two

This year my friend, Kathleen announced that we should celebrate my birthday by going out for High Tea.  What a fun idea! As you know, I love all things tea and it is Kathleen with whom I occasionally throw a tea party.  Remember this pretty table we set?  And this one?  

It has been so fun to have a kindred spirit to share my love of tea and tea time treats with. Kathleen bakes incredible scones that she serves with homemade whipped cream.  Kathleen has been to Scotland and drank restorative cups of tea with her relatives after touring the countryside.  Kathleen knows what I mean when I talk about different kinds of flour or how to judge which baking sheet to use or the process of making lemon curd. She gets the nuances of baking and entertaining that I think are so much fun.

I mention all of this because I don't believe that there are two people in Michigan more qualified to take tea and appreciate it.  Kathleen and I absolutely loved the "Royalty Tea" at The Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, Michigan.  The table was set beautifully with fine linens, pretty rose-covered china pattern, a 3-tier serving tray loaded with handmade specialties and flutes of champagne!

Our first task was to consider the tea selection each tea and choose two for the table.  We uncorked each glass vial and had fun saying what we could detect - teas that were "very floral", "coconut-y", "had chocolate notes", "faint apricot." Kathleen chose a caffeinated tea with coconut essence and I went with my standby, English Breakfast - to me, it's the perfect tea.

Kathleen and I decided to eat our way through the selections together, so that we could make comments. These scones were delicious! We dabbed them with clotted cream and lemon and they were the perfect.  Look at the crunchy sugar on top - love it!

You won't believe the menu for the "Royalty Tea".  Two hot hors d'oeuvres, scones, tea sandwiches, desserts and shortbread.  Yes the presentation was gorgeous, but everything tasted even better than it looked! When do you say that?

Our table on the window let us have our tea party in the comfort of air conditioning, but with the bright light of a table on the patio.  In contrast to the dark and cozy formal teas that I've been to elsewhere, this high tea was light and happy. 

Our waitress was kind and made us feel welcome to stay and enjoy as long as we wanted.  I think that is one genius aspect to how tea is served at The Royal Park. Tea reservations are made between 2-4 pm; you won't be hurried through the experience because there isn't another party waiting to be seated after you. Kathleen and I were there over 2 hours and it was perfect.  We talked and ate and laughed and ate and drank tea.  Repeat.

You can see what a lovely experience this was.  I was relaxed and happy. Kathleen was too and I could tell that she was enjoying my birthday as much as I was!

Then this was brought out to me!  Can you stand it?  I truly am spoiled.  It was a personal hot fudge sundae with "Happy Birthday" spelled out in dark chocolate.  Love love love!  Kathleen had waved her magic wand and had the hotel make my day even more special.  What a friend!

The next time you are looking for the perfect place to go for a girl's lunch, look no further than The Royal Park hotel.  They put everything they have into giving you a delightful experience. And thank you, Kathleen, you are a genius.