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View Full Version : Tea time: what's on the menu?


femmennoir
05-29-2011, 03:31 PM
We talk about our breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and I thought I wanted to hear about people's tea experiences! Do you go out for tea? Do you practice a daily tea ritual at home? Tell us about it!

So, I was shopping in Soho today and decided to use one of my coupons for Harney's Tea, their new place on Bloom Street.
I had the Lapsang smoked salmon on rice crackers with green tea cream cheese (yum, yum) and a little dish of spiced cashews, a pot of (of course) Lapsang Souchong (lovely), and the green tea ice-cream to finish because of the infernal heat. It was all delicious, well priced, and the surroundings are elegant in an understated way.
Then I browsed through the amazing selection of teas, talked to a couple of very knowledgeable people at the tea counter, where you can request to smell all kinds of tea, and learn about them.
They also have a wide range of tea paraphernalia, and I am coveting a black, white and gold set, very modern, but it will be for another time!
Then on to a new Japanese store, also on Broom Street just down the street, Kiteya, where I used my other coupon to buy Japanese hand made origami paper and a book on how to use textiles to wrap the Japanese way.
What a lovely outing!

Elle*

StillettoDoll
05-30-2011, 10:23 AM
What time exactly is tea time? I have never been to a tea house. I think we have some in town..
Doll

Turtle
05-30-2011, 10:33 AM
We have an amazing vegan Vietnamese restaurant here with a long tea list....

I tried a tea, I think it was called Blue Lady Tea. Oh my, I know it sounds weird, but this essense of blue flowers wafted up through my head. Why the waftingness seemed floral and/or blue is very interesting, but that's what it was for me. I thought, "Wow! No wonder they get so much more involved with tea in other places - this is amazing!!"

femmennoir
05-30-2011, 10:35 AM
The traditional tea time in England is 4 to 5pm, but tea houses here serve from lunch to early dinner time. Our NYC Femme Tea Group usually goes to tea like for a late lunch, 1:30 pm to 4pm, depending where we go or who is hosting it. In an American tea house, you are served savouries, scones, and pastries, so it is quite a meal! When I go to our Femme Tea, I won't have dinner, or perhaps a very light snack that night.
Do try one of the tea houses near you! It is a fun experience, very relaxing, and quite delicious. Inviting people to tea is also fun, since it has a little ritual and etiquette. You can show off your tea set, embroidered napkins and the likes!
In France tea usually is only served with sweets, and the 4pm time is about the correct time. We also eat lunch at noon pretty much on the dot, and dinner around 8pm, so tea provides the energy to keep on with the day!
Our NYC Femme Tea Group is having a June Tea on June 11th at Francia, a vegan Korean Tea House on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. We love that place! (If I knew how, I would provide the link!)

Elle*