Table of contents for January - February 2016 in TeaTime

Sipping cups of hot tea during the dreary winter months is so comforting, especially when shared with family and friends. And if the drinking of tea can turn into a tea party, so much the better! Readers tell us that Valentine’s Day is one of their favorite times to host afternoon teas during this season of the year, and our rose-themed menu and table setting (page 37) are certainly ideal for the occasion. Because chocolate is as synonymous with Valentine’s Day as roses are, we offer an entire teatime menu (page 30) with chocolate in some form in virtually every recipe, as well as tea pairings to complement them. February 14 isn’t the only special occasion we mark in this issue. If you’ve ever wanted to celebrate Mardi Gras (on…

January 9, 10 & 11 The Pfister Afternoon Tea 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., and 2 p.m. The Pfister Hotel Milwaukee, Wisconsin Take a respite from today’s hustle and bustle, and return to a gentler era at the Pfister Afternoon Tea. Guests will enjoy a table-side tea blending, presented in an all-silver service by a Pfister tea butler, along with fresh scones, sandwiches, and pastries. The cost is $17 to $39 per person, and reservations are required. For reservations, call 414-935-5950, or e-mail CustomerCare@marcushotels.com. 27 Downton Abbey Tea 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Shakespeare’s Corner Shoppe and Afternoon Tea San Diego, California Join Selina Stockley, the British owner of Shakespeare’s Corner Shoppe, appearing as Anna Bates, for a Downton Abbey Tea, Wednesday, January 27. Enjoy a traditional afternoon tea worthy of…

TEA sommelier This chocolaty scone calls for a rich black tea blend such as this Fair Trade Certified offering from Trail Lodge Tea. Purchase online at traillodgetea.com or by phone at 314-680-3015. Smokey Mountain Black Tea Gluten-free Triple-Chocolate Scones Yield: 18 1¾ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour* ¹ / ³ cup sugar ¼ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 5 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into pieces ¹ / ³ cup milk chocolate morsels ² / ³ cup semisweet chocolate morsels 1¼ cups cold heavy whipping cream ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Garnish: sugar • Preheat oven to 350°. • Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. • In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, whisking well. Using a…

Strawberry-Macadamia Flourless Torte Trim green leaves from tops of strawberries, and cut into thin slices. Beginning about ¼ inch from edge of cake, arrange strawberries in a circle, overlapping edges slightly. Continue arranging strawberries in concentric circles until top of cake is covered. Once top of cake is covered in strawberries, lift strawberries around outside edge and insert another row of strawberries to raise first row. French themed Tea Salon and Cafe serving full luncheon and tea fare, desserts and imported teas. A little bit of Paris in Old Towne Orange, CA www.parisinacup.com  · 714-538-9411 119 S Glassell Street, Orange, CA 92866…

Colorful foil pouches of Bigelow Tea’s many flavors seem to be everywhere—in restaurants, hotel rooms, and grocery stores. Company president Cindi Bigelow, granddaughter of founder Ruth Bigelow, is proud of this feat. Cindi’s grandmother developed Constant Comment, a Ceylon black tea flavored with orange peel and spices, in 1945. For almost 30 years, it was the only tea the Bigelows produced—its recipe such a closely guarded secret that to this day, only family members make it. In 1974 under the direction of Ruth’s son, David Bigelow, and his wife, Eunice, additional flavored teas came to be, among them, Earl Grey, Lemon Lift, and Plantation Mint. At the same time, the company began packaging tea bags in individually sealed foil pouches to ensure optimum freshness. Cindi points to this innovative change…

TeaTime will be exhibiting and Editor Lorna Reeves will be speaking at these tea festivals. First Annual Houston Tea Festival February 20–21, 2016 Venue to be announced • Houston, TX houstonteafestival.com  • 832-405-9160 Coffee & Tea Festival NYC March 19–20, 2016 Brooklyn Expo Center • Brooklyn, NY coffeeandteafestival.com/nyc  • 631-940-7290 Midwest Tea Festival May 7, 2016 Ararat Shrine Auditorium • Kansas City, MO midwestteafest.com Northwest Tea Festival October 1–2, 2016 Seattle Center Fisher Pavillion • Seattle, WA nwteafestival.com  • 206-448-4054…

Elegant Sipping This pretty cup and saucer set from Classy Clutter Gifts is an excellent addition to teatime. ($25; classycluttergifts.com or 888-425-8883) Vintage Modern This attractive Jessie Steele tea cozy is a stylish way to keep your tea hot. ($18; jessiesteele.com or 877-953-7743) An Exquisite Display Impress your teatime guests with a Cheeky Pink gold-trimmed three-tiered stand from Royal Albert. ($69.99; royalalbert.com or 877-720-3488) Candied Blooms Enhance your favorite sweets with edible crystallized roses from Gourmet Sweet Botanicals. ($20 for pack of 10; shop.gourmetsweetbotanicals.com or 800-931-7530) Petite Treasures Delicate charms from Tiny Teapot Jewelry add plenty of rosy flair to your signature look. ($19.95–$35.95; teapotjewelry.com or 540-586-4446) Teacups Full of Roses An array of petal-infused teas from Queen Mary is sure to please. ($15–$17; queenmarytea.com or 206-466-1173) A Floral Touch…

TEA sommelier Delight your guests with these exquisite teas that pair perfectly with chocolate. SCONE COURSE: Grace Tea Company’s China Keemun Spring Mao Feng (gracetea.com, 978-635-9500) SAVORIES COURSE: Paris In A Cup’s Parisian Tango (parisinacup.com, 714-538-9411) SWEETS COURSE: Grace Tea Company’s Wu Yi Rock Oolong Da Hong Pao Select (gracetea.com, 978-635-9500) Chocolate-Feta Scones Yield: 15 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into pieces 1 cup bittersweet chocolate morsels 1 (8-ounce) package feta cheese, coarsely chopped 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold heavy whipping cream, divided Garnish: raspberry jam and raspberries • Preheat oven to 350°. • Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. • In a large bowl, combine…

Broadway and New York City are joined at the hip, and the theater district is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions. From lavish musicals to spellbinding dramas, the bright lights of Broadway offer something for all tastes. Discerning tea enthusiasts will discover that the venerable British tradition of afternoon tea is flourishing only a hop, skip, and a jump from some of Broadway’s most renowned theaters. Although New York City would not be mistaken for London, there are, nonetheless, a variety of options for teatime, with each venue offering a distinctive flavor and flair. For many locals and tourists alike, afternoon tea in Manhattan serves as an oasis amid the mayhem of one of the world’s busiest cities. A delightful way to enjoy a day here includes afternoon…

G eorgetown, Colorado, has a colorful past, one might say. Brothers George and David Griffith founded the town in 1859 during the Pike’s Peak gold rush, and Georgetown experienced its greatest growth during the Colorado silver boom of the 1880s. At one time, this quaint Victorian town, nestled in the Rocky Mountains at 8,500 feet above sea level, boasted a population of 10,000. After the silver market crashed in the 1890s, the population dwindled to just 300. But with the growing popularity of skiing during the 1950s and ’60s, Georgetown reinvented itself as a tourist destination. Today it caters to summer hikers and winter skiers alike. In Georgetown’s early days, its founding fathers had the foresight to establish a fire department with five firehouses, so the hastily built town never…

You don’t need more than one copy of most books. The Bible, yes—comparing one translation with another is a good thing to do. Same goes for great foreign language poets—Homer, say, or Dante—and Asian scriptures. But you simply must get The New Tea Companion and set this renovated third edition beside the copy you’ve cherished long since. Same title, same authors, and the subject and arrangement of subject matter remain generally the same, to be sure, but everything else old is new again. This new guide to teas throughout the world is a completely rewritten book by Bruce Richardson and Jane Pettigrew. (Full disclosure: close friends of long standing, but trust me.) It’s not as though earlier editions were inaccurate. Rather, the authors’ understanding has deepened with time, and they’ve…

Place the napkin right side down on the table. Fold the napkin in half diagonally. Starting at the folded edge, roll the napkin three-fourths of the way up. Then turn the napkin over so the roll is facedown on the table. Choose one end of the napkin, and begin rolling sideways along the existing rolled edge. When you finish rolling the napkin, tuck in the end. Turn the rosette facedown, and pull the two corners remaining outside the roll away from each other to create leaves. Turn the rosette over, place on the plate, and enjoy.…

Our Cup of Tea In the Our Favorites column, thank you so much for identifying the cup and saucer that each tea is served in. Now I don’t have to flip back and forth to the Resources section to identify the patterns. I hope you do this from now on. PAIGE SEGRELL via Facebook We’re so glad to hear that this was beneficial to you. And, yes, thanks to your comment, we will now make this a permanent feature of the column. Travels with TeaTime Received my Christmas special issue of TeaTime magazine. I am so anxious to try many of the recipes. I especially like the sound of White Chocolate–Almond Scones. I loved the article about my St. James Tearoom in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This tearoom is definitely a…

Brown Sugar and Cream Cheese Scones Yield: 12 2 cups all-purpose flour ¹ / ³ cup firmly packed light brown sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into pieces 3 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons cold heavy whipping cream, divided ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Garnish: turbinado sugar • Preheat oven to 350°. • Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. • In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt, whisking well. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cream cheese, stirring to combine, but leave in cubes. • In a liquid-measuring cup, combine ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon cream and vanilla extract, stirring to…

By Beth Morrison W hen I need quiet contemplation, I brew a cup of tea. When it’s time for a cup, I sort through my bin—an old elementary school locker basket overflowing with loose-leaf teas like Moroccan Mint, Earl Grey, and my current favorite, Jasmine Nights—to find just the right tea for the moment. Each step comforts me, from selecting a tea to heating the water and steeping the leaves. Watching the leaves as they unfurl and swirl around in the cup is relaxing. Making tea is as much about the ritual as the consumption. In addition to quenching my thirst, it feeds my soul. I almost always drink my tea from a mug. I like the feel of something solid and substantial in my hands. It symbolizes that I…

COVER Waterford Lismore Lace Gold china ($140 for 5-piece place setting), teapot ($235) from Waterford, 877-720-3485, waterford.com. Wedgwood Duchesse footed crystal cake plate from private collection. TITLE PAGE Page 2 : Waterford Lismore Lace Gold china ($140 for 5-piece place setting), covered sugar bowl ($125) from Waterford, 877-720-3485, waterford.com. Kirk Steiff Golden Winslow Sterling Flatware 5-piece place setting ($369.95), from Replacements, Ltd., 800-REPLACE, replacements.com. Kim Seybert Nomad napkins ($180 for set of 4), Bamboo napkin ring ($52 for set of 4), Trevi Champagne/Crystal runner ($484) from Kim Seybert, 212-564-7850, kimseybert.com. MASTHEAD Page 5 : Royal Albert Lady Carlyle dinner plate ($31.99), salad plate ($23.99), footed cup and saucer ($29.99), Wallace Rose Point sterling flatware ($259.95 for 5-piece place setting) from Replacements, Ltd., 800-REPLACE, replacements.com. OUR FAVORITES: BLOOMING TEAS Page 15…