The beautiful tradition of afternoon tea does not have to cease simply because you can’t enjoy teatime at wonderful venues during this time of social distancing. Several tearooms and shops across the country, such as these featured in our magazine, are currently offering special menus and loose-leaf teas available for takeout and curbside delivery. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to support tea businesses and enjoy the delights of teatime in the comfort of your own home.
21 Chinquapin Road • Pinehurst, NC 28374
910-255-0100
In naming her tearoom, Marian Caso was inspired by the story of Anna Maria Stanhope Russell, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, who is credited with inventing the British custom of afternoon tea. Since 2008, Lady Bedford’s Tea Parlour has become a favorite with locals and tourists of Pinehurst, North Carolina. Guests who dine at Lady Bedford’s can look forward to a Victorian atmosphere with crystal and fine china. Diners have more than 60 loose-leaf tea options, which are individually brewed once ordered. The restaurant also offers breakfast, lunch, and a number of afternoon-tea selections, making it perfect for customers looking for either a hearty tea service or a light sampler.
Lady Bedford’s Tea Parlour is currently offering assorted scones, quiches, and loose-leaf teas available for pickup by calling 910-255-0100.
Shakespeare’s Corner Shoppe & Afternoon Tea
3719 India Street • San Diego, CA 92103
619-683-BRIT
“I’ve always loved tea . . . never drunk a drop of coffee in my life. My husband’s English as well, so we keep the tea tradition alive at home,” says British-born Selina Stockley, owner of Shakespeare’s Corner Shoppe.
This welcoming tearoom and gift shop beckons visitors to settle in for a cozy chat over a cup of English tea. All recipes are traditionally English as well, with many ingredients imported directly from Britain. In addition to the afternoon-tea menu ($21.95 per person), there are reservation-only vegetarian, gluten-free, and sugar-free menus, as well as a children’s tea for $11.95 and a cream tea for $8.95.
For tea, the shop offers a raisin scone, but a sideline of 10 different flavors of scones is available for customers, who can also buy them frozen raw. Afternoon tea includes assorted finger sandwiches, like cucumber and chicken curry salad, a fresh-baked sausage roll with Branston Pickle, a scone with double Devon cream and jam, a cake medley and biscuits [cookies], fruit, and a pot of tea. Selina blends some of the tea selections, such as the Mary Queen of Scots, a mix of decaffeinated English Breakfast, rooibos, lemongrass, and lavender.
The tearoom is open seven days a week with temporary hours from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., and is offering a delicious afternoon tea menu to-go. Various British goods are available for delivery.
320 Osuna Road NE, Building D • Albuquerque, NM 87107
505-242-3752
There’s an oasis of tea tucked into the New Mexico desert. Since its opening in December 1999, The St. James Tearoom has provided Anglophiles with all the things they love about the motherland infused into a teatime setting that is more British than Britain. Mary Alice Higbie, a classically trained Japanese-porcelain painter, approached the idea of her tea business with an artistic spirit. She has watched the business expand and transform into the British wonder it is today, with individually styled nooks and parlor areas in which to enjoy afternoon tea. And while the menu at The St. James Tearoom may change monthly, the fare consistently remains delicious.
“To continue to serve our longterm loyal guests (some of whom have been coming to our tearoom monthly for over 15 years) we have been working tirelessly to transform our business process to provide the same 4-star quality full afternoon tea meals for curbside take-out, so our guests can pick up their teas and food, take them home, and enjoy the peace and connection that comes with the tradition of tea with their loved ones. Even now, we are continuing to work on making the very act of guests’ picking up teas a calm, restful, and pleasant experience. So, no matter what the medium, tea is certainly still a gift that provides calm in the midst of chaos,” says Daniel Higbie, co-owner of The St. James Tearoom.
The tearoom is open Tuesday through Sunday and is currently offering a special menu for full afternoon teas to-go, as well as scones and featured breads available to order on their website.
Taste of Britain
73 S. Peachtree Street • Norcross, GA 30071
770-242-8585
For more than three decades, Taste of Britain, a small novelty shop full of English wares and fare, has served the Historic Norcross Town Center as the perfect stop for Anglophiles. Since 1989, the quaint, red-painted storefront has seen three owners and many changes. But the store’s mission to bring British treats and goods to locals and travelers has endured.
Rukhsana Aguilar was born in South London and raised in the oldest recorded town in Britain, Colchester in Essex. So when she moved to the United States to be with her husband almost 30 years ago, she looked for a community that would allow her to maintain her British heritage and roots. She found that community in the Daughters of the British Empire in the United States of America, a nonprofit charitable organization that connects women and spouses of those of British birth or ancestry. Through this group, Rukhsana— also known as Roxy— met a kindred spirit and the second owner of Taste of Britain, Edna Berkshire.
For the past seven years, Rukhsana has ensured the store is stocked with new and unique items for customers to peruse and discover. Those who venture into Taste of Britain will find classic British delights, such as biscuits, meat pies, chocolate, jams and preserves, and, of course, a plethora of tea. The store’s inventory also includes giftware from teapots and tea sets to toys and British memorabilia.
Taste of Britain’s current hours are Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., and all British goods are available for purchase online, over the phone, and for curbside pickup.
5305 Bissonnet, Suite D • Bellaire, TX 77401
713-218-6300
Bellaire native Kim McHugh’s fascination with the health benefits of organic tea didn’t arise until she married her husband, a Scotsman and an avid tea drinker. His constant consumption of hot tea motivated her to research the drink and its health benefits. Inspired by her findings, Kim eventually became a certified tea specialist and tea-blending master. She realized that opening a tearoom would allow her to share her newfound knowledge and to provide a place in the community for people to gather and relax.
Combining Kim’s tea expertise with her mother’s culinary skills, the family opened McHugh Tea Room in 2013. Billie Stafford, affectionately called “Queen of the Kitchen,” develops all the recipes for the fare served in the tearoom and is in the kitchen at least once a week preparing pie dough and different baked goods. “Those are her recipes and recipes from her mother and her grandmother,” Kim explains.
Guests can partake of afternoon tea for $30, which includes two flavored scones, three different tea sandwiches and three desserts, and a bottomless pot of tea. Hot tea is served in teacups from the restaurant’s extensive collection, and a selection of more than 60 loose-leaf teas caters to teatime diners with varying flavor preferences. All, including house medicinal blends, are also available for purchase in the store.
McHugh’s temporary hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. A special menu is available for takeout orders and delivery, and includes assorted scones, quiches, casseroles, and a full afternoon tea package to-go.
Anna Marie’s Teashop
9 W. Franklin Street • Liberty, MO 64068
816-792-8777
An impressive selection of teas and tea wares await those who venture into the brick building that houses Anna Marie’s Teashop. The business, located just off the main square in Liberty, Missouri, has vastly evolved since owner Brenda Hedrick started selling teas more than 20 years ago. Despite owning a design studio at the time, she decided to embark in this new endeavor after learning of the numerous health benefits of the beverage. “In 1983, I started having health issues from allergies that just drove me crazy. I did some research and decided that tea was the way to go,” Brenda recalls.
Originally called Anna Marie’s Gifts and Antiques, the store—named in honor of Brenda’s great-grandmother, Anna Marie Bohnet—has expanded its selection from the original 30 teas to almost 100. A family-owned business, Anna Marie’s Teashop is run by three generations of Brenda’s family. Both her daughter, Sarah Mathews, and her granddaughter, Molly Gates, work in the shop and help blend many of the teas sold.
Anna Marie’s Teashop is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Their artisan teas and tea accessories are available online, via delivery, and curbside pickup.
6178 Adamson Circle • Chattanooga, TN 37416
423-521-4832
While many of the plantation-style homes have disappeared over the years, the last antebellum home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is not only a historical landmark, but it also houses a charming restaurant and tearoom. The Historic Dent House is now home to Polly Claire’s, a venue that brings a very British tradition to a very Southern state.
Despite no previous experience in the food industry, Rashelle Stafford’s lifelong infatuation with tea parties influenced her transition from homeschooling her children full-time to opening her own business in Chattanooga, where she could host tea parties almost every day. In September 2016, after finding the perfect location to house her restaurant, Rashelle opened Polly Claire’s in the Historic Dent House. Built circa 1854, the grand home has served many purposes in its more than 150-year history and is most notably remembered as the Bonny Oaks Children’s Home, a sanctuary for countless children from 1895 to 1985.
For $29 per person, patrons of Polly Claire’s can enjoy a four-course afternoon tea served on Royal Albert china and three-tiered trays. The abundant teatime menu—with many aspects sourced from their other family business, Stafford Farms—includes a plate of vanilla bean scones, fresh fruit, a variety of savories, assorted finger sandwiches, and decadent sweets, as well as the tea of the diner’s choice. Guests have a great selection of more than 30 loose-leaf teas specially blended for Polly Claire’s, including the Signature House Blend, which is a black tea with muscatel and honey notes. For those who wish for lighter teatime options, the Taste of Tea option for $19 per person includes a scone, two savories, and two sweets. Polly Claire’s also offers a full lunch and dinner menu.
Polly Claire’s is currently open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. for curbside pickup and is offering a special menu for afternoon tea to-go, along with daily deals for soups, scones, and loose-leaf teas.
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