First Ladies Tea Room

Canton, Ohio

We had the privilege of partaking in the fanciest "First Ladies Tea" in celebration of Lindsey's college graduation! As we previously reviewed First Ladies' "Martha Washington Tea," this review will focus on the delightful unique aspects of the "First Ladies Tea."

Entrance: In the entrance to the First Ladies Tea Room, is a darling gift shop offering a variety of tea cups and tea accessories.  New additions to the gift shop since our last visit are a variety of jewelry.

Service: We had a lovely tea hostess for our afternoon tea.  She began by explaining the loose leaf tea offerings and letting us smell a selection of the teas.

Presentation: The tea room was decorated in festive Christmas decor and our serverware featured charming Christmas designs.

Tea quality: Our tea selections were Artic Berry, Creme Brulee and Chocolate Rooibos. All of the teas were delicious.

Food quality and variety:  The "First Ladies Tea" certainly encourages a leisurely afternoon as there is quite the variety of food to enjoy. Our tea began with a sparkling beverage, followed by a choice of soup or salad - Chicken Orso soup or Pear and Pecan salad. Breanne and her mother selected the Chicken Orso soup which was delicious and Lindsey tried the pear and pecan salad which was equally tasty.  For the second course we all selected the spinach and cheese quiche - one of our First Ladies Tea Room favorites!

For the next course, our tea hostess brought out a three-tiered server featuring bread and scones, finger sandwiches and a variety of desserts. 
Finger sandwiches: prosciutto wrapped asparagus, vegetarian wrap with hummus, cucumber sandwich, carrot and cream cheese on raisin bread, and cranberry and walnut on pumpernickle that was tied with a darling red ribbon.
Bread and scones: apricot and cranberry scones served with lemon curd and devonshire cream, and chocolate biscotti.
Petite desserts:  chocolate covered strawberries, raspberry mousse with blackberry garnish in a chocolate cup, cherry cheesecake, tri-color cake with chocolate frosting, and Christmas tree, gingerbread man and bell frosted sugar cookies.

Our mother's favorite dainty was the raspberry mousse with blackberry garnish in a chocolate cup, Lindsey's favorite was the prosciutto wrapped asparagus and Breanne's favorite was the vegetarian wrap with hummus.  All around favorites were the spinach and cheese quiche and the not-to-be-missed lemon curd!

Price: The "First Ladies Tea" is the most expensive tea that the tea room offers, but the delicious variety of tea and tea treats offered is worth the cost.

http://www.firstladiestearoom.com/

Puer Tea

 

We wanted to share one of our favorite teas that helps aid digestion for those of us who have indulged in a little extra eating over the Thanksgiving weekend.
 
Puer Tea (also spelled Puerh) is packaged in round cakes.  Lower quality Puer tea has an earthier taste while the finer varieties are smoother tasting.  The quality and value of Puer tea improves with age.
 
Puer tea has been revered as a medicinal tea in China for thousands of years and is said to help aid digestion, lower cholesterol and detoxify the body - the perfect after-Thanksgiving tea!

The Royal Tea House

Beijing, China


We passed this darling tea house on the walk back to our hotel after visiting The Forbidden City.  Sadly, we were rushing straight to the airport, otherwise we would have stopped for a lovely tea. We thought the sign was so charming: "Enjoy Fine Tea With Best Friends" so we took a few quick pictures to remember The Royal Tea House and will look forward to partaking in a leisurely tea here on our next visit to Beijing.

Shambhala

Dalian, China

Entrance: The first thing we noticed when we entered Shambhala was the soothing sound of water trickling in a small fountain.  There is a beautiful stairway to the right of the entrance and three tables by the windows to the left.

Greeting: Upon entering we were immediately greeted by several of the tea servers.  And since our sister Nicki is a regular, they showed us the private rooms that were available.  We had the priviledge of enjoying tea at Shambhala on three occasions and selected two different private rooms on our first two visits and sat at a table on the main floor on our third visit. 

Service: Our tea server gave us a menu and lemon water upon arriving in our room.  In each room there is a sing call button so that you can page your server should you need anything.  The server kindly waits with you while you select your tea.  We are certain our server would have reviewed the tea options with us if we spoke better Chinese, but thankfully there is some English on the menu.

Presentation: One of our favorite pieces of the tea service are the doileys with embroidered fabric coasters resting on top - each is brightly colored and ornately stitched.  We loved the infusion process with the Shambhala Chinese black tea - pouring the tea from the tea pot through a sieve and into a serving pitcher - it added a fun element to the tea experience. 

Table decor: All the tea accroutrements were delightful including the bowl where we rested the sieve and the darling stir spoons with porcelain floral handles.

Aesthetics: There is not enough space on our blog to discuss the Shambhala aesthetic.  The Shambhala has four floors of tea rooms and each private room is uniquely decorated in Tibetan decor.  The two private rooms we were seated in were amazing.  The walls in one of the rooms are covered in beautiful gold floral fabric with an accent wall in red floral fabric.  The ceilings have ornate gold detailing as do the cupboards. No detail has been missed in the tea rooms.  The Tibetan decor made us feel like we were having tea in a grand museum.

Tea Quality: The Shambhala Chinese Black Tea was delicious even after several infusions.  The looseleaf tea held its flavor well. The Chinese Date Tea was excellent and as an added plus it is good for your skin. 

Tea Variety: Shambhala offered 16 varieties of tea - 5 Chinese teas, 5 English herb teas and 6 Shambhala health teas.

Food: Shambhala appears to offer a selection of food which is listed in the menu in Chinese characters, so we did not partake in the food.  We noticed other tables with delicious fruit platters, but were content with the light tea biscuits we brought from Bread Talk (another of Dalian's delightful shops).

Music: The private rooms allow you to control the volume of the Tibetan music that is playing - you can turn the music off entirely or listen at your desired volume.  We loved the Tibetan music and it added to our overall enjoyment of the tea.  Nicki purchased a Tibetan cd since she loved the music at Shambhala so much - she tried to purchase a cd at Shambhala but unfortunately they do not sell cds of their music :(

Lighting: You can control the lighting in the private rooms and make the lighting as dim or bright as you like.  There are curtains in the windows that you can draw or open as well.

Bathroom: We were able to experience a traditional Chinese water closet with beautiful marble floor.  The lovely Tibetan decor extended into the lou.

Take Aways: The sweet manager gave us each a set of four book marks designed with different Tibetan artwork and decor.

Price: The tea is priced by the pot or cup.  The price per pot of tea ranges from low to high depending on the type of tea you select.

We wish Shambhala sold their teas or had a gift shop because we so loved everything in their tea house and wanted to buy a souvenir.  Luckily we were able to find pillow covers and coasters that were reminiscent of Shambhala's decor at Da Cai Shi (an endless indoor Chinese market where you can find any and every Chinese souvenir you could ever want!).

http://www.shambhalacafe.com.cn/

Shambhala

Dalian, China

Shambhala definitely makes our list of the most amazing tea venues!  Once we edit our review down to a manageable word count, we will be thrilled to share our tea experience. We loved the place so much we found ourselves relaxing at Shambhala on three occasions during our stay in Dalian.  We must note that our older sister has the luxury of visiting Shambhala weekly and we are unable to supress our jealousy.

TWT, Breanne and Lindsey

Chinese Jasmine Blooming Flower Tea

We had the luxury of sampling a variety of teas while in China.  My favorite tea purchase was a jasmine blooming flower tea.  Not only is it beautiful to watch brew, it has a light, delicious flavor that lasts through several refills.

I purchased the tea at Xin Heng Bao Tea, an adorable shop in Dalian's Peace Plaza.  The shop has a wonderful selection of tea and tea accessories.  They also have a cozy table and chairs where you can sit and drink the tea you purchase.

Traveling to China

looking forward to learning about Chinese tea traditions and having some delicious tea!