The Russian Tea Room

New York City

Best Russian Tea

You feel as though you are entering another world when you pass through the antique revolving door and step inside The Russian Tea Room.  Red leather booths line the walls so every seat faces the center of the room giving the space an open feel and encouraging guests to gaze at the lovely artwork lining the walls.

Our waiter provided us with afternoon tea menus and proceeded to take our tea order.  We selected the Russian Country tea per our waiter's recommendation.  The tea service was unique with a glass tumbler in a metal base with handle from which to drink our tea. The Russian Country tea, a black tea blend of Keemun, Assam, Ceylon and Formosa Oolong teas with a touch of Lapsang Souchong, was served with a small dish of cherries to sweeten the tea.

For our first course, our waiter brought out individual tiers of sandwiches and blinis.  Each guest received their own tier with the following: curried chicken salad with raisins and pecans, shrimp salad with rémoulade, smoked Scottish salmon with chive cream cheese and cucumber, artichoke with red pepper and a sun-dried tomato goat cheese, smoked ham and turkey with truffle croque monsieur, smoked sturgeon with dill and sour cream, roquefort bleu cheese and pear with walnuts, and two American caviars on blinis.

Our favorites included the shrimp salad sandwich and artichoke with red pepper and goat cheese sandwich.

After we had finished our first course, our waiter brought out another set of tiers with an assortment of  scones, cupcakes and chocolates.  Each guest received their own tier for this course as well.

Of note, one of the guests in our party has a gluten allergy and our waiter kindly brought her a rendition of the tea menu sans gluten.  We thought this was a very lovely and thoughtful touch.

The atmosphere and food were equally delightful at The Russian Tea Room and we love The Russian Tea Room matchbooks that we took home as a souvenir.

Price: High

http://www.russiantearoomnyc.com/

Le Palais des Thés

Our sister recently introduced us to a lovely tea shop she discovered in Tel-Aviv, Israel.  Le Palais des Thés opened its first boutique in 1987 in Paris, France and has since expanded to 26 locations in 7 countries. We appreciate its simple mission: "to help people discover the rich world of tea and introduce them to its many pleasures."

I was delighted to receive Quatre Fruits Rouges, a black tea scented with four red fruits: strawberry, raspberry, cherry and red currant, as a birthday present last week.  The tea has a lovely fruit scent and light flavor. 

According to Les Palais des Thés' website, a new boutique will be opening in New York which will be the first location in the United States (hurray!).  You can also order their tea from their online shop: http://us.palaisdesthes.com/en_us/

Harney & Sons SoHo Tasting Room

I had the priviledge of visiting Harney & Sons Tasting Room in SoHo on a recent trip to New York. The shop is beautiful with expansive shelves of countless varieties of tea (loose leaf, teabags and sachets), lovely tea pots and tea accessories as well as books about tea.  The tea counter features "tea of the moment" which is available to sample.

 At the back of the shop is a tea lounge with tables where you can sit and enjoy a pot of tea and some of their delicious menu offerings which include three varieties of scones.

Harney's Tea Lounge Menu


Some of our favorite Harney's teas include: Paris Tea (black tea with vanilla, caramel and bergamot), Hot Cinnamon Spice (blend of black teas, three types of cinnamon, orange peel, and sweet cloves) and Rose Scented Tea (blend of large leaf Ceylon and Keemun scented with rose oil and rosebuds).

An added bonus of visiting Harney's Tasting Room was learning that Harney's supplied the tea for Takashimaya's Tea Box which regrettably closed last year.  Now we can purchase Takashimaya Rose and Orange Spice at Harney's (Rose Scented Tea and Hot Cinnamon Spice respectively).

http://www.harney.com/

TWT, Breanne

Trick or Tea

pumpkin candles from Pottery Barn

One of our favorite holidays is Halloween, and we were thrilled to discover that The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland hosts a Halloween-themed tea, entitled Trick or Tea! 

The name alone makes us want to attend this tea, and it supports a good cause, Coats for Kids, as well.

The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland Calendar of Events

Emerald Necklace Inn Tea Room

Cleveland, Ohio

Best Tea Selection

My parents' recent visit provided the perfect opportunity to sweep my Mom off to a newly discovered tea room in Cleveland.

The Emerland Necklace is a lovely Inn with a tea room that serves tea daily. The tea room offers four different tea services to choose from. We selected the Emerald Afternoon Tea. Other options include the Mary Gillis Afternoon Tea, Lilia's Children's Tea and a Princess Party. The Emerald Afternoon Tea included a pot of tea, cup of soup or salad, scone and bread plate, quiche with fresh fruit, three tea sandwiches, and Chef's elegant dessert assortment.

Entrance: The Emerald Necklace Tea Room has its own entrance separate from the rest of the Inn. Lovely plants and landscaping decorate the exterior leading into the tea room gift shop.

Greeting: Upon entering the gift shop we were greeted by a lovely tea room attendant. Our table was ready as soon as we arrived.

Service: The service was pleasant and punctual. Our tea was brought out shortly after we sat down and the food service followed.

Presentation: The table was laid out beautifully with all the tea necessities. The table contained sugar cubes, devonshire cream, lemon curd, jam and salt and pepper shakers.

Table decor: Our tea pots and tea cups were mixed floral patterns. I enjoyed the knife which rested on its own special plate. Our tea pots rested atop lovely white ceramic tea warmers. There was a two-tier server that held our breads and sandwiches.

Aesthetics: The quaint tea room was adorned in lovely florals with pictures of tea cups and such lining the walls. There was a lovely assortment of tea pots and cups throughout the room. The tea room featured a decorative mantle creating an inviting faux fireplace-look. The tables were dressed with lovely light pink cloths.

Tea Quality: I had the Lady Helen's Royal Tea which I enjoyed with cream and sugar. My mom selected the Cream au Caramel Roobois. Both teas were fabulous!

Tea Variety: Upon sitting down for tea at The Emerald Necklace Inn, guests are provided with a lengthy tea menu. I did not count all of the teas available but I would assume their extensive list would please most tea palates.

Food Quality and Variety: We were first served a lovely tomato soup and toasted bread, followed by tea sandwiches which included: tomato and cheese bruschetta, chicken apple salad and the traditional cucumber sandwich.  After the sandwiches, we enjoyed the bread and scone course. The bread selection included banana, rasin, and a blueberry scone. We then enjoyed a vegetable quiche with seasonal fresh fruit. Finally we had the dessert course which included: chocolate covered cherry, fortune cookie, lemon mandolin, brownie, cheesecake, and a pizzelle with whipped cream and strawberries. My mom and I both loved the pizzelle!

Music: There was no live music, but nice instrumental music played in the background during our tea.

Lighting: There were lit candles on the tables, overhead lighting and natural light coming in from the windows.

Bathroom: The bathroom located next to the tea room gift shop was styled with adorable tea decor. There was also a framed article discussing the proprietor of the Inn.

Takeaways: The tea room allows you to purchase from a large assortment of takeaways. They also sell an extensive variety of tea.

Price: Low

http://emeraldnecklaceinn.com/

TWT :) Lindsey

Gong Fu Tea

Des Moines, Iowa

With fall officially commencing last Friday, we've been observing that the hours of daylight are slowly beginning to decrease. This prompted us to share our favorite tea that provides that extra boost of energy we sometimes need in the fall and winter months, Organic 500 Mile Chai.  The tea's name originates from the many late night truck drivers stopping at small chai stands along India's highways asking for a very strong and sweet brew to help them drive long distances ("for another 500 miles"). Organic 500 Mile Chai is a blend of small leaf black tea, dried ginger, cloves and cinnamon.  
 
We discovered this delicious tea at one of our favorite tea shops, Gong Fu Tea.  They offer a broad selection of fine teas, including one of our staples - Spice Tea, as well as lovely teaware.

http://www.gongfu-tea.com/

Pars Persian Store

Chicago, Illinois

It seems lovely fall weather has arrived providing us with the perfect reason to enjoy even more tea! We've been busy refilling our tea tins and wanted to share one of our favorite neighborhood tea shops, Pars.  Unfortunately, Pars does not have a website which means that if you do not live in Chicago you will just have to add this to your list of reasons to visit this great city :)

Pars carries much more than tea (everything from specialty foods and spices to home goods and more) but we go there for their wonderful (and inexpensive) selection of loose leaf teas and tea accessories.  They have shelves lined with containers of tea - the equivalent of a tea 'candy store' - complete with the scoop to fill your bag with as much tea as you can afford to take home! Some of our favorites include the English breakfast tea and green flowering teas (which are individually sold so you can take home a variety to sample).