Davis is my favorite college town in California. I am there often and always making new discoveries.
Most recently, I was tipped off to a relatively-new place for tea and light meals: Tea List.
After one visit by myself, I realized that Tea List is a true "find" and a very special place.
Owner, Nahid Aram, has scouted the world for the finest of teas. She does her own importing, assuring excellent quality and handling, in much the same way that a fine wine merchant, like Kermit Lynch in Berkeley does with his wines.
Tea is served by the cup or the pot. I've now made two visits to Tea List, the most recent with Jim.
So far I've tasted the Osmanthus Silver Needle White Tea, the Vanilla Black Tea, and the Persian Tea, the owner's personal blend of four different Black teas. I had the Persian Tea iced but it was still served from a glass tea pot and poured into a China cup. As my server said about the service, "Little and big girls like their tea in cups."
Tea List serves Breakfast, Lunch, and freshly-baked pastries and tea cakes all day long. The lunch menu features sandwiches, salads, and a cheese plate. Prices range from $3.95 for a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich to $7.95 for the Chicken Salad or Cheese Plate. Sandwiches are served with a small side salad. A special sandwich, dessert, & tea lunch is also offered each day.
On both of my visits, I've indulged in the complete Afternoon Tea (served from 11:30 a.m.). Priced at $15.95, it includes your choice of any tea, a warm scone with house-made Devonshire cream and fruit preserves, an assortment of tea sandwiches, pastries, and fresh fruit. The four kinds of sandwiches, each on a different bread were smoked turkey with cheese and pesto, chicken salad with grapes and walnuts, seasonal vegetables, and cucumber with mint. The two pastries were bite-sized portions of a napoleon and a chocolate cake.
My single-service Afternoon Tea was presented on a single plate.
The first time I ordered the Afternoon Tea, it was to sample a little bit of all the food that Tea List served. It was so wonderful, i did it again with Jim. Since we both ordered the Afternoon Tea, it was served on a tiered server.
Not only is everything tasty, the service is elegant, even for those choosing to eat on the outdoor patio. While my server apologized for not serving my tea in their best China, which they only use indoors, I was more than content to have Lenox tea service one time
and Ralph Lauren the second time.
The Devonshire Cream and Fruit Preserves are served in tiny ramekins with silver spoons decorated with tea pots at the tops of their handles.
Special glass tea timers are brought with your tea...green sand for green and white teas, brown sand for black teas, and pink sand for herbals.
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