Afternoon Tea

This week Harriet and I celebrated her birthday with Afternoon Tea at the Crown and Crumpet in San Francisco. 

While Crown and Crumpet is in Japantown, an unlikely location for an British Tea Salon, it is a bright, cheery, "proper" tea salon and serves one of the best Afternoon Teas that I've had in San Francisco.  Crown and Crumpet was originally in Ghiradelli Square from 2008; it relocated to this current spot in The New People Building in 2013.

We had the Afternoon Tea, a complete tea service that included, for each of us, our own large pot of our selection of tea from the extensive loose tea menu; warm blueberry scones and crumpets with jam, lemon curd, and clotted cream; egg salad, ham salad, and cucumber finger sandwiches; two warm savory items: sausage rolls and herbed biscuits; green salad; and five different sweets: chocolate-covered strawberries, palmers, cookies, mini cupcakes, and matcha macarons.

When we had finished our wonderful Tea, our server surprised Harriet with a special large cupcake with a birthday candle in it.  While we sang "Happy Birthday", she added to the festivities by blowing bubbles in Harriet's direction!

What a joyous get together!

In addition to their complete Afternoon Tea service, Crown and Crumpet offers several à la carte items which include Chicken Pot Pie, Avocado Toast, Beans on Toast, Soup, Salads, and Hot Pressed Sandwiches. They always will serve just a pot of tea or cup of coffee, with or without pastries or tea sandwiches.

A nice alternative to the complete Tea that we enjoyed, a smaller version, the Nursery Tea is offered to children 12 or under and adults 65 and older: a small pot of tea, mini finger sandwiches, a scone with jam, and three sweets.

Tea at Tal-Y-Tara Tea & Polo Shoppe

A tea room and an equestrian shop in San Francisco's outer Richmond district in a mostly-residential neighborhood?  As I walked down the block of California Street between 26th and 27th Avenues, I was more than a bit hesitant about what I would find inside this shop with a full-sized horse statue out front. This was my introduction to Tal-y-Tara Tea and Polo Shoppe.

In fact, when I saw this horse head peering out of the doorway, I seriously thought about turning around and going back to my car.

But, alas, I couldn't leave because I had invited Harriet here to celebrate her birthday with Tal-y-Tara's Queen's Tea.

Once inside, we settled in to what turned out to be the best afternoon tea that I've ever had in San Francisco, and maybe anywhere.

The shoppe is small and cluttered in a very comfortable way.  The front part of the shoppe features equestrian wear and gear. The tea room is at the back but there is seating throughout the shoppe, even in the front area.

The furniture is mismatched and no two tables are alike.  I felt like I was going to tea at the home of an English person whose family had lived in the place for many generations.

The menu offers several fixed price, multi-course tea services. All courses can be ordered a la carte, as well.  While we were there, some people just stopped by for a cup of tea and a scone and others came for an entire tea meal. The customers on a weekday afternoon were of all ages. All the food is prepared here.

We started by ordering our tea. While we were deciding on salads and scone flavors, we were served a plate of biscotti, made from their scones.

Since we were having the Queen's Tea, our tea sandwich selections included one of each of six different sandwiches of each of us.  The sandwich bread is called a Motorloaf. Its recipe dates back at least four generations in England. The Motorloaf was traditionally used as a picnic item that could easily be wrapped up and carried when one motored off into the country.  It's a semi-sweet dark bread that contains raisins and walnuts.  The sandwiches are made from bread cut out of the center of the loaf and are served inside the loaf.  Our sandwich fillings were cream cheese and cucumber, egg salad with capers, cheese and chutney, smoked turkey with watercress, black forest ham with mustard, and smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers.

The serving plate was garnished with fresh fruits and cream cheese and butter to put on the part of the loaf that was not made into sandwiches. I noted that several customers had the loaf wrapped up to take home for later enjoyment.

For our side salads, Harriet had the Mixed Greens and I had the Wedge with Blue Cheese and Peppered Bacon.

There were three flavors of scone available on this day.  Harriet had the Lemon Vanilla and I chose the one with Currants.  The scones are served with Devonshire Cream and Jam. 

Our final course was English Trifle, a traditional sweet dessert made with cubes of pound cake, fruit jam, and a rich custard that is poured over it.

We lingered at Tal-y-Tara for more than two hours, enjoying every mouthful of our very tasty and satisfying tea.

Not only did I enjoy the freshly-prepared food, I enjoyed the personal service as well. Also, in contrast to most Bay Area complete tea services, Tal-y-Tara's is not overwhelmed by overly sweet/rich cakes and cookies.  It was just right for my tastes. 

The Queen's Tea costs $39 per person. It is substantial enough to be your main meal for the day. 

The Prince Harry ($25 per person) includes tea, shortbread cookies, motorloaf sandwiches, and scones. The Prince William and Lady Katherine ($35 per person) adds salads to the Price Harry. And, the Queen's Tea adds the English trifle to all of this.

Parking is free on the street and, in this part of San Francisco, it is not too hard to find a place to park.

As I walked to my car, I looked back and bid the horse farewell, with a promise to return again soon.

One last note:  There is currently a Groupon available for tea service at Tal-y-Tara which offers a substantial savings on your choice of tea service for two. 

Tea Tasting and More on Fourth Street Berkeley

Virginia came to visit for a week in April.

 On her first full day here, we headed to the Fourth Street shopping/restaurant district in Berkeley for a tea tasting at Téance and some wandering around. Harriet came in from San Francisco to join us in our explorations.

 For lunch, we debated between Zut!, Café Rouge, and Bette's Oceanview Diner...all good options. Bette's won!

Harriet had the French Toast with Yogurt and French Fruit.

Virginia and I had Tuna Melts.

...a tasty lunch in a vintage diner setting. 

 Bette's was one of the first restaurants in the neighborhood when it began to be gentrified several decades ago.  It still is very very popular. They serve breakfast and lunch daily. We put our name on a waiting list about an hour before we planned to have lunch. When we arrived at noon, we are seated almost immediately, rather than having to wait. 

 Tea tasting at Téance is always an interesting experience.

It's a shop that sells many varieties of tea, tea accessories, and books about tea. At the tea bar, people come an go, stopping in for simply a pot of tea and some conversation or to do a more formal tea tasting as we did. We each got to choose two different teas from their extensive list. Virginia had never tasted Matcha and chose that for her first taste. Matcha is a powdered Japanese tea which is first whisked with a small amount of hot water with a bamboo whisk in a small bowl.

Our server explained that you have to whisk the powder with a small amount of hot water until it does not stick to the sides of the bowl. Then he added more water and Virginia got to taste.

 Her second choice was a Pu-Erh, a black tea which is the only kind of tea that is fermented. It actually gets better with age, just like many wines. Her particular Pu-Erh was one that had been fermented for at least 5 years.

As for me, I started with a green Lu Shan Clouds and Mist and then went on to Yunnan Gold, a red tea.

With each brewed tea, our server did two infusions of the same leaves.

It is possible to resteep the leaves up to five times, but twice was sufficient for us to experience the taste changes with successive infusions.

 Some other people were sipping cups of tea while we were tasting.


When they ordered the fresh Mochi for a little something sweet to accompany their tea , we decided to follow suit.

Mochi is a Japanese sweet made with a glutonous rice outer shell and filled with a bean paste and nut filling. It can also be filled with ice cream (that version available at Trader Joe's).

We then found out that one of the people who had ordered the Mochi is the chef who makes them fresh for Téance and who had just delivered them before stopping for her cup of tea.  Her bean paste version is truly special.  If you go to Téance, be sure to ask if they have Mochi to go with your tea.

Tasting Tea: An Article on Sally's Place

Just a quick post to share that I've written an article for the Sally's Place web site. It is called Tasting Tea and is focused on how to taste tea and a few places to taste tea in the San Francisco area.

 My sister and I recently did a tea tasting in Berkeley at Teance...I'll be doing a full blog post about it soon.

 Check out Sally's Place for all sorts of information about food, drinks, travel and everything else that makes life so pleasurable.

 Many years ago I was a regular contributor to Sally's Place and continue to enjoyed the information that she shares with her followers.

"Tea Culture" has a Little Sister!

Exciting news!

My book on tea in modern day culture, has just been published in a paperback version after enjoying nearly two years exclusively as a hardcover book.

I'm proud and excited about "Tea Culture's" little sister.



I know it will be showing up in bookstores and online soon, if not already. For the past several months, Amazon.com has been taking pre-orders on the paperback version. For now, Amazon is selling off its remaining inventory of hardcover books (4 copies left) at an amazingly low price of $6.82! This price is significantly lower than what I pay for the copies I buy from my publisher for my personal resale. The paperback copy retails for $12.95, $11.01 on Amazon.com.

While the quality of the paperback version is excellent, I personally prefer the hardcover.

So, if you are looking for a Valentine's Gift, a coffee table book for yourself, an extra copy for your cookbook shelf (there are over 30 recipes) or just want to stock up on hostess gifts, I suggest ordering the hardcover from Amazon.com (this is the link to the book). This is a real deal!

TEA FOR TWO AT TWO

Today was a special day!

I met my other friend named Mary Ann for tea at Samovar Tea Lounge in Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco.



This Mary Ann and I go back further in years of friendship than the Mary Ann about whom I blog regularly. Unfortunately, our work and life schedules keep us from seeing one another regularly.

It is this Mary Ann who was my blog "mentor" who coached me to start my blog. Before I got started I was, and still am, an ardent fan of her blog, No More Commas Period, to which she posts a fascinating tidbit every single day! Check it out, you might just see something about our tea today!

Tea at two in the afternoon today was the perfect get together for the two of us.

We both ordered the Cherry Oat Scone with Devonshire Cream & Jam.



Mary Ann had a steaming cup of Masala Chai.



My tea choice was a pot of Bai Mudan white tea.



We sipped, we ate, we gossiped, we caught up.

Samovar is a bit on the expensive side but, for its fresh and beautifully served wide selection of teas, its tasty food (they also serve Tea meals, Sandwiches, Salads, Brunch and more) and relaxing setting, it's hard to beat. It's easy to get here on public transit or to walk from much of downtown San Francisco.

Book Club Tea Party

It's been a little over a year since "Tea Culture" was published and I'm still being invited to speak at an amazing variety of events.

Today I joined a friend's book club for afternoon tea and talk about "Tea Culture" which was this month's book selection.

For me it was a perfect opportunity to meet new people, share a meal, and sip tea.

They were a great group with lots of questions about drinking and growing tea.

Our menu was two kinds of tea sandwiches: Chicken Salad and Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese.

The hostess made the sandwiches and a delicious salad.

For sweets, she bought mini Key Lime Tarts and Canoli at a local bakery and I made the Green Tea Madeleines from the book.

We drank iced tea, iced tea with lemonade, and hot flowering green tea. I brought some alcoholic tea beverages for them to sample. The Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka was the most popular alcoholic tea....terrific on a hot day like today.

As for those in the group who are not regular tea drinkers, I think that after today's book club meeting, they've all found some tea that they will continue to enjoy regularly!

TASTING TEA AT TEANCE

Last week, Melia and I headed to Teance in Berkeley, in the busy Fourth Street shopping district, for a "formal" tea tasting.

Teance's business is primarily a wholesale and online tea and tea accessory business, based in Emeryville, California.

This Fourth Street location is its only retail outlet.

In addition to its lovely store, with tea pots and other accessories attractively displayed and a central water "shower" garden in the center, Teance has a tea bar at the back of the shop. The circular tea bar is a work of art in and of itself; it is 10 feet of circular concrete, cast in a single pour and embedded with semi-precious gemstones and fossils.

It is at the bar where we did our tasting. This formal tasting, priced at $18 per person, consists of tasting three teas of your selection from a large tea menu. (there is an added cost to taste some special rare teas, but most of the tea menu selection is not the rare tea).

Before and while tasting, our server guided us through our selections and talked with us about the teas that we sipped. We evaluated the taste, observed the color of the brewed tea, and generally immersed ourselves in the tea experience. Each tea was resteeped several times. It was a delightful way for Melia and me to visit.

On weekends, Teance offers some tea snacks on its menu. But, during the week, it is just tea. Wanting that little something to eat with our tea, I dashed next door to the Pasta Shop Markethall to buy several fancy chocolate bars, some of which were infused with tea, just to keep in theme.

While Teance was not overly busy during the more than two hours that we spent there, there was a steady stream of customers. Some come in just to buy loose tea or a tea accessory. Others joined us at the bar to enjoy a pot of tea. A single tea tasting costs $7 (rare tea tasting is $15 per tea). We were the only ones doing the tasting of three teas.

My favorite tea was the Lichee Red Premium which I had to purchase to take home to continue enjoying. That's what I'm sipping as I write this blog post.



Teance is a beautiful and calming place to enjoy tea, conversation, and an escape from this bustling shopping district.

Tea at the Numi Tea Garden in Oakland

Now that "Tea Culture" has been published, more and more friends and acquaintances are telling me about places to have tea. And, ever since I started the project a few years ago, my tea "radar" has been even more sensitive to all things related to tea.

So, when Molly suggested that we have a tea lunch with her friend Bea, I suggested that we try out Numi's Tea Garden in a warehouse district of Oakland. I've been familiar with Numi Tea and had recently read about their tea garden where they serve their teas with assorted snacks and light dishes. The ladies were game to try someplace new...and off we went.

Numi's location, in the shadow of Highway 880, is their main business office. The company was founded in 1999 by brother and sister Ahmed and Reem Rahim. Ahmed had operated tea houses in Europe, while Reem, with a degree in Biomedical Engineering, had changed career directions and became an artist. Today, Reem's art work can be seen by all on Numi's packaging and Ahmed is the company's master blender and alchemist. Numi's premium-quality, full-leaf organic and Fair Trade Certified teas are sold just about everywhere that tea is sold in the San Francisco Bay Area, including super markets. Many restaurants, and even the local bakery where I stop for tea, serve Numi Tea. I am a fan of their flowering teas which I brew whenever I have people over for tea.

When we got to Numi at about 12:30 p.m., we were the only customers in their small showroom and in the Tea Garden, which is an area behind the showroom. Being the only ones there, proved to be an advantage...we could spread out and talk freely and linger for as long as we wished.



Molly and Bea both ordered a Rooibus/Honeybush blend. I chose the Dragonwell green tea.



Our server advised us that the tea is served "Chinese Style" which meant little to us.



But we were fascinated when she brought each of us a wooden box with a slatted top on which was a wooden saucer with our loose tea, a ceramic teapot, a glass teapot filled with hot water, a tea strainer, a tea timer, a tea cup, and a few other accoutrements, including a little Buddha figurine on each tray. For each of us, she poured the loose tea into the ceramic pot and filled the pot with hot water. Then she turned over the sand filled tea timer (a variation on the timer that Tea List in Davis..see my previous blog post...uses) so we could keep track of how long to steep our tea.



Finally, she poured her remaining hot water over our baby Buddhas.



We did not get a real explanation of why each of our Buddhas got a hot water bath, but my little bit of research suggests it is meant to have a cleansing effect and pay tribute to Buddha.

When our tea was ready, we poured it, through the strainer, into the glass pot and then poured the tea into our cups.

As for our food choices, we decided to start with a cheese tray (three cheeses), the Labne with Zaatar Yogurt Dip, and a serving of Spanokopita. We were somewhat concerned that this would not be enough for our lunch and were prepared to also try some of the sweet items such as the tea flavored cookies or the Toast with Coconut Butter.



As it turned out, our three items were more than adequate for a tasty light lunch.

The cheeses were served with crackers, dates, and almonds.



The Yogurt Dip was garnished with sesame seeds, dried oregano, and assorted olives and served with pita bread.



Molly diplomatically cut the Spanokopita into shareable pieces.



After our tea lunch, we did a bit of shopping in the front sales area. I stocked up on more flowering tea and Molly and I both bought some of the Berried Treasure tea, a blend of tropical bananas, pineapples, cherries, rosehips, sweet currants, and tangy apples which we plan to prepare both hot and iced.



The Tea Garden is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., serving tea and food. It's a wonderful place for a light lunch and conversation.

Afternoon Tea in Davis California

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.