1935 sheet music published in New York City.Within the American tea room movement of the 1920s, gypsy tea rooms emerged as a unique phenomenon with roots that extended back to the 1880s. Many immigrant women had established fortune telling enterprises in major American cities, but the practice had been frowned on and ordinances were enacted…
Tea at Kew Palace with King George III
Kew Palace from the back garden on the River Thames side. © Bruce RichardsonOn the morning of October 25, 1760, George II died suddenly at Kensington Palace. His eldest son, Frederick, had died eight years earlier and the crown therefore went to Frederick’s first son, the 22 year old George. This young king’s boyhood had been…
The Royal Kitchens at Kew Palace
A tasty dish to set before the king.The Dining Room at Kew Palace served King George III’s family and guests. In February 1789, this also included the King’s doctor, Dr. Willis. England had been thrown into turmoil the previous year as the King was declared ‘mad’ after the onset of a mysterious illness, probably porphyria. This…
A Gadget Guide to Making Tea
The recipe for making tea during the time of Jane Austen was fairly simple: the butler brought in the “tea things” on a teaboard (tray), the hostess placed a few teaspoons of tea leaves into a teapot (Austen purchased tea from the Twinings shop in London,) and heated water was added directly from a silver…
Everything Stops for Tea
The song “Everything Stops For Tea” was first performed by Scotsman Jack Buchanan and featured in the 1935 musical film Come Out Of The Pantry, which was set in New York. In Great Britain, everything did stop for tea throughout the first half of the 1900s as British workers took their tea break. By 1900,…
Teatime at P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home Retreat
P. Allen Smith's Garden Home Retreat along the Arkansas River. Shelley and I recently spent a beautiful spring day with our friend P. Allen Smith at his glorious Garden Home Retreat, located outside Little Rock, Arkansas. P. Allen Smith is an award-winning designer, gardening and lifestyle expert. He is the host of two public television…
The Health Benefits of Chamomile
It happens nearly every week in our retail shop. A new customer - often a man - will enter and say something like this, "Dr. Oz says I should be drinking a tea that begins with the letter P. Do you have any?"My answer is, "You mean Pu-erh?""Yeah! That's it!" I call it the Oz…
Mr. Selfridge Brought Tea to Marshall Field’s
In 1890, Harry Gordon Selfridge, manager of Marshall Field’s in Chicago, enrolled the help of Sarah Haring to assist with a new project at the store. She was in many ways, a typical American woman of her era—wife of a businessman and a mother. Neither aristocratic nor impoverished, Haring was needed to recruit “gentlewomen” who…
Afternoon Tea Reigns Supreme at The Empress
I had the opportunity to return to the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia last month for TeaTime magazine’s Occasion for Tea. The other speakers included Jane Pettigrew, Norwood Pratt, Shelley Richardson, and editor Lorna Reeves. We were joined by 70 devoted tea enthusiasts from across the United States and Canada for a weekend of…
Six Steps to Crafting an Afternoon Tea
Tea at Harrods, LondonI remember my first London afternoon tea at Harrods in 1979. Shelley and I queued nearly 30 minutes while waiting for the velvet rope to drop, allowing access to a three-tiered buffet of sweets that would make a regiment of Horse Guards swoon. The dessert trolleys held row after row of delicious pastries,…