This is a tea shop you will remember long after you leave. Forty artisans worked on the hand-painted, hand-carved ceilings, column, fountain, tables etc. Beyond the awe-inspiring building itself, the tea selection is noteworthy — especially the Phoenix Collection. The food selection is not as vast but it partners well with the teas. You really can’t visit Boulder without coming to the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse.
You would be hard-pressed to find a staff more knowledgeable and passionate about Chinese tea. Free tea tastings are offered most Fridays and feature two similar or contrasting teas so that one comes to know what the differences between each tea are. They even put together tea tours to China for those with a similar passion for the tea. If you love Chinese tea – really, deeply love it, you will think you have entered seventh heaven at Seven Cups.
This tea shop is surrounded by a wonderful assortment of used bookstores and antique shops so it is the perfect place to “stop in.” Their shortbread is impressive. The wait staff is very excited about the tea selection and eager to share tea knowledge with you. The shop is small but cozy and full of the ambiance you find in the surrounding shops.
This is not where to go if you want tea and fripperies but if you want a good cuppa, “Lancashire lass” Jessica Avery (owner) has you covered. The tea selection is not lacking. There are good, filling sandwiches and a few salads available as well as a small but consistently delicious selection of sweets. The afternoon tea service is just wonderful and of course includes true clotted cream. The shop can get quite busy in the afternoon as Platte and 15th is quite a trendy little neighborhood.
This tearoom is in a rather unfortunate location. The house itself is a wonderful old sprawling Victorian abode full of nooks and crannies and lovely architectural whimsies but Colfax Avenue right outside is not a very savory place. That said the tea my fiance and I had was wonderful. We had made a reservation which I recommend since the place is run pretty much single-handedly by one lady and she does need time off. We chose to be seated in the small sunroom which is cozy although the table is a coffee table and thus a bit low (this is not a problem elsewhere in the tearoom). All the food was incredible and obviously freshly handmade. The choice of teas was quite extensive, especially given the size of the tearoom. An all-together lovely experience.
The Brown Palace is beautiful. This must be said, first and foremost, it is beautiful and historical and a landmark in Denver. Tea is served in the atrium in the afternoons and it is a lovely place to sip a cup of tea — one imagines not much has been altered in 100 years. The silver has been polished so many times that the hotel’s insignia has practically worn away. The hotel also has its own signature tea blend and its own lovely bone china pattern (the latter sadly not for sale). All of this adds up to a very distinctive experience.
There are three tea services on offer, one featuring chocolate treats, one accompanied by a Kir Royale, and the “signature tea.” You get a nice selection of sandwiches and sweets and scones with real Devonshire cream (shipped in from England) but it is true the tea selection is a little sparse. Also, there is no way to remove the tea leaves once they have steeped long enough. If you stay on, the servers will just pour more hot water in your pot with your spent leaves. As I already am overly sensitive to bitterness, this isn’t a positive to me. However it is also true that there is a pianist or a harpist to accompany your meal and the splendor of the hotel makes tea at the Brown Palace something I recommend to every visitor.
It has been some time since I stopped in here with my sister. It’s tucked away upstairs in a building of little shops so it has a rather crowded feel. We ate at a small table out in front of the shop on a balcony overhanging an indoor plaza. It’s not very scenic but the ladies who run it are wonderful. I love their Welsh accents! I had a meat pie and it was delicious and unpretentious and all that a good meat pie should be. The tea was kept warm by a cozy but the tea leaves weren’t removed after steeping which is a pet peeve. I drink black tea with milk and sugar (horrors, I know — I drink it for yumminess not nuance, I apologize) so I managed. The shop itself is crammed full of sweet frilly items and tea time trifles. If you want a true high tea/plowman’s lunch sort of set up, do stop by Cano’s.
