Miss Spenser's Special-Teas Edit

We went to Miss Spenser’s last weekend for the Black Beauty tea. It is a destination tea room. I say that because there really isn’t anything else to do around the place – just the tea room – though they do have a B&B attached to it. That said, the tea room decor was very shabby chic and very much what most people think of when you say “tea room.” Lots of flowers, lace and somewhat Victorian decor. It is attached to the hostess’ house in a very nicely converted garage. The family who runs the place seems super nice. When the hostess found out that one of our group was unable to attend, she gave us a package of the tea they were serving to take to her. And since she doesn’t give any refunds for cancellations, although we would have asked for take home boxes eventually, she immediately offered them so that we could take our absent friend’s portion to her.

The tea that was served was a spice and fruit black tea blend. Normally I only taste spice in those things but in this one I had no trouble picking out the peach as well. It was really very pleasant. However, my mother is allergic to ginger and that featured prominently in the blend. When Mom asked, the hostess very graciously brought out a pot of plain black tea just for Mom and told her to just let her know if it got about half empty so she could brew more.

The food was excellent. One of the best high tea type offerings I’ve had. The sandwiches were all very tasty and terribly cute. The desserts were all good, though perhaps a bit on the sweet-but-not-really-tasty side of the spectrum. The scones were plain but an excellent vehicle for their fresh cream mixed with jam.

In short, the service, the atmosphere and the food all combined to make this a trip that is well worth the time if you are within a few hours’ drive. You do have to watch the website for tea dates, though, as it is appointment only not a drop in and have tea type of place.