October 5, 2008
This last few weeks has brought me some new tea experiences that I am anxious to share with you. It is always special to find new venues for those of us who enjoy afternoon tea.
First I want to share a fun and interesting tea with you. As you may know, we live in Corvallis and we are avid Beaver fans. Try to imagine an orange and black venue for afternoon tea. It was wonderful! The tea was in the garden where a blow up Benny Beaver greeted guests and orange and black balloons were in abundance. The tables were covered with Beaver décor of every description. Everyone wore the appropriate colors and arrived with the expected enthusiasm! Catered by Sister Act, the food offered a number of items with a hint of orange and black ... hot cheese dip pastry, pepperoni and cheese in phyllo cup, carrot & raison sandwich, mini carrot cakes, chocolate baton and chocolate dipped apricots. Other offerings were a traditional cucumber sandwich, bacon and tomato cup, BLT on wheat toast, and ham & cheese stromboli. The tea started with a refreshing fresh fruit cup and ended with dessert. The non-orange dessert was a chocolate macadamia nut cookie.. It was a delicious and generous buffet tea enjoyed by all. Consider hosting a tea honoring your favorite sports team. Tea is intended to fun!
Now I will tell you about a wonderful tea room experience that included a full day of activities. My Red Hat group took a full day to discover new places to visit. We left in the early AM and met in Lebanon to start our adventure. From there, our caravan of 4 vehicles traveled over hill and dale in the countryside to our first destination. I had no idea where I was but the view was breath-taking. After about 30 minutes we arrived in Scio where we stopped at "Gap Road", a farm where the barn is now laden with antiques & collectables, and the shed is a gift shop. The owner, Dee Ann Briggs had prepared a wonderful lemon bread and hot tea for our enjoyment. She set out a table and chairs on the lawn for us to relax after a bit of shopping. It was the perfect way to start the day which offered sun aplenty and comfortable temperatures. I recommend this destination if you are a someone who enjoys "country rides" as John and I do.
Our next stop was the Oregon Gardens in Silverton. It was an interesting ride there because we kept running into detours and road closures. Luckily, our leader had scoped out the trip ahead of time and was prepared for these little inconveniences.
I had not been to the gardens in years and some of the ladies had never been there. It has changed so much from my last visit that it was like the first time for me. All the areas are mature and, even at this time of year, everything was blooming. The only thing I would like to see earlier in the year is the rose gardens. They were nearing the end of their bloom. We rode the shuttle bus with an interpreter so we learned a great deal about all the gardens. After the ride, we walked around the grounds for a close up before heading to our next stop.
The final leg of our journey took us to Stayton and the newly refurbished Gardner House Café, the oldest house in town. Open for less than 3 months, it is also a Bed and Breakfast. What a treat we found here! Our afternoon tea was set up outside underneath a metal gazebo. There is also a traditional wood gazebo where another group was enjoying tea. Tea orders were taken right away and were served promptly. Within a few minutes our pre-ordered tea was also served. The first course was tropical fruit compote which was followed by a generous tart of grilled onion/gruyere cheese. We selected our tart in advance and that was my choice ... a delicious one at that! Finally a tiered server was presented and one tray held flower-shaped cucumber sandwiches, egg salad sandwich and gruyere with chicken salad puff pastry. The desserts, which were all home-made, consisted of English toffee, raspberry chocolate brownie and a lemon-glazed shortcake flower cookie (which was to die for). This tea did not include scones, but wonder of wonders, I DIDN'T MISS THEM! Afterwards we went into the house to check it out and to purchase a few goodies to take home. I couldn't resist a few pieces of toffee to share with John. The entire experience was wonderful and we all look forward to visiting again soon.
I visited Lisa's Tea Room in Philomath last week and chose to just have a plate of sandwiches and savories with my tea. I try to visit there often as I really love the food and the ambiance. I also enjoy my visits with Lisa!
I also stopped by The Charms of Tea in Albany a couple of weeks again, planning to have tea. Unfortunately, Shannon has changed her hours and tea is now offered on Weekends only. If your group wishes to take tea at any other time, you have to make arrangements in advance and you will be accommodated. Aromatique is still open daily.
Yesterday, I was finally able to get down to Junction City to visit the The Tea Parlour, a new tea room that opened late last spring under the ownership of Debbie Horn. Located on a side street, this wonderful little tea room is a true treat. The décor is done in a contemporary pink and black and the cozy décor includes small black tables and chairs. We all chose the High Tea which has a menu that changes monthly. Our tea included confetti salad which is a bean medley, 2 delicious scones which were served with clotted cream and lemon curd, an artichoke & pesto pinwheel and an apple harvest tea sandwich. The same tiered server held our desserts of toffee almond truffle, a petite four and a yummy pumpkin bar. Everything was very good and we were slow to leave this pleasant and warm tea room. I recommend that you put it on your list of places to visit.
Tea Room News
You already know abut 2 new tearooms in Oregon-Gardner House in Stayton and The Tea Parlour in Junction City. I have not heard of any other new ones. As I mentioned above, The Charms of Tea in Albany has changed their days of operation. Deepwood Estate is back on a monthly schedule of offering tea. On the sad side, Pomeroy House is closing its tea room and gift shop at the end of the year. The living history farm will remain open and special events, including teas, can be arranged. Please contact these tea rooms for more information.
The deadline is nearing for inclusion in our upcoming 3rd edition of Tea Rooms Northwest. With any luck it will be sent to the printer by November. Some tea room information continues to trickle in but there are still many tea rooms who have not responded to us with their current information. I hope they will contact us soon or we will have to delete them from the book. We appreciate those of you who keep us updated as you are our best resource for information.
It looks like summer in the Northwest is finally a thing of the past. We are experiencing rain this week though, it is not cold yet. The rain does clean up the streets and it makes the countryside sparkle. We don't let it keep us from doing the things we enjoy or we'd never do anything! Start the day with a piping hot pot of tea and you will be ready to face the day, regardless of what is going on outside.
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Tea Rooms Northwest:
Our book is making it's way around the Northwest and if your favorite Tea Room isn't carrying it, ask them to get in touch with us. We would love to see it in every Tea Room in Oregon, Washington, Northern California and British Columbia!
For those of you not living in the Pacific Northwest, you may purchase a copy via our web-site or our email address - demontigny@proaxis.com
For more information, please contact us through the above means.
Happy Tea Times, Sharron and John
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