Snuggled in a high-end strip mall in Wayne, PA is A Taste of Britain, a tea shop with a small adjacent gift shop carrying British food products. There are about a dozen tables in a sunny room with sleek but calming decor, including art by local artists. It was an excellent experience (and not just for the lovely company of +Cathy Griswold and +Wendy Marques) and I grade this tea house with a solid A.
The service was attentive without being overbearing. +Wendy Marques got stuck in traffic and was late, but our server was more than happy to bring us initial drinks and let us wait for her without trying to hustle us along. She was also nicely knowledgeable about the various tea options on the menu.
The tea menu offered a variety of options for every palate. I started the day with a deep, rich Kenya black. I hadn't had Kenya tea before and was quite pleased. I think the mention of "subtle fruit notes" in the menu oversells the strength of those notes, though. Let's just say they were pretty darn subtle.
For my second pot of tea of the day, I ordered "White Tea with Raspberry & Ginger," which the menu described as "Tangy and complex, with dried raspberries and ginger, subtly spiced with cardamom, star anise, and cloves." This was utterly enchanting. So much so that I bought a quarter pound to take home. It was like a delicate fruity gingerbread.
In addition to tea, they also do spritzers made from soda water/tonic and fruited cordials.
For a mere $18.00, I ordered a full afternoon tea that was heartier and more filling than some meals I've had. The sandwiches were flavorful and savory -- a classic cucumber sandwich with some nice herbs, an interesting cheese and chutney on wheat toast, a flavorful chicken salad and something else I'm not currently remembering. The scone was everything a scone should be, rich and substantial and full of flavor. I ended up taking the mini-pastries from the tea home because I was too full to eat them. They didn't travel well, but that my have been because I left them in a muggy car for a couple of hours.
We also had an excellent appetizer of mushrooms in a hot cheese sauce flavored with mustard, with flatbread pieces for dipping. I must figure out how to make this, as mushrooms and cheese are some of my favorite things in the universe.
I highly recommend A Taste of Britain to people in the greater Philadelphia area. I look forward to a chance to go back again.
No comments:
Post a Comment