I had long dreamed of having High Tea at a special place like New York Hudson Valley’s The Equus, so when Valentine’s Day had rolled around (this was a few years back) and I learned that my husband was bringing us there for afternoon tea, I was none-other-than ecstatic! The following is most likely what we had ordered… mind you it has been some time… a nice assortment of lovely teas and delicious little tea cakes, scones (served warm and frosted in powdered sugar with the choice of clotted cream & fruit preserves), and toasted curry chicken sandwiches. Sounds good doesn’t it? Every tea lover should try this once in their life… even if it’s simply planning a quaint little tea party at home and extending an invitation to a few good friends- this would be a darling thing to do, by the way, so don’t just write it off.
Our recent Cape May excursion allowed for another similar treat of afternoon tea at the Carriage House Cafe & Tea Room located on the grounds of the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate. I ordered egg salad with chives on swirled rye and shared the assorted scones & tea breads accompanied with clotted cream with my husband. My tea of choice was Harney & Sons’ Vervaine Lemon Verbena (I highly recommend). It was a perfect sunny, gently breezy day and I was so happy to be there; just the night before we took a trolley ride around the Emlen Physick Estate on the Ghosts of Cape May Trolley Tours, which I also highly recommend!.. Think darkened magical streets and flickering gas lamps… let your imagination run wild ;)! As an aside, for our next Cape May visit, this sounds great too -> The Walking Ghost Tour.
P.S. Cucumber or watercress sandwiches with cream cheese are among my favorite tea-time helpings. Searching for great menu ideas? I recently found a wealth of info at Linda A. Thompson’s Blog.
*Photocredit: The Equus, New York and Carriage House Cafe & Tearoom, New Jersey
