Northern California Tea Rooms.
For morning tea, favorite varieties include Assam, English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Scottish Breakfast and other strong, malty teas that can stand up to milk and sugar. Caffeine is also a consideration: many people like a good, strong cup of tea to start the day because of the caffeine. Although tea has about one-sixth the caffeine of coffee, that little jolt at the start of the day is important to caffeine lovers.
Afternoon teas tend to be lighter, more flowery and less malty than morning teas. Darjeeling is a favorite afternoon tea, as is Earl Grey, whose leaves are flavored with bergamot for a distinctive perfume. With flavored teas like Earl Grey, it's important to store separately to prevent the flavors from blending with your other teas.
You have always been able to get a variety of teas in the coffee shops of Northern California, but now there are also specialty teahouses as well. Whether you're looking for a plain cup of Orange Pekoe or Chinese jasmine Dragon's Tears, you can find tea with scones and jam in Norcal towns from Benecia to Sacramento. And you can take tea at any level of sophistication: from a single cup on your way to work to a full blown high tea, complete with finger sandwiches and sweets and presented on a silver stand.
Many luxury hotels and inns also serve high tea in the afternoon or on weekends. High tea comes with scones, cookies, little cakes and small sandwiches made of watercress or cucumber on buttered bread. Of course, there are pots of tea as well, usually served on elegant china and with your favorite accompaniments. You can find high tea in San Francisco at the King George Hotel and the Samovar Tea Lounge, to name but two places in a city full of tearooms. For a Chinese style afternoon tea, visit one of the many dim sum places or Chinese bakeries for steamed dumplings or buns with jasmine or Oolong tea. The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park is a perennial favorite for its teahouse looking over the brook and flowering trees of the park. It's the perfect place to relax on a hot summer day. With your tea, you can choose from Japanese snacks like wasabi peanuts and rice crackers for a light snack.
Tea makes a perfect backdrop for bridal and baby showers, late morning receptions and other festive occasions. A tea party can be enjoyed by people of all ages; it's fun for a little girl's dress-up party and for people who want to get together with friends for a luxurious afternoon. Tea and crumpets can inspire an at-home version of the Mad Hatter's tea party where guests are invited to arrive in costume and play games in the garden.
If you're planning an event and are worried about menus and food, high tea is the perfect solution. Instead of meeting at a restaurant visit a local teahouse or a Japanese garden to learn the etiquette and take part in the traditional tea ceremony. You may even decide to start or join a tea society, where people get together on a regular basis to learn more about and enjoy tea together
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