Glad Tea Party: Carmel’s Cypress Inn Continues an Elegant
Tradition by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
I
still smile when thinking about taking my elementary-age daughter Florence out
for tea at the lovely Cypress Inn in Carmel, California.
I
talked to the editor at the editor at The
Monterey County (CA) Weekly (Circulation: 200,000) and asked for an
assignment to encourage the afternoon tea tradition around Monterey
County. She agreed and sent me off to
the Cypress Inn with my elementary-age daughter Florence.
Florence
and I dressed in black-and-white dresses and shoes and away we went to the
Cypress Inn in Carmel, California.
The
following article has been modified, but the content is still the same:
I
loved to play tea party with my daughter Florence when she was a toddler. Now that she is a young teen, we can really
dress up and visit one of Carmel’s coziest places for tea – the Cypress Inn.
Built
in 1929, the Cypress Inn is built in a Mediterranean style with white-washed
walls, orange roof tiles, and a glorious, sun-lit patio with tropical plants;
the Cypress Inn is reminiscent of Andalusia.
On
a recent visit, my daughter Florence and I had afternoon tea and sandwiches out
on the small patio garden that holds just four tables. Florence looked pretty in her black-and-white
dress with her hair pulled back. We just
needed black hats to fit in perfectly with the Palladian windows I thought.
We
chose teas from a tea box with compartments from the Mighty Tea Company. Florence chose African rose nectar tea, and I
tried rainforest mint.
While
the hotel manager prepared our tea, we admired the red, pink, and purple
flowers in the garden around us. Lush,
green foliage climbed the outdoor chimney and the posts upholding the porch
eaves.
Hummingbirds
flitted from blossom to blossom and blue jays hopped around looking for
crumbs. A red flowering potted plant
decorated our table.
Flowers
also decorated the Cuthbertson bone china that arrived on each of our
individual tea trays that held a teapot, sugar cube holder, creamer, tray of
whipped cream and jam, a tea-shaped strainer for tea leaves, and a plate of tea
goodies (sandwiches and cookies).
Florence
agreed that I had taken her out on a fancy outing for tea when she saw the tray
of tea china and tea treats.
The
teas all had a lovely, copper color and pronounced flavors. Florence’s tea was made up of African rooibos
leaves flavored with tropical fruit and blossoms. The mint in my rainforest tea had a subtle
flavor yet present flavor.
We
used the tea tongs to pick up rough-edged, brown sugar cubes and place it in
our tea. We used the flower-patterned
creamer to pour in cream. The result was
a highly perfumed, sweet tea like chai.
Our
diamond-shaped tea sandwiches made with spongy, white bread gave me ideas for
picnics at the various “granges” – Rustic Community Centers - around Monterey
County. My favorite sandwich was made with
ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, and lemony mayonnaise.
The
sandwiches came in star-, diamond-, circular-, and half-moon shapes.
We
each ate a large scone that filled us up.
Tea scones are made with evaporated milk, sugar, butter, eggs, and
flour; they are moist and taste wonderful with dollops of whipped cream and
strawberry jam. Florence suggested
mixing jam and whipped cream as a scone topping.
I
ate pecan rich Mexican wedding cake cookies.
They are also called Russian teacakes.
(Trotsky allusion?)
According
to Andrea Israel’s Taking Tea, the
American tea-drinking habit has its origins in the British tradition.
The
afternoon tea tradition began in the 18th century when Duchess Anna
of Bedford presented tea and sandwiches to her guests while her husband was out
hunting. English colonists brought their
tea ritual with them to the New World.
Article
end
In
addition to Andrea Israel’s Taking Tea, the
following book about afternoon tea has many baking ideas and recipes:
The Perfect Afternoon
Tea Recipe Book: More than 160 Recipes… by Anthony Wild and
Carol Pastor
You
can buy small tea sandwich cutters in the form of stars, diamonds, circles, and
half moons at Amazon.com or restaurant supply stores.
Pinkies
up!!!! (Not necessary, but teaches
balance without spills)
By
Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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