Afternoon Tea

Photo: Lorraine Anico

I used to be a heavy coffee drinker. I can proudly say that I am one major contributor in Starbucks' success. But just recently, Peter encouraged me to try drinking tea since the only tea I ever tried is sweetened iced tea. I didn’t expect to actually like it but I did. I started reading about tea and its varieties. I also learned about the English afternoon tea tradition and the more elaborate Japanese tea ceremony. Since then, I have always wanted to try out an afternoon tea service so I searched for an afternoon tea room I could visit here in Madison.

 Yesterday, I had a really awesome afternoon tea experience at Legacy House Imports Gift Shop and Tea Room along Lien Road in Madison. The Cape Cod style house offers a variety of quintessential quilts, jewelries, tea sets and other crafts which mostly came from various parts of Europe. The back porch of the house is converted into a Victorian style parlor which offers a very relaxing ambiance, just perfect for an afternoon tea experience.

Photo: Lorraine Anico

The 3 tier afternoon tea tray is $14.99. It includes four different tea sandwiches, tea bread, a scone and 4 serving of miniature desserts. The pot of tea is not included in the prize. I ordered a pot of Formosa oolong tea for myself which is a mixture of good earthy and subtle autumn leafy flavor. Peter on the other hand settled for Sencha green tea which has a rich, deep flavor but with a very refreshing green aroma.

Photo: Lorraine Anico

We devoured the tray from the bottom tier and worked our way up. The crustless finger sandwiches include cucumber with dill and cream cheese, crab salad, chicken salad and ham salad all of which are delicious and flavorful.

Photo: Lorraine Anico

The middle tier is my favorite. A slice of banana bread and a buttery warm apricot scone served with Devonshire cream, lemon curd and apple jelly. Aahh. Each bite screams heaven! I had to order two more extra scones that I can take with me at home. I also asked for more Devonshire. =)

Photo: Lorraine Anico

 And lastly, the top tier was full of sweet treats which includes pistachio cake, cream swan, mini pumpkin cheese cake and mini chocolate decadence which are all baked in-house. Devouring these little dainty desserts was a perfect way to end the tea experience.

I was relieved when Peter told me that he genuinely enjoyed it since I saw the hesitation in his eyes when we entered the tea room. I guess it’s to ‘girly’ for him at first. It’s funny how he ended up buying extra bags of loose leaf teas to bring home. Well, it seems that this is not going to be our last afternoon tea here. I'm already looking forward for more afternoon tea visits.