Tea in style

We just spent a few days at the lovely Mount Washington Hotel (picture from here). What a fantastic place. You can just imagine the rich and famous settling in here for the summer, dressing to the nines for dinner, enjoying wonderful music, and doing whatever else the high society R&F did back in the day.

I sampled a bit of this glamour at high tea, appropriately held in the Princess Room! Not at all like how tea happens in my house - mug in the microwave, paper tea bag plopped unceremoniously in the hot water. No, tea at the Hotel is an event. It starts with a lovely wooden box filled with hand-labeled glass jars of tea. Each little bottle held a wonderful mix of leaves, berries, fruit rinds and tea. I was tempted by the Mt. Washington blend, feeling like I should stay in the mountain spirit of things, but I was scared off by the yarrow in it - a weird flavor in my opinion. I decided on the Eros - a nice vanilla flavored spicy mix that was in keeping with the romantic atmosphere.
The silver tea service was beautiful - tea strainer, lemon wedge squeezer, jam holder and tower of treats server. Nice things do make a difference - no sense saving them for some special event. Reminds me of the Thoreau quote; "To affect the quality of the day- that is the highest of arts".
What better to go with a pot of steaming tea than a tower of treats! The top plate held three little tea sandwiches- dainty bites of salmon, watercress and shaved ham. Underneath that were little pastry bites- scones, cream puffs and fruit breads. All the chocolate goodies were at the bottom, including a cute little Grand Marnier chocolate covered hedgehog with slivered almond spikes. It was so indulgent to linger over this treat, waiters hovering nearby just in case there was something more you wanted. All of this plus a fantastic view of snowy trees and the beautiful grounds and a great book - bliss!