Afternoon Tea is the New Happy Hour

by

The delight of sipping afternoon tea has gained favor as a go-to social activity; let’s explore tea culture and where to enjoy this refined beverage


Afternoon tea is the newhappy hour, so they say,
A chance to sip, chat, and
while the hours away.

In a cup, with milk and honey,
Or iced, with lemon, so very sunny.

Let’s not forget the food as afternoon tea—all about the treats,
…from a few savories to
indulgent sweets.

Gone are the days of boozy
nights and drunken revelry,
Now it’s all about scones with

clotted cream…heavenly!

--Rita Calvert 

In a world where work-life balance is becoming more and more crucial, folks are searching for fresh approaches to happy hour gatherings. One alternative to the traditional alcohol-heavy happy hour that’s growing in popularity: tea-time. A new book by Eastern Shore local Gail Greco, Afternoon Tea Is the New Happy Hour, explores this idea and offers close to 90 recipes to make your tea hour exceptional with special additions to a brewed cuppa, and both sweet and savory tea-time treats, some with tea leaves or brewed tea as added ingredients to the treats. With recipes such as Chilled Wine Tea and Petite Potato Chip Walnut Tartlets, the book offers an educated and tempting introduction to tea culture.   

“Tea at happy hour is hot, or not, so it is a totally cool trend,” Greco says. “Enter the relaxing charms of afternoon tea—served hot or cold—but with a more casual vibe, since it is after a long busy day and, so, more of a come-as-you are affair.” 

What is Tea?

The Camellia sinensis plant is used to make all varieties of tea, including green, black, oolong, and white, using various techniques. The plant’s leaves and buds are steeped in hot or boiling water to make the tea. Some drinks called “tea” are not actually derived from the Camellia sinensis plant. These drinks are more accurately referred to as herbal teas or tisanes (an herbal infusion), and may include many different herbs, chamomile, rooibos, or fruit.

Caffeine, one of the most well-known components of tea, provides a gently stimulating effect on the body. Additionally, tea contains volatile organic compounds, minerals, chlorophyll, alkaloids, amino acids, carbohydrates, proteins, fluoride, aluminum, and polyphenols. Green tea has less caffeine than black tea and there are decaf teas with more relaxing properties. 

While afternoon tea was once a formal British dining experience in the 19th century, it is evolving to reflect today’s tastes. Traditional afternoon “high-teas” still have their allure, but truly modern tea-time increasingly features settings and menus showcasing a broader array of teas (green, black, and herbal) as well as more savory and healthier food options—plus cultural cuisine combinations unheard of in 19th century Britain. For example: cheeseboards! Thus, the tradition is brought into the present and offers something for everyone. 

Experience Local High-Tea

For a superb Victorian afternoon tea, visit the historic Annapolis landmark, Reynolds Tavern (reynoldstavern.org), which offers lodging, meals, high-tea, and refreshments while maintaining the intimacy and comfort that were its hallmark in the 18th century. Open seven days a week, they serve Traditional English Afternoon Tea daily from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Afternoon tea orders provide petite scones and a wide selection of savory and sweet treats, beautifully presented. Traditional high-tea takes a new twist here with offerings of cheeseboards to side step the traditional sweets.

Butterflies and Wishes Tea and Sweets (butterfliesandwishes.com) in Chesapeake Beach features an old-time high-tea with the classic finger sandwiches and sweets. Whimsical tea events for young ones are popular, along with group meetings, book clubs, private parties, and showers. The newly expanded space, “The Tea Nook,” within this sweet place offers takeout service of baked items, specialty tea beverages, including boba/bubble tea. In the tea/coffee gift shop, local art is presented along with gift items. Many packaged teas are available, including the Charleston Tea Garden label from the only tea garden in North America where you can see hundreds of thousands of tea bushes grown on a lush subtropical tea farm.

A skip and a jump from Annapolis is Sweet Simplici-Tea (sweetsimplicitea.com) in Sykesville. For well over a decade, this historic downtown location has served as a Victorian setting tearoom, lunch spot, bakery, and tea accessories shop. Scones-To-Go is very popular, offering 8–10 varieties daily. Special parties and events are held by reservation. Their afternoon tea option offers many choices, including gluten-free, vegetarian, and nut-free. The opulent Royal Afternoon Tea includes an appetizer, soup, a scone, salad, tea savories, fresh fruit, and desserts to go with your choice of tea.  

Travel back in time at The Granite Rose Tea Parlour (graniterosetea.net) in Granite, Maryland. Within an 1890s Victorian home awaits a truly historic traditional tea experience in the lovely rural community of Granite. This family-run business offers afternoon tea with mouth-watering indulgences and sweets, all referred to as exquisite: savories such as a mini quiche or crab salad, and apricot-sage, blueberry-lavender, or pineapple-ginger scones with clotted cream and preserves. The setting is perfect for special events and small weddings.

Originally a mansion in the posh Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, The Ivy Hotel (theivybaltimore.com/experience/afternoon-tea) has gone through many metamorphoses and landed as an elegant small hotel. Afternoon tea is a beloved tradition here with seating anywhere in the living room, library, or conservatory with tiers of sweet and savory treats available.

Source Your Tea

With locations in Annapolis, Frederick, Odenton, and Timonium, Baltimore Coffee and Tea (baltcoffee.com) does a brisk tea business and has a robust selection of loose-leaf teas and tea in bags. Their Eastern Shore Teas®, as well as Baltimore Teas, are imported from the finest tea gardens around the world. Teas are flavored with real spices, such as cinnamon, clove, lemongrass, and hibiscus. They use full leaf tea in all tea bags, which is cut in their hammermill. Eastern Shore Tea Company was purchased by Baltimore Coffee and Tea and is now simply a brand of their tea, packaged in their Timonium warehouse. 

The Spice and Tea Exchange (spiceandtea.com) in Annapolis is a great local resource to find the finest ingredients. Their selection includes over 200 specialty teas, including an impressive array of gourmet teas. The Spice and Tea Exchange is a franchise with many locations across the country. Accessories, spices, salts, sugars and honey, and gifts are also sold in the shop.

Since 2007, Capital Teas (capitalteas.com) in Annapolis has been a leading American specialty tea brand, now owned and operated by Anchor Beverages, Inc. The company offers loose-leaf tea, teaware, honey, spice sets, and signature varieties that showcase the Chesapeake Bay region: Capital Breakfast, Annapolis Treasures, Chesapeake Sunrise, Turmeric Ginger, Island Mango, and Roasted Almond, among others. The majority of the teas sold under the Capital Teas brand are USDA-certified organic, and nearly all its teas contain only natural ingredients. 

Husband and wife team, Eric and Lynette Dodson opened Baltimore’s Cuples Tea House (cuplesteahouse.com) in 2015 to create a citified contemporary tea experience while educating about tea, extolling its benefits and holding special tea events.

Emma and Ben Canoles bring a modern and casual approach to a proper British experience at Emma’s Tea Spot (emmasteaspot.com) in Baltimore. The shop features high-tea biscuits, scones, and ham and cheese toasties, plus other dishes from across the pond. They provide classes and events to showcase their mission to connect community and provide sustainable business practices. High-tea can be experienced in their shop and even ordered as a to-go experience. 

Tea, books, and motorcycles? Pillon Tea (pilliontea.com), also in Baltimore, is a unique find: a tea den with a biker vibe! They have a wide assortment of rare, fragrant, loose-leaf teas that can be enjoyed hot, cold, or as a latte and sipped while perusing their book selection. An assortment of pastries is offered (they recommend checking to see when your favorite is available) along with teaware and books.

In 2016, Baltimore-based siblings, Brittney and Joey Wight, founded Wight Tea Company (wighttea.com) as a “blending” tea business. As “teaologists,” the duo bases their house-blended loose teas on their refined palates. Teas can be purchased online or experienced in many Baltimore restaurants.

Local Farms Growing Tea

Maryland’s first tea farm, Heron’s Meadow Farm in Woodbine, was first sowed by owners Bob and Lori Baker with 50 plants in 2014. This first-of-its-kind Howard County operation has been working to brew a Free State tea trade. Heron’s Meadow onsite retail shop, blteas.com (named for Bob and Lori), also sells loose teas from around the world in flavors ranging from vanilla rooibos to blackberry jasmine. Visit their shop for tea, tea gift baskets, Heron Meadow Honey, and stoneware pottery that Lori makes herself at MudPi Studios. Get inspired by strolling through the herb gardens. There’s also a patio “where you can sit and relax and watch the wildlife,” Lori tells us. Events are held at the farm, such as yoga and sound bath meditation with a light breakfast. 

On a five-acre farm in Pikesville, Juniper Farm and Culinary Apothecary (juniperbaltimore.com) grows herbs and flowers to blend for unique themed teas combining function and flavor, superfood blends (blueberries anyone?), and infused salt and pepper. Founder, Sarah Acconcia also sells her lovely edible flowers as an addition to beautiful foods, as well as centerpieces. They encourage visits with an appointment.

As an alternative to the typical happy hour, tea-time is a trend that is growing in popularity. It provides a thoughtful alternative to the bar scene, and with health benefits. Check out the local tea places mentioned herein or, perhaps, host a wind-down tea at home for friends to share the virtues of tea. Tea is documented to be the most popular beverage in the world. Greco, the author of Afternoon Tea Is the New Happy Hour quotes Aristotle in her book: “In all things of nature there is something marvelous. I don’t think you can get any closer to nature than drinking tea.”  

Annapolis’ Tea Party of 1774

The Boston Tea Party is very famous, but did you know that Annapolis had one as well? It is said to have been one of the most dramatic in the colonies…maybe right there in Ego Alley! The Maryland State House tells us, “On October 19, 1774, Annapolis experienced its own ‘tea party,’ much like the uprising the year before in Boston Harbor. Peggy Stewart, a Maryland cargo vessel, named after the daughter of Anthony Stewart, met its fate. Stewart was the owner of the ship and a merchant in Annapolis, bringing in a cargo of tea (therefore breaching the tea boycott) and indentured servants. Annapolis’ angry mobs notified the ship’s owner to choose between burning the tea or facing the destruction of his ship and property. The indentured servants were released, the vessel was torched, and the Peggy Stewart burned down to the waterline. This event foreshadowed the Revolutionary War with its revolutionary fever and signaled the end of the ‘Golden Age’ of Annapolis as a major shipping port.”