Meadow Brook Downton Abbey Tea with Barb's Tea Service: Sold-out reschedule in March serves up a delightful afternoon!

A wonderful sold-out Downton Abbey tea with BTS at Meadow Brook Hall, just slightly delayed

We've been presenting at Meadow Brook Hall's Downton Abbey-inspired afternoon teas since 2016 and this was the first year weather forced a reschedule. But, we're thrilled that the event returned this week and that we could, once again, be part of this great event.

Rachel and Barb of BTS at Meadow Brook Hall

This year's theme was a potpourri of Downton Abbey topics with an added focus on the impact of the Gilded Age. It dovetailed with BTS' meet-up with Lady Carnarvon, Countess of Highclere Castle (aka, the "real Downton Abbey") last June when she visited Newport, Rhode Island as part of blended Gilded Age-Downton Abbey celebration.

BTS has been presenting at MBH since 2016, pictured here in 2017, complete with parasol

We also talked about the "royal connection" of Downton Abbey, including the true story of the quiet, but formidable, Princess Mary. We referenced her latest biography, "Princess Mary:  The First Modern Princess", which makes the case for the only daughter of King George V as being the trailblazer for future royals stepping outside of traditional imperial roles. (We've corresponded with the author and we'll be featuring this book in an upcoming "Tuesday Tea and Tomes" - stay tuned!).

Books, magazines and teacups ready for display at BTS' tea table for MBH tea talk

Over 80 guests were in attendance and many, to our delight, were attired in period dress. Rachel and I noted that we no longer stand out in fashion at these Downton Abbey affairs and we love the enthusiasm of the DA fans (or, some who also join us in the category of "fan-atics"😀💓).

We're no longer in the minority of donning period dress, which we love!

Although an ice-storm in February put a hold on the Downton Abbey-inspired Afternoon Tea at Meadow Brook Hall, it couldn't keep it Downton-down for long. 

A special thank you to all the folks at Meadow Brook Hall for supporting another fabulous tea and for all the guests who joined us!

Tea in the D: Socra Tea, know thy tearoom in Detroit

Back at Socra Tea.  Outside has changed, but inside, still the awesome tearoom 

Socrates may have said "know thyself", but Socra Tea knows its teas in the "D".

There is no better way to wrap up this week's Detroit-themed blogs than a stop at Socra Tea. Just down the street from MOCAD and a short walking distance to the DIA and the Detroit Historical Museum, Socra Tea is ideally located in the heart of Detroit's Cultural Center Historic District.  While its environs are growing rapidly, we were comforted in our recent visit to Socra Tea that inside all was still the same: the same great tea, the same great service and the same great ambiance.

First Socra Tea teatime in 2014

Owner, Meg, and young Phin

We first met up with Socra Tea in 2014 with owner Meg and her young son, Phineas. We were instantly charmed by the immense variety of teas and their exceptional taste (oh, and adorable Phin, of course).  At the time, we could park in an adjacent vacant lot - now there's a newly minted, mixed-use, multi-level building in its place. Exciting to see.

Socra Tea adjacent vacant lot in 2014

Today, newly minted multi-use building in its place

Socra Tea is featured in our Michigan Tea Rooms and throughout the years, we were back not only as guests, but presenters during Michigan Tea Week (2015) and partners in a chocolate-and-tea pairing event at the Huntington Woods Library (2016).  

Meg pointing to the many varieties of loose tea at Socra Tea

We've used Socra Tea's tea at many of our events and they continue to expand my tea horizons past my default, "Earl Grey".  (Although, true confession time, I did bring home a package of Socra Tea Earl Grey this week - it's sooooo good!).

BTS presenting at Socra Tea in 2014

BTS selecting tea and chocolate at Socra Tea

Now that we're back exploring our Motor City hometown, we'll make Socra Tea a regular stop. Thyself loves a great cup of Camellia sinensis and a tasty tisane and knows Socra Tea is the Detroit place for tea of all types.

Detroit History Bus Tour: Becomming a "good tourist" in my hometown, Part II

Chris and Rob at one of the stops of our Detroit History Bus Tour

I began this week with a blog story highlighting my long weekend of Detroit history and culture immersion (Becoming a good tourist in my hometown). Sandwiched between two art museum visits, we took in a most entertaining, educational and enjoyable bus tour of "Bizarre Detroit" from Detroit History Tours and it needed a blog story of its own.

On our bus, waiting for the fun to begin!

A birthday present for husband, Chris, and I, from our children - one of which, Rachel, had been on a similar tour back in December -  we were already assured of a good time from her recommendation. After a three and a half hour tour that stretched from Hamtramck to Delray, with many points of interest in between, we heartily agree with our daughter's assessment.

Bailey, our tour guide, a Detroit dynamo - engaging and informative

Our tour guide was Bailey, assisted by Jeff. Bailey is a Detroit dynamo -  thoroughly engaging and a remarkable source of fun facts and crazy trivia about our own Motor City.  Although I've lived in the Metro Detroit area my entire life, most of Bailey's tales of the city I'd never heard before. Now I can connect stories to statues and structures I've driven by a million times and dismissed as nothing more than large-scale bric-a-brac.

Jeff awards Chris with a prize for knowing some Detroit Tigers triva.

I won't give away the details of the tour - it has to be experienced. But, a few notable highlights: 

• A stop at a secluded bar where everyone is warmly welcomed and considered a member for forty-five minutes. One can belly up to the bar for a cold one, be it a beer or a Vernors.
• A detailed account of the Spirit of Detroit.
• A KAWS sculptor on Campus Martius. We saw a similar KAWS creation at the Brooklyn Museum last August and did not realize until last weekend that we had one in Detroit.
• A memorial gate on Jefferson that honors an impressive Detroit resident of the past with a name you won't forget once you're told.
• Intermittent trivia questions thrown out and a correct response is awarded with a prize.  Jeff presented Chris with a magnet/can opener for knowing the answer to a puzzler about the 1968 Detroit Tigers. Yahoo!
• The Detroit History Club offices where it all begins. We are curious to learn more about this building and their plate wall.

KAWS in Detroit! We didn't know. . .

KAWS in Brooklyn, 2022 visit

We've already got friends and family on board for more events from the Detroit History Tours. With a variety of offerings including Wild Women of Detroit, Felonies and Misdemeanors, the Detroit Cops and Mobsters and, The Detroit Classics Food, there really is something for, quite literally, everyone's taste.

Check out the link to Detroit History Tours for more information.

Detroit history and culture in a long weekend: Becoming a good tourist in my hometown

Detroit History Bus Tour, part of our Detroit touristy weekend

I've been to amazing museums and historical places in the past including Versailles, Schonbrunn, the Vatican, the Uffizi Gallery and the Louvre. Closer to home, we've visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and, most recently, the Brooklyn Museum. But one conversation I had with a taxi driver in England almost twenty years ago hit a chord with me this past week. He was driving our family to the Tower of London and we asked if he'd ever been there. He said, matter-of-factly, that he hadn't. He'd been meaning to, but just hadn't been a very good tourist in his own town.

Brooklyn Museum 2022

Versailles in 2008, but what about Detroit?

I understand. In Detroit, we have so much in the way of culture and history from the renowned Detroit Institute of Art to the lesser known, but magnificent, vintage homes and museums that all tell a unique story of the Motor City, but I haven't explored as much as I should. However, just a few days ago, in the span of long weekend, I became a very good tourist in my hometown starting with the DIA, then an historic bus tour of the city and, wrapping up with a visit to an old mansion filled to the roof with art and antiques.  

Jewel case from circa 1770

18th-century traveling cutlery set

I've been to the DIA on several occasions going as far back as elementary school. If you are a student in the Detroit metro area, chances are high that you took a field trip or two to the museum, where the Diego Rivera murals leave a lasting impression. But lately, a trip to the DIA is typically for a special exhibit (the latest, back in November for the Van Gogh exhibit -  BTS blog, December, 2022). So, while I'm not a totally absent tourist of this museum, I could be much better. 

"Dazzling Dessert" Sevres serving ware

So, when my long-time friend, Jane, texted me a week ago that she felt like a trip to the art museum, I was on board. It had been too long since I just wandered the floors of the DIA with no particular agenda. 

Mid-19th century Sevres coffee and tea service

We started on the first floor and explored the Native American section as well as the Egyptian wing. We then hit the third floor to take in the Dutch masters and, my favorite, the British and Fashionable Living sections. 

BTS (Rachel, Barb and Pam) at DIA coffee and tea

Among the treasures I loved most were: (1) a jewel cabinet from the 1770's, made in France, and eventually gifted to an Empress of Russia; (2) a "dazzling dessert" collection of Sevres serving wear; (3) an assortment of Wedgwood, including a Caneware (tan colored) cup and saucer; (4), a traveling cutlery set from the 18th century and (5) a coffee and tea set from the mid-19th century, also created by Sevres. The last was prominently displayed during the Chocolate, Tea and Coffee Exhibit the DIA had back in 2016. (BTS not only visited that exhibit, but partnered with many libraries that year on tea and chocolate programs tied to the DIA event).

The Art of Dining, an 19th century European Banquet, a tabletop film worthy of an award

However, the most fun display was a tabletop short film, "The Art of Dining, an 18th Century European Banquet". Four guests (you only see their ruffled and lace-cuffed hands) are served a three-course meal with a variety of fancy, period dinnerware. Oscar worthy? Perhaps not - but if you are a vintage tablescape enthusiast, you'll see it as award-winning entertainment.

A great day at the DIA, indeed. 

And, like every successful outing, Jane and I made our final stop at the Cafe for a delicious repast. 

Jane & Barb - enjoying the DIA without an agenda

The DIA kicked off our Detroit immersion weekend. On our second day, we toured the city on a bus (our next blog story!), but our final day, we journeyed not far from the DIA to another art museum of sorts. This is a private home - just steps off Woodward, bordering Wayne State buildings and brand-spanking new modern condominiums - owned by a former Art Professor and his husband. Pam (good friend/BTS member) has been long acquainted with tours and lectures of this professor, but much of these were shut down due to ye olde quarantine conditions. 

When the house reopened for tours this month, Pam, quickly snatched us up some tickets and we spent last Sunday morning touring this three-story, 1872 mansion filled with rare art treasures and impressive antique furniture. 

An 1872 Detroit home, just off Woodward is now framed by Wayne State and modern condominiums.

We learned that, although this home was huge by any standard, the mansions that were built right on Woodward were the biggest and most lavish. Our guide explained it was much like 5th Avenue in Manhattan, where the Vanderbilts constructed their showy dwellings. The homes closest to the "avenues" in both Detroit and New York, were next in line as far as size and status, working down to the end where the houses became gradually smaller and packed more tightly together.

The home we toured still had a "carriage stone" in its yard, a vestige of a time before we were the Motor City and carriages were the transport of the day. A carriage stone, we were told, would have sat at the curb of one's yard and assisted passengers alighting into their horse-driven taxi.

A "carriage stone" rests in the front of the mansion, a vestige of pre-Motor City Detroit

The 19th-century mansion is remarkable not only its contents, but in its glimpse of Detroit's grand history.

At the end of this weekend, thanks to dear friends and family, I was more informed and, yes, even more impressed with the history and culture of my hometown. I have vowed to become a better tourist in my own backyard.

Stay tuned for our next blog on the Detroit History Bus Tour!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! BTS celebrates all things Irish with help from TeaTime recipes

March/April TeaTime Magazine source for St. Patrick's Day-themed tea recipes

St. Patrick's Day is traditionally celebrated with corned beef, green beer and that other drink, Irish coffee, (not that there's anything wrong with that, to borrow from Seinfeld wisdom) but it certainly doesn't end there. In fact, a perfect St. Patrick's Day can begin with an afternoon tea packed with scrumptious savories and sweets courtesy holiday-inspired recipes from TeaTime Magazine. 

Ingredients for Herbed Cucumber Tea Sandwiches include fresh parsley, chives and dill

The March/April TeaTime Magazine not only includes a visit to four charming tea rooms in County Kerry, Ireland, (oh, and a fascinating article on Newport's Chinese Tea House written by your humble BTS blogger), but "Ode to the Irish" a section filled with recipes and tablescapes fit for a festive St. Patrick's Day-themed afternoon tea. 

All of the recipes looked amazing, but we started with the "Herbed Cucumber Tea Sandwiches". It was fun and easy (two of my favorite "ingredients") and, ultimately, delicious.  The fresh herbs (chives, dill and parsley) give an extra, but not overpowering, punch to the traditional tea-time cucumber sandwich. 

Opting in for green coloring

Adding cucumber to cream cheese

We made a few modifications (eliminated the sweet onions, substituted honey wheat bread for honey white bread), but totally subscribed to the optional green food coloring. If Chicago can dye an entire river for the occasion, it's the least we can do to tint a cream cheese/cucumber sandwich filling. 

Spread mixture on bread, then cut into triangles

We're still working on adding to our afternoon tea menu. We've got our eye on TeaTime's matcha-currant scones, reuben puff pastry sandwiches, low-carb feta and olive scones and - faith and begorrah - GRASSHOPPER MINI-TARTLETS. 

Tablescape featuring emerald dishes, Waterford crystal and Irish Breakfast tea

Today, we've set our St. Patrick's Day tea table with emerald-colored glass dishes and tea cups, a green glass pumpkin, tiny leprechaun and a few Waterford bowls. We're serving it all with a pot of Irish Breakfast from Fortnum and Mason. 

For all the recipes and Irish-themed articles, check out the March/April issue of TeaTime Magazine.

Shamrock plant and Waterford glasses ready for toasting! (via Pam Mc-B)

All things Irish today - shamrock plants, Waterford crystal, and lots of blarney! We raise a cup of Irish tea to all today (and perhaps tonight fill our fancy glasses with something dyed green)  and cheer on all our tea friends with a proper Irish Toast (The Irish Post):

May you always find three welcomes in life, in a garden during the summer, at a hearth during winter and in the hearts of friends throughout all your years.  💚

St. Patrick's Day Week is here and BTS celebrates Ireland. A trip to Wateford Crystal (our happy place!)

In Waterford, Ireland at the House of Waterford (aka, my "happy place).

Ireland has so many things I love:  great tea, family ties, daily rainbows and my forever happy place, Waterford, home of some of the most beautiful crystal in the world. Although it's been a decade since our visit, I'm reminded of that trip on many occasions -  while drinking a hearty cup of Irish Breakfast tea, serving fancy drinks in my Waterford glasses and, most definitely, on St. Patrick's Day (now week!).

Our family is ready to begin the tour

First stop, glass blowing

In 2012, we journeyed to the Emerald Isle for just over a week with Dublin as our home base. Although we didn't stay in a castle, we did stay at the Castle Hotel, a few steps from O'Connell Street. From the hotel, we ventured out to the many attractions in Dublin in addition to several day trips which included stops at County Monaghan, Cork, Blarney Castle, Cobh and the sparkling jewel of the Irish crown, Waterford. The latter is home to Waterford House, a place filled with not only crystal treasures but afternoon tea as well. Oh, yes, this is a most happy place, indeed.

There's no margin for error in the process

Although the trip from Dublin to Waterford provided more adventure than we had planned - a flooded train track, a reroute on a crowded bus - I found the most stressful part of the experience was deciding what crystal to purchase at the Waterford store. 

Most stressful part of the experience.  . 

. . . choosing what to buy

The Waterford store/factory/tearoom is a dazzling connection to a history of and commitment to, craftsmanship that continues to impress today. We learned that Waterford Crystal was founded in the late 1700's by brothers George and William Penrose with a shared mission to create beautiful, high-quality crystal. It was an immediate success, but, by the mid-19th century, it suffered from tough economic times and closed shop.

The Waterford Crystal story begins in the late 1700's, founded by the Penrose brothers.

Although it took almost a century to start anew, it was worth the wait. In 1947, Kael Black and fellow Czech Miroslave Havel brought Waterford back to life. They continued the traditional cutting patterns while also adding new designs. Havel is credited for creating Lismore, one of the world's best-selling crystal patterns.

Quality inspection is a large part of the crystal making process. Rachel takes on this intense role.

The factory tour took our family through a chain of master artisans starting with the glass blowers. We moved down the line to molding, marking, cutting and sculpting.  Quality inspections take place along the way. The whole process is a true spectator sport. Any imperfection may result in a restart which involves destruction and recycle. It's like watching a figure skater in the Olympics nailing a quadruple Axel - it will result in beautiful perfection or something that won't impress the judges.

The Waterford showroom includes beautiful chandeliers and crystal-filled tablescapes.

And, speaking of sports, our tour concluded in the area where Waterford Crystal creates its unique items and awards, such as the PGA trophy. Other notables in the U.S. category of Waterford "gold" include the People's Choice award and the Times Square New Year's Eve ball. 

Among the Wateford collection, unique pieces created for sports and celebrations.

Cinderella's coach. I would love to add this to my glass pumpkin collection!

After the tour, we explored the showroom that displayed products for sale as well as a few crystal tablescapes, all under the intoxicating glow of Waterford chandeliers. It took a while to decide what to purchase (and ship back home), but mission accomplished with an exquisite large bowl and a tiny footed compote dish. Add a delightful afternoon tea in the Waterford Cafe - which we did - and one completes the ultimate Waterford Crystal adventure.

Tea completes the ultimate Waterford adventure.

Over the years, I've amassed a small collection of Waterford Crystal from a set of wine glasses (finally used a few years ago: Vintage heirlooms debut after years of storage!), a pair of toasting glasses and my bowls purchased during our Ireland vacation. Perhaps a Waterford glass pumpkin or chandelier could be added to my thoughtfully curated crystal assortment? 

 

My Wateford collection - room for a crystal pumpkin or chandelier?

While I contemplate that further expansion, I'm brewing up some Irish breakfast tea and reminiscing about my happy place, Waterford, that's always open - in my memories at least.

A teacup cheers to all celebrating St. Patrick's Day week!

The House of Waterford is always open - in my memories, that is!