At tea time, you can relax, unwind, and savor time spent with family, friends, or yourself, sip by sip.
You may feel that you are royalty in Victorian England when you sit down to tea at the Carriage House Tearoom and Cafe (609-884-5404), on the grounds of the historic 1879 Emlen Physick Estate in Cape May. Tea breads and scones with clotted cream are offered, and the featured tea is Twinings. Open from April through December.
At The Upper Crust, in Boonton (973-331-3769), British-born pastry chef Susan Chappell does all the baking, and the tea is a special house blend (made from Ceylon, fine Assam, and Nilgiri). The menu includes freshly toasted crumpets served with lemon curd and clotted cream.
At the Tea Hive, which occupies an historic 1793 house on Route 94 in Newton (973-579-7177), children ten years and younger can partake in a “Young Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Tea Lunch,” where pastries, tea sandwiches, hot and iced brewed tea, and mugs of chocolate are offered. Adults can opt for an elegant tea lunch or a tea sampler lunch and choose from 38 tea varieties.
In December, young tea enthusiasts can tour a Land of Sweets, enjoy holiday desserts, and decorate cookies at the Hilton Short Hills “Sugarplum Teas” (973-379-0100). Traditional afternoon tea is served weekdays throughout the year.
On Wednesdays, the Liberty Hall Museum in Union (908-527-0400) serves tea and sandwiches, pastries, and scones with clotted cream in a 1772 building constructed by William Livingston, New Jersey’s first governor. Through December 27; reopens April.
Mithaas (sweetness in Hindi), an Indian teahouse and dessert lounge in Edison (732-947-3014), specializes in cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and mint teas, along with Indian sweets, which are made with condensed milk, sugar, nuts, and edible silver leaf.
If you like your body pressed as well as your tea, try High SocieTea House in Wayne (973-696-8327), where monthly themed teas may include a massage, a reading of angel cards (a relative of tarot), or a “Tea 101” class. Tea is also infused into some of High SocieTea’s foods, such as scones and soups.