A Crafter's Life

Tea Time!

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am an obsessive tea drinker. I cannot start my day until I have had a pot of strong green tea. I also love tea shops, tea rooms and the rare special treat of going to “High Tea”.

We used to have a lovely tea room in Sisters, Oregon and I went to several wonderful High Teas there. I love the whole English High Tea concept – a delicious pot of tea, finger sandwiches, scones with Devonshire cream and lemon curd, etc. I never had Devonshire cream until I moved to Central Oregon and went to my first high tea. I tried to stay calm after my first taste (I would have embarrassed my dining companions had I started licking the plate!)

The tea room in Sisters, Oregon used to serve soup or salad and scones for their high tea. I was quite sad when it closed (I did buy way too many tea related items at their going out of business sale, but many of them I still use – like my beloved tea pot warmer).

So you can imagine what a treat it was this past Saturday when a friend took me for tea at AK’s Tea Room in Redmond, Oregon. The tea room is located in downtown Redmond among a nest of antique shops, a bookstore, little eateries, and various boutiques. It is a fun area to wander. I had stopped there once before for a pot of tea and cupcake but had never have their full “Hampton Court Afternoon Tea for Two”.

The proprietor, Karen George, is a delightful woman who is originally from London and she spent time chatting with us. After she moved to Central Oregon, she and the fellow Brits she discovered also living here noted there was no place in Central Oregon to “get a proper cup of tea”. Through a series of fated and magical-seeming occurrences she and her spouse opened a tea room in downtown Redmond. There is an article from 2014 on her shop in the Bend Bulletin called High Tea in  the High Desert.

Here are photos from her tea room and our tea (it was not proper “high tea” as it was not in the afternoon but it was our “tea lunch” done in the style of an afternoon tea):

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Outside one of the many antique shops in downtown Redmond
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AK’s Tea Room
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Many goodies await
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Behind the counter lots of British paraphernalia
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Tea books and gifts
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The tea room is decorated with unusual tea themed items
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There was even a Union Jack quilt
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Our delicious treat to accompany our pot of tea!

Published by tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Quilter, crafter, obsessive tea drinker and lover of all furry creatures (especially dogs and cats) - join me on my tierneycreates blog as I share stories from "A Crafter's Life".

20 thoughts on “Tea Time!”

  1. How fun! And a quilt in there tops it all off! I have a friend in Ohio who runs a business setting up tea parties – I think she does it for little girls’ birthday parties, moms’ groups, etc. She collects all sorts of china and place settings.

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  3. Oh my gosh I love that, what a cute place, sadly most of the towns and villages here in the uk have been taken over by coffee shops, just a few tea rooms remain, for me probably more still exist than for others as I live in the new forest, it’s a rural area which attracts lots of tourism, fab walks, cycles, wild ponies, and the Jurassic coast on the doorstep. You can’t beat a good strong cup of tea in the morning…or any time.☕️🍰

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    1. Oooh living in a new forest sounds lovely! Yes I never understood why coffee shops took over, anywhere. I used to live in Seattle WA (home of Starbucks) where you could not step outside your door without shortly running into a coffee shop. Of course coffee seems to go with our society of hurry, hurry, hurry, while tea says “take some time, slow down and enjoy your cuppa” 🙂

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    1. Oregon is fairly diverse as a state – culturally and geographically – there is Portland with its bustling city and arts, places like Eastern Oregon that are more “cowboy-isn” and places like the high desert, Central Oregon. Then of course there is the beautiful Oregon coast and southern Oregon with cool places like Ashland. I do love this state but I love Central Oregon the best!

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  6. I also miss and loved the Sisters tea room. I worked with the owners on their Interior Design when it was being built. Such a fun project wanting customers to have the ultimate “Tea” experience when they were there. Now we have Suttle Tea in Sisters that is also wonderful that you will enjoy. Love their tea blends. Janet Storton

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  9. My first experience with High Tea was at the Worthington Hotel in downtown Fort Worth in the mid 1980’s. OMG — as a life-long tea drinker, that event changed my life. A small tea room has opened in a nearby town. I’m making reservations for high tea right now — thanks for the reminder!

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