Monday, November 10, 2008

Tea by the Sea





I love Australian cafe culture, especially cafes that specialise in tea. I've said it before, but Australia has made me a tea-aholic. I'm a regular at Tea'se Me in Wollongong and recently fell in love with its upscale counterpart in Stanwell Park--Tea by the Sea.

Tea by the Sea is quite spacious for a cafe--it's actually in a house. The cafe doesn't really have a business feel at all, it's more of a antiquey, cosy, granny look to it. I wouldn't even be surprised if the owners lived there because the place is only open on the weekends and public holidays. Plenty of tables were scattered across the backyard, but Jenny and I chose to eat in the 'sunroom' area because we'd been walking around in the hot sun all day.

The service was un-Australian (i.e. very good) so after lunch we decided to stay for awhile and order the specialty--Devonshire Tea. How to describe Devonshire Tea...let's see...I suppose Devonshire Tea could be compared to a rich, old aunt. She's bit stuffy (using cups and saucers made of fine china), but you usually leave crammed full of sweets (the pairing of scones with jam and heavy cream and fruit tarts).

Jenny ordered the White Spice (a light, white chai) and I the Darjeeling Vintage (a black tea, known as the 'champagne of teas.' Obviously it had little choice). The tea was quite nice, but the homemade scones with strawberry jam and cream were deliciously indulgent and fabulous in every way.

I hope I remember Australia's tea houses when I'm older because I think it's a business that could really fly in America. Plus, I've acquired a pretty mean scone recipe since being here that might just make me a coin or two someday.

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