Fancy That's Walpole Tea Room launches custom blend called "Smitten"

Fancy That is “Smitten” with its new House Blend of Tea

Fancy That introduces its own house blend of tea called “Smitten.”

Fancy That, a busy Victorian style tea house and gift shop in Walpole, Massachusetts, whose Facebook fan-base of over 11,000 draws “likers” from around the globe, has just launched its own blend of tea they are calling “Smitten.”  “We are proud to bring wonderful teas to the table for our guests to enjoy,” Sarah Erlandson, proprietress of Fancy That says.  “So it seemed fitting to offer our own blend of tea containing our favorite flavourings.” 

“Smitten” is a blend of Pai Mu Tan (or “White Peony”) certified organic white tea, rose bud petals that are certified organic, Lemongrass from Egypt also certified organic and Orange Flower Water from France.  The mist-shrouded mountains of the Fujian Province in China is where this white tea is grown.  White tea is the least processed of all teas – never rolled and only slightly oxidized.  It is only picked in the spring and only on days where there is no rain.  It is loaded with favonoids, catechins and other antioxidants and has a proven health benefit.  The taste is distinctively “tea” with a rich golden color to the liquid.  The addition of rose petals and French Orange Blossom water gives Smitten its gentle aroma and comforting notes of honey.

“My husband and I fell in love with the ethereal taste of Orange Blossom water while planning our wedding,” Erlandson continues.  “Our wedding cake was flavoured with French Orange Blossom water.  We have been smitten with the flavour ever since, so you can see where the name came from,” Erlandson says with a smile.  “Working with local blender GayGrace Teas (home of the original Mobile Tea Truck), we came up with the perfect combination of ingredients to create Fancy That’s signature, house blend tea.  We are thrilled to add it to our tea menu.”

“Smitten” joins Fancy That’s tea menu alongside over 30 teas from which patrons may choose when they have Afternoon Tea at the tea room.  “Initially Smitten will only be available by the pot when you have Afternoon Tea here, “Erlandson says.  “But later this year we will begin to offer Smitten for sale in our gift shop, so that our house blend can be enjoyed at home, too.”

Fancy That is a “reservation only” tea house, serving a classic Victorian style Afternoon Tea Thursdays through Sundays.  Reservations are running approximately two weeks out on weekends and one week out on Thursdays and Fridays.  For reservations call toll free 1-888-323-2832 or email reservations@afternoontea.com.  The Gift Shoppe is open to the public during regular hours, Thursdays and Fridays 10am – 3 pm,  Saturdays and Sundays 10am – 5pm.

October Sandwich of the Month - Apple Cheddar on Raisin (with recipe)

Happy October everyone! Here we are in the midst of "pumpkin everything" and "apples galore."  Well, here at Fancy That, our love of pumpkin and apples brings us to this month's selection of the most delicious Autumn combos.  As we mentioned last week, the cupcakes are a pumpkin with a cream cheese frosting.  Now for the fun:  the sammie!  In addition to two English cucumber on pumpernickel, and our fancy chicken salad (with apricot jam and white raisins) on wheat bread, we introduce the October sandwich:  Granny Smith apple and Vermont white cheddar cheese on raisin bread.  YUMMY! 

Admittedly, we have oodles of fun in "test kitchen" exploring flavour combos and sampling a treat or two.  Do you want to help in "test kitchen" sometime?  :)

Here's the recipe to a great fall-flavoured tea sandwich.

2 granny smith apples
1/4 pound (about 6 slices) of Vermont white cheddar cheese
1 loaf of raisin bread
1/2 cup plain whipped cream cheese (buy it whipped...don't bother doing it yourself!)
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Ready two large granny smith apples by washing, and peeling the skins off.  Have the Vermont white cheddar sliced thinly (about the thickness of a credit card) - not paper thin though. 

Buy your favorite raisin bread - we use a Peppridge Farms Cinnamon Raisin Swirl bread.  Set out four slices with four more slices for the tops.  Generously spread the whipped cream cheese on the "inside" sides of each piece of bread.

With a parring knife, slice the apples into thin slices about the thickness of a credit card.  No need to core the apply.  Just slice along one side, then the opposite, and then the other two.  Discard the core.  Turn all the apple slices into a bowl, pouring the lemon juice of the slices then mix gently so all the pieces of apple are covered with lemon juice.  This will keep them from turning brown before you assemble the sammie.

Lay one piece of cheese on the "bottom" slice of bread.  Take the slices of apple, patting them dry, then lay on the cheese.  Cover with the "top" slice of bread.

With a sharp knife, gently slice the crusts off the four sides.   Take the sandwich, and cut it in half with a thickness of about two fingers (ah!  the reason they are called "finger sandwiches!").  Chill for about an hour then serve.  This recipe yields 8 finger sammies.  

Thanks for stopping by!  OH!  Helpful cooking tip for today:  When mixing up your scones, use OUR secret ingredient - BUTTERMILK!  Never use whole milk or skim milk for scones.  The Buttermilk makes the taste and texture PERFECT for your scone.  Enjoy your Afternoon Tea!

October's flavours for Afternoon Tea

Here at Fancy That, we are excited about how our Afternoon Teas have grown.  We love to hear the Shoppe full of people enjoying Afternoon Tea.  The stories we hear from our guests warm our hearts and make us realize that what we are doing is more than just serving up tea - we are creating an event that will be remembered for quite some time.

So, here we are, with our foot at the door of Autumn and October.  Planning for Afternoon Tea involves our selecting menu items that we change each and every month.  We change the scone flavour (fresh baked on site daily and NOW WE SELL THE SCONES as well), a mini cupcake and at least one sandwich (Sammie for short).  We decided to share that planning with you as soon as we make our decision.  Starting monthly, we will give you a sneak peek at the menu for the coming month.  If you look at the pictures and think "yum" you should also think about making reservations and come to tea!   Hang around here as well.  We will start including recipes that you can use for your own Afternoon Teas.

October's menu for Afternoon Tea is set!  See below for some of the sweets.  A post next week will have the savory along with a recipe that you can try yourself.  

Pumpkin Cream Cheese mini Cupcake is one of three desserts for October

Raspberry with White Chocolate chips is the flavour for the scone for October

Thank you for stopping by!  We'll see you next week with the sandwich flavour and recipe! See you then!

Making Tea the Center of Happy Hour

Our Press Release for Tea Infused Cocktails....

For Immediate Release

Local Tea Room Puts a New Spin on Drinking Tea

Fancy That’s Tea Room in Walpole, Massachusetts is making tea the center of “Happy Hour.”

Fancy That, a Tea Room and gift shoppe is expanding their line of tea for sale to include tea infusers that steep in alcohol rather than water.  Fancy That is a tea room and gift shoppe where customers can enjoy afternoon tea by reservation, shop for tea, imported jams, beautiful gifts and accessories in an inviting environment with a warm, personalized atmosphere.  “Our customers feel like they have walked into my home,” says Sarah Erlandson, proprietress of Fancy That.  And they have, because Erlandson lives upstairs.

To launch this new line of tea infusers for cocktails from Tea Forte, Fancy That is hosting a ticketed Tea Cocktail Event the evening of July 11, 2014.  The excitement over a new product line is apparent in the number of customers who have expressed interest in getting tickets to the Tea Cocktail Event.  “We haven’t made the tickets available yet and customers are already asking for two, four or more tickets” Erlandson says.    Tickets to the Tea Cocktail Event July 11, 2014 will be made available to Fancy That’s mailing list first and then to their Facebook followers.

The tea infusers for cocktails come in the following flavors:  Lavender Citrus containing white tea, lavender petals and lemon balm; Lemongrass Mint containing lemon myrtle and spearmint; and Silkroad Chai containing black tea, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom.  “The tea infuser is steeped in an alcohol like rum or vodka instead of water, poured over ice and mixed with a juice or cocktail mixer,” Erlandson explains.  “One cocktail we will be making at our Tea Cocktail Event will be a Lavender Pear Martini.   Perfect way to end the week and welcome the weekend.  It is the perfect way of taking tea during cocktail hour,” Erlandson quips.  The Tea Infusers (less alcohol) come with a cocktail recipe booklet and can be purchased at Fancy That during their gift shoppe hours Thursday and Fridays 11am – 3pm and Saturdays and Sundays 11am – 5pm. 

For further information, contact:

Brad McCracken, General Manager, Fancy That

888-323-2TEA (2832)

272 Main Street, Walpole, MA 02081

www.AfternoonTea.com

ExtravaSconeZa!

ExtravaSconeZa!

Celebrating one year of serving tea with an Open House

Walpole, Massachusetts.  Fancy That, serving Victorian-styled Afternoon Tea, selling tea and gifts and offering rentals of vintage English china, is pleased to announce a celebration of one year of serving Afternoon Tea.   An open house at Fancy That, 272 Main Street in Walpole, to be held on Sunday, May 18^th from 1pm to 5pm will highlight various fresh-baked scones.  The celebration is being called an “ExtravaSconeZa”.  Different flavours of scones will be available for complimentary sampling and for purchase.

Sarah Erlandson, proprietress of Fancy That points out, “we are celebrating our eleventh year of renting vintage china, the third year of our gift shoppe and now, one year operating the Tea Room where you can escape the stress of the day and unwind with a cup of Tea.”

“When you enter our Tea Room, it is intimate and welcoming as if you walked off the street into our front parlor,” Erlandson said.  “We love welcoming guests for Afternoon Tea.  It’s appropriate for us to host this open house – our way of giving back to our customers and the community with a free, open to the public event.”  Fancy That plans to have for sample different flavours of fresh baked scones and tea, offered in the comfy atmosphere of the tea room and gift shoppe.

FancyThat’s Tea Room is an elegant Victorian-inspired tea room with an air of genteel sensibilities.  Afternoon Tea is served by reservation only, Thursdays and Fridays at noon and Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 2pm.  You may make reservations by ringing up-888-3232-TEA (1-888-323-2832) or email Reservations at AfternoonTea dot com [spelled out to prevent spam-bots from using the email address].

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For more information, contact Brad McCracken, General Manager, Fancy That, 272 Main Street, Walpole, MA 02081.  Email brad@afternoontea.com  Phone: 1-888-323-2832  Fax 1-866-551-2194.