Some tearoom history from Mississippi

I am so fortunate that my blog readers are such generous souls who know precisely the sort of things I like and often share things with me. Today, I wanted to share some pamphlets with you that I received from Patsy in Missouri. I have written about the Old Southern Tea Room in Vicksburg, Mississippi, before, so I was quite delighted to get a vintage pamphlet from this tearoom as well as two more pamphlets from Natchez, Mississippi. In the golden-colored pamphlet above, I was drawn to the image of the Mammy figure on the front. Some years ago, I attended an intriguing lecture in Atlanta by a university professor who was researching the Mammy figure in American history and culture. I was also intrigued to learn that some people actively collect "Mammy" art and artifacts. While the image makes me uncomfortable, I believe that even when researching something as seemingly innocent as the history of American tearooms, it's important to acknowledge this part of US history.

The text of this pamphlet begins, "After a hard drive from California or Maine, the motorist craves good food, and can find it at our Old Southern Tea Room in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This unique oasis of refreshment was established in response to an insistent demand, but does not employ fancy chefs to prepare ornamental dishes. Aunt Elvira, our cook, presides over our kitchen, just as her ancestors did at plantation hearths during the lavish days of the Old South." (I can't help thinking that "Aunt Elvira" might have taken a different view of the work of her ancestors "during the lavish days of the Old South"!)

It's also interesting to note that Duncan Hines and the American Automobile Association recommended this tearoom.

Another eatery recommended by AAA was the Carriage House Restaurant at Stanton Hall, a property of the Pilgrimage Garden Club of Natchez, Mississippi. I love to read old menus, and this one is fun because it focuses on Southern foods of chicken and ham, desserts, and coffee and tea. While there are some aspects of yesteryear that I wouldn't want to return to (see above), oh, for the days when we could have enjoyed a lunch of gumbo, salad, bread, dessert, and tea for just $1.75.

The "Book of Tea" winner is …

Daniele K.! I've sent you an email seeking your snail mail address, Daniele, so as soon as I receive it, I'll get this book headed your way. (And if I see any more copies of this book at Dollar Tree, I'll be sure and pick them up so we can have more giveaways!)

Tea-blending, circa 1896

I've written frequently over the past year of my fondness for the many great digital resources available on the Library of Congress website. I've often explored the newspaper and photography archives there, but I haven't delved too deeply into the digital *books* available on the site. This week, I was frankly surprised to learn about "Tea-Blending as a Fine Art," a book on tea-blending that was written (and self-published, interestingly enough) by Joseph M. Walsh in 1896! Mr. Walsh obviously placed great stock in the importance of tea, as the first sentence of his book reads, "There is no article handled by the grocer which demands greater attention, engages more of his time, or has a more important bearing upon the success of his business than Tea, as it stands in many respects far ahead of all the other commodities in commanding and maintaining patronage, as well as in attracting and retaining trade for numerous other articles, and at the same time yielding a larger margin of profit to the dealer."

When I flipped over to page 15, I was impressed by the variety of Oolongs Mr. Walsh was able to list: Ankoi, Amoy, Foochow, Formosa, Saryune and Pekoe. Then he moves on to "Congou Teas," which he notes are "grown principally in the Bohea hills in China, and are known to trade in this country as English Breakfast Teas. They are divided into Kaisow or Red-leaf and Moning or Black-leaf Tea, and are a distinct variety differing in color, liquor and flavor from the Oolong sorts."

I marvel that he wrote all this without benefit of iPad, iPhone, or Internet. Can you imagine? That's just a small sample of what's shared in Mr. Walsh's book, and I'm so happy to have discovered it. If you'd like to check out this book for yourself, or simply to bookmark it for later reading, as I often do, click here.

A midweek giveaway!

When I see a tea book for only $1 at Dollar Tree, I can't help myself. Yes, I already have "Book of Tea" by Annie Perrier-Robert (I posted a review of it here back in 2010), but I'm betting one of you could use it. Yes?

If so, please leave an "Enter me" comment to this post between now and 7 a.m. tomorrow morning, August 11, and you'll be entered to win! (US and Canada only, please.) Good luck!

Tea Time Magazine's September/October 2016 issue

Local public school students started back to class last week, and another sign that fall is on the way is that the September/October issue of Tea Time magazine landed in my mailbox. Oh, how I love when those spice tones of fall start appearing on the covers of my magazines!

The cover cake on this issue sounds like one I definitely need to try. Do you bake more in the fall? I sure do. In fact, I've been a slacker of a cook this whole summer, rarely doing anything more adventurous than oven-baking some of the copious quantities of (delicious!) squash my dad kept us in all season long. But this Walnut-Apricot Spice Cake ... oh my goodness. From the spicy-looking interior to the nutty exterior and the luscious looking apricot jam and vanilla buttercream on top, well, I can just imagine the glorious flavors. With a cup of apricot tea, perhaps. But it has to wait till fall. I just can't enjoy a fall flavor at the tail end of summer, can you?

And owing to my current love of all things turquoise, I enjoyed reading about this "Afternoon Teal" (not "tea" but "teal") that uses the teal color to bring awareness to ovarian cancer. (Note the simple ribbon-shaped fold of the napkin at lower left. Clever!) Kentucky tearooms are highlighted in this issue as well, including, I was pleased to see, the Greentree Tearoom in Lexington that I visited with Linda Jennings and other tea friends a few years back. There's also an article about Jane Pettigrew, whom I once got to meet at a World Tea Expo, receiving the British Empire Medal and attending a garden party at Buckingham Palace. Have you received your issue yet? If so, what were your favorite features?

"All-Butter ShortDead" by H. Y. Hanna a fun prequel!

Back in June, I had the pleasure of reading "A Scone to Die For," the first book in the Oxford Tearoom cozy mystery series by H. Y. Hanna. After reading that book, I had subscribed to Hanna's email newsletter, so last week I was pleased to receive word that she'd written a shorter cozy, a "prequel" to the series, and it was now available as a free download on Amazon.

"All-Butter ShortDead" begins with Gemma Rose flying home to Oxford, England, from Australia, having decided to leave her successful but stressful executive career behind in order to return to her family and follow her dream of opening a tearoom. On the plane, she finds her seatmate is a woman who seems terribly afraid of flying, and Gemma tries to help calm the woman's nerves, even as she finds something about the woman, Jenn, a little odd. When the plane lands, Jenn takes off and leaves a pretty scarf behind in her seat. Gemma remembers the name of the hotel in England where the woman is staying—it's not too far from Gemma—so she rings her up and offers to deliver the scarf. Jenn invites Gemma to join her for a drink at the hotel but ends up getting so drunk that Gemma finds it necessary to help her back to her room before calling it a night.

The next morning, Gemma gets word that Jenna has been murdered, and all fingers seem to point at Gemma. She's in danger of losing her new tearoom before she's even signed the contract on it, and rumors are swirling about her personal life as well.

This book is shorter than the other novel, but it was a fun read, and since it's free for only a limited time, I'd encourage those of you who like cozy mysteries to go here and download it now. The books are perfect reads for tea lovers, and I look forward to reading the entire series!

My Country, 'Tis of Tea — New Mexico

I've not yet had the pleasure of traveling to the Southwest, so I especially enjoyed learning about this week's featured state, New Mexico, and the rich influence of Hispanics and Native Americans. Come along with me, will you?

• La Fonda on the Plaza, which sits on the site of Santa Fe's first inn, established in 1607, is considered "the oldest hotel corner in America." This screen grab is from their website. (Click here to see it larger and to learn more about the fascinating history of La Fonda). The photo isn't identified, but those are definitely cups and saucers the women are holding. And if you scroll down, you'll see an image of a waitress at La Fonda delivering tea sometime between 1935 and 1940 (I found the ID on another website), so I feel fairly safe in surmising that tea has been served there over the years, although I've yet to read of "afternoon tea" or tearooms, per se. The La Fonda website reveals that "During Prohibition, when 'teas' were popular pretenses for stronger beverages, the bohemian crowd in the capital city imbibed freely. La Fonda was a favorite gathering spot for these writers and artists whose outings included generous servings of gossip. Among the literati was visiting author Willa Cather who stayed at La Fonda while writing her famed novel 'Death Comes for the Archbishop' (1927)." La Fonda has a wonderful history book available for viewing right on its website, and you can access it here in case you are planning a trip out west!

• The New Mexico Tea Company in Albuquerque is a nearly 10-year-old business that sells tea from around the world and also offers classes and tea tastings. I found a great article about the shop here, and a map on their Facebook page (yay! still in business!) shows all the cities where they have shipped tea. Cool!

• The most famous tearoom I'd never heard of? That could well be the tearoom in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, run by Edith Warner, who is the subject of a book I've just learned I must read, "The House at Otowi Bridge: The Story of Edith Warner and Los Alamos" by Peggy Pond Church. Apparently Edith, who was from Philadelphia, befriended both the Pueblos and the scientists working on the Manhattan Project, which makes me think this would have been THE tearoom in which I would most like to have eavesdropped! The modern-day ruins of her tearoom are shown here in a photo from 2009. Wow. Just wow.

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A new owner for Something Special

Several times over the years, I have written about the pleasure of taking tea at Something Special, the antebellum home and gardens here in Newnan. I recently received word from owner Mike Meyer that he was retiring and the business had been sold and will now be known as "Something Special at Lillian Gardens."

A well-respected local businessman, Mike was the second owner of Something Special I had the pleasure of knowing. I've wished him well even as I look forward to enjoying new experiences at Lillian Gardens at Something Special. If you're local, you may want to do as I did and follow their Facebook page here.

And here's the press release I received from Mike:

The name Something Special has a 36 year history in this community.  It was first opened in 1980 by Miss Virginia Davis and her daughter Martha Sue McCain as a Tea Room.  The tea room catered to the downtown lunch crowd as well as bridal and baby showers.  They retired after 14 years in the restaurant business and ended the first chapter of Something Special history.

I purchased the beautiful 1859 Antebellum home in 1996 and after extensive renovations, re-opened it as Something Special Events in 1997.  It has been a pleasure and honor for me to be part of this wonderful Newnan community and host special events for families and corporations. Over the 19 years, I have helped families create memories and watched them grow.   I am fortunate the facility is located in the heart of the Newnan’s historic district which gave me the opportunity to belong to the Greenville Lagrange Neighborhood Association.  I enjoyed being part of the Newnan Coweta Chamber of Commerce, Carnegie Library Association, and Coweta Master Gardeners. I cherish the support this amazing community provided me over the years.

The journey of life brings us through many different phases.  In addition to running the event facility, I was the primary caregiver through my mother’s 9 year illness.  I married 3 years ago and share my time between the facility and our Atlanta home.  With all these life changes, I decided it was time to retire from the event business and close my chapter in the history of Something Special. I have close friends and family in the community and will be spending much of my time at our Lake House in nearby Whitesburg.

I am passing the Something Special torch to a beautiful young lady who is full of energy and new ideas to start the next chapter and continue creating memories for families.  Ashley Bercich comes to us from Douglasville, Georgia.  She is married with two children and has had a career in finance for the past nine years.  She has always had a passion for helping friends and families with weddings and special events and is very excited to become part of this community.

The name will change to Something Special at Lillian Gardens and the facility will undertake renovations and a fresh coat of paint.  I am partnering with her until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition and the existing catering department, event coordinators, and office staff will continue to bring excellence to the facility.

Please watch for the grand re-opening of Something Special at Lillian Gardens in early Fall!

My August teatime column: On High Tea vs. Afternoon Tea

For those of you who live outside Coweta County, here is my latest column in The Coweta Shopper, and this month's column addresses a topic near and dear to many of our hearts, the difference between "High Tea" and "Afternoon Tea." Click hear to view it online, and thanks for reading!

The latest news from Fortnum & Mason …

From the Fortnum & Mason email newsletter

Even though I've visited it only twice, the supremely elegant Fortnum & Mason in London remains my favorite department store in the world. A while back I signed up for their email newsletter, and it is that rare email advertisement that I actually look forward to reading. The latest one contained a tidbit so splendid, I wanted to share it here. That image above? It's a screen grab from the latest newsletter showing something I so wish I could run by and enjoy this week: their new Afternoon Tea Sundae. Just imagine this ice cream inspired by their Afternoon Tea and made with four ice creams: Cucumber and Mint, Strawberry and Scones, Rose Ripple, and Coronation, a curry and mango flavor. So who's going to London next? Go and have one of these for me, will you?

The other intriguing news is that British food writer and critic Tom Parker Bowles, whose mother is Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is coming out with a cookbook for F&M. According to the email, "Fortnum & Mason is proud and excited to unveil this, our first ever cook book. Written and signed by Tom Parker Bowles, The Fortnum's Cook Book brings together recipes from all three centuries of our history - from famous Scotch Eggs and Afternoon Tea Scones to contemporary dishes like Grilled Bones and Welsh Rarebit." The book comes out October 6, and I do hope it will be available through US booksellers!

To sign up for the Fortnum & Mason newsletter for yourself, click here and scroll down to the bottom where it says "Sign up."

Snapple's Straight Up Teas

So I was in Publix when I saw these new flavors of Straight Up Tea from Snapple. I loved the packaging, and though there were three varieties — Unsweetened, Sorta Sweet, and Sweet — I bought only the Sorta Sweet and Sweet since I have never liked unsweetened bottled teas. And just so you know, I rarely — and I'm talking every-six-months-or-so rarely — use any sweetener at all in my tea!

That said, I was curious what the difference would be in Snapple's Sorta Sweet and Sweet teas. I tried the Sorta Sweet first. It tasted like wimpy sweet tea with a slight, slight lemony flavor. Was this tea supposed to be flavored? I didn't think so. The citric acid, maybe? I drank only half the bottle of this tea, but it turns out, if I'd had the whole bottle, I would have consumed 21 grams of sugar. By way of comparison, there are 20 grams of sugar in a Snickers bar. Friends, I would have much preferred the Snickers bar, even if I had to melt it and sip it out of a bottle.

The Sweet tea? I'm sorry to say I didn't bother to read the labeling until I got home and had drunk half the bottle — or more than a Snickers bar's worth — of this tea. Ironically, I didn't think this sugar-laden beverage tasted that sweet, and goodness knows it should have, considering all the sugar. At home, I drink my iced tea unsweetened, and I do not miss the sugar. In fact, in iced tea or hot tea, I like to taste the flavor of my tea, not the sugar. I do, however, like to try all the new bottled teas for the sheer novelty of them. These disappointing Snapple drinks, however, are going on the been-there-done-that list and won't be repeat purchases. Do you usually drink your tea, hot or iced, sweetened? I'm betting that many of us do not, so I'd love to hear your thoughts!

A new teacup and a new look!

Don't leave — you're at the right (blog) house! It's me, Angela, but with a bit of a different look! I've put off updating my blog header for way too long because, well, to be honest with you, I forgot how to do it. And I know just enough about Blogger to be dangerous, so I always have a slight fear that if I hit the wrong button or replace the wrong code, zap, nearly 10 years of blog posts will vanish into cyberspace. If you are reading this, that did not happen overnight, so yay! And yay to the new turquoise teacup I found at T.J. Maxx in Rome on Saturday, which spurred me on with the long-overdue redesign!

It's a Made-in-China cup and saucer from Gracie China, which has practically become my BFF of new teawares in recent years. In fact, I may just start saying "from my friend Gracie*" if I buy one of these teacups, and then you'll know what I'm talking about without me going into a big ole explanation.

But for now, I'm ready to chill out with a cup of tea after the mild panic that always sets in when I do scary computer things. Cheers, y'all!

My Country, 'Tis of Tea — New Jersey

It's the home of both Princeton and the TV show "Jersey Shore," and its state bird is the American Goldfinch, but what about New Jersey and tea?

• Did you know there is a plant known as New Jersey Tea? It's actually Ceanothus americanus, a shrub that got its nickname during the American Revolution when its leaves were used as a substitute for imported tea. And despite the name, it grows in many places in the US (click here to read more).

• We all know about tea being thrown into the Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773, but I'll bet not many of us know about the great "tea  burning" that was held in Greenwich, New Jersey, on December 22, 1774! I came across some info about this 1950 book, now on my wish list, called "Tea Burning Town: The Story of Greenwich on the Cohansey in West New Jersey" by Joseph S. Sickler. When I searched online, I found an article at nj.com that told how, on that evening in 1774, a stolen shipment of tea was set ablaze in the town square! The article says, "To this day, Greenwich’s identity is built around scorched tea as a symbol of courage and independence. The town’s annual charity 5k run is called the Tea Burner Race. Its logo is a flaming crate." Click here to read more of this fascinating tale!

• "CAROLINA TEA ROOM. Helen and Jewel, Proprietors. 1734 Asbury Avenue, Neptune, N.J. Famous Throughout Jersey For Southern Home Cooking." This is one of the postcards from my collection of vintage tearoom postcards, and I still find it intriguing that "Southern Home Cooking" was being offered in this tearoom. I also find it interesting that the top photo above shows tall electric fans on both sides of the tea room. That's something I picture us needing here in the hot South but not necessarily in New Jersey!

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The tea and coloring books giveaway winner is …

Snap! I *think* I already have your correct address, but if you would confirm that for me via the email button at right, that would be great. Congrats, and thanks to everyone who entered!

A surprisingly different puerh from Teavivre

So I was in the mood to try another of my new samples from Teavivre when I decided upon the Moonlight Beauty Raw Puerh Loose Tea. I was expecting the usual dark black and brown, earthy-smelling tea leaves, so when I opened the package and saw this, I thought, "Uh-oh. This sample got mislabeled."

Now I rarely have a need to actually *touch* my tea leaves unless I'm photographing a sample for a blog post, as I did here, and the other thing I noticed besides the nice vegetal scent (not one I associate with puerhs at all) was that the leaves were so velvety! I wish you could touch them, because they felt simply glorious!

And just so you don't think the leaves are giant ones, here's a coin for comparison.

Steeped, the tea had a slightly musky scent, and when I sipped it, the tea seemed very much like a smooth, rich-tasting green, with no bitterness and no puerh taste at all. By then I was enormously curious about this new sample and had to go visit the Teavivre site, where I learned the reason for this tea's unique appearance and taste: It is "made from the tender buds of Menghai large-leaf tea in Yunnan and processed with the method similar to White Tea. So it belongs to both Puerh Tea (for its material) and White Tea (for its processing method)." I was also intrigued to find a comment that "Moonlight beauty tea is suitable for women or those tea lovers who prefer a fresh, soft and smooth taste." I must say I agree.

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A tea towel made with love

Like many of you, I'm quite fond of tea towels and consider myself a small-time collector of them. I have vintage tea towels, souvenir tea towels, some lovely modern tea towels, but never before have I owned a tea towel made with love (just for me!) until I received one in the mail this week!

The thick, squishy envelope was from tea friend Ginger in North Carolina. Inside was a darling tea towel she made from fabric she found on Spoonflower.com. She washed and hemmed the fabric (something I'd never have gotten around to doing myself), and she told me in her note that it's of cotton and linen, so it can be washed with my regular towels. I absolutely adore this design, and since I am a tatter, I was so tickled that the doily behind the teacup features tatting, which you can tell by the loopy "picots" along the outer edge.

And the icing on the cake (or maybe "the clotted cream on the scone"?) was finding that a little fabric hook had been sewn onto the back of the towel, and that's how I know my beautiful new tea towel was "hand made with love" by Ginger!

New magazine for fall: Teatime Celebrations

About this time every summer, I'm dripping sweat during one of my afternoon walks when I start to seriously think, "I can't wait for fall to get here." I've already started spotting the occasional brown leaf on my daily strolls, and I find myself fantasizing about cooler temperatures, warmer clothes, cinnamon scones, and spice teas. As if reading my mind, Tea Time magazine has come out with another special issue, Teatime Celebrations, that has me even more ready to welcome fall!

The teawares in this issue, as always, are incredible. I've long been a fan of Herend (not that I own much of it!), so this Herend Printemps china in a feature on a Birthday Surprise Tea immediately caught my eye.

A softer palette prevails in Come to My Tea Party, a feature about a children's tea. Is there anything sweeter than little girls in smocked dresses?

But the recipes are what make this issue such a hit with me. This is the cover cake, a Pumpkin-Chai Bundt Cake with caramel icing. Much as I love to bake using tea as an ingredient, I've never made a Bundt cake with tea in it, and I'm eager to try this one. If you're ready for some fall inspiration as well, this magazine should do the trick!

A fabulous gift of some teatime newsletters!

Recently I was contacted by Rose Turner Jory, one of the lovely ladies I've gotten to know through the wonderful Afternoon Tea Across America group on Facebook. She asked if I was still interested in  back issues of Mary Mac's TeaTimes Newsletter, which I had mentioned in a blog post back in 2010. Indeed I was, and I quickly wrote back, wondering whether perhaps Rose had found a link to some issues online since folks are posting everything here these days. To my surprise and absolute delight, Rose herself had some of the actual newsletters and was offering to send them to me! And since I *love* to research anything and everything related to tea, can you even imagine how happy I was to receive these six issues in the mail?

I had only one issue of this newsletter before Rose sent me the mother lode of  TeaTimes Newsletter back issues, so my research capabilities have increased tremendously! In this February/March 1993 issue, which charmingly featured pale blue interior pages, I read a piece on "Teapots of the Month," which included a tea-for-one set and a Pink Bow Novelty Children's Set. How interesting that 23 years later, both styles are still favored today!

I love how each issue featured a themed tea, and in the April/May 1993 issue, that was a Queen Victoria Tea. Inside are recipes for such royal treats as Chocolate Orange Cake and Trifle Fit for a Queen. An entire menu is suggested as well.

Even the old ads are fun to read! In this one, for "C's Fabric Design," the offer is for tea cozies and comes with the note that "we will reproduce your historic house as a cozy." Now how wonderful is that! As you can probably tell, I am having great fun going through these back issues Rose so generously shared with me, and I'll probably have more to say about them as I continue to pore over them in the days ahead!

July giveaway: Coloring books and tea!

I had just about given up hope of finding anything suitable for July's giveaway when I came across some fun "Time for Tea" coloring books at Dollar Tree over the weekend. I'm giving away two — one for you to keep, one for you to share — and a package of Divinitea's Organic Earl Grey tea. In my mind, I've pictured two friends, or perhaps a grandmother and granddaughter, coloring away while sipping cups of Earl Grey, which I think would be just lovely!

I have really grown to love Dollar Tree because I just never know what I'll find there. I've learned to always check out their book selection, and this weekend, I once again found some wonderful hardbacks from favorite authors. On the way to the books, I spotted these coloring books. Yes, they're thin, and when I counted, I realized they have just 32 pages each, but hey, for only a dollar, that's what, 3.125 cents per coloring page? Not bad.

So if you'd like to be entered to win, just leave an "Enter me" to this post before 7 a.m. EST on Friday, July 29, and tell me what you would do with the second coloring book (give it to a friend or share with a grandchild, for instance), and you'll be entered to win. US and Canada only, please. Good luck!

My Country, 'Tis of Tea — New Hampshire

All I know about New Hampshire is that a friend of mine's sweet husband is from there, and she occasionally shares entertaining stories about the linguistic challenges he experiences here in the South. One of my favorites is the time he came home and told her about a coworker who had named her son "Soy-yur." My friend said, "What an odd name," until he went on and she finally realized, "Oh, you mean SAW-yer!" But fortunately I learned a bit more about New Hampshire, and its connections to tea, by doing a little research this week …

• At Polly's Place, which became a well-known tearoom in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the initial offerings were simply cinnamon or plain toast and tea. The tearoom was the subject of a January 1922 feature in Woman's Home Companion magazine, which reads: "It started with a loaf of bread and a pound of tea, away off in the northernmost corner of the White Mountains, in a little hundred-year-old house at Colebrook, New Hampshire, ten miles from the Canadian border, with Mount Monadnock, in Vermont, just back of it, and the Rangeley Lakes country in Maine but twenty miles away. … After the little cottage had had many unhappy experiences with undesirable tenants, its owner decided to subject it to no more indignities, but to give it the dignified place deserved by the oldest house for many miles around. Accordingly, six years ago, it opened wide its yellow-painted door with a brass knocker on it, and made its bow as a tea room, the first one in the great North Country, and a decided novelty in its own home town." (If you'd like to read more of the article, click here.)

• For the second time this month, I have learned of some interesting tea research being conducted at a university here in the US. According to a segment on New Hampshire Public Radio in September of 2014, some genetic engineering of tea is under way at the University of New Hampshire, where a neuroscience major has been working to create a *genetically decaffeinated* tea plant. "If all goes as planned," the reporter says, "the tea from this plant will produce a more aromatic brew than chemically decaffeinated tea." If you'd like to read the full transcript for yourself, or to listen to the radio segment about the UNH project, click here.

• Have a spare $3.2 million lying about? This New Hampshire farm with its own Japanese tea house could be yours! This screen grab from the website Curbed.com shows the farm, which comes with "a massive Japanese tea house, which, from the looks of things, is currently being used as a massive rec room." (Great news! I just did a search to see if the property is still available, and it is—and for only $2.95 million. Maybe we could all pitch in and open a tea-themed time-share?)

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