Wednesday morning was a yucky wet one at my house just south of Atlanta, but I was still eager to head north since I would be meeting my friend Joy and five other ladies for tea at the Grande Event Tea Room in Ball Ground! The drive was an easy one with no stalls interrupting my commute—a rarity for Atlanta—and before I knew it, I was being ushered into this beautiful old home-turned-tearoom and enjoying a warm, cozy setting, delicious tea and treats, and soothing Christmas music. If there's a better way to spend a rainy day, I haven't heard of it!
Joy and I are at back (she's in red and I'm in black), and we were joined by her friends Jan, Joan, Debbie, Helen, and Sandy (I hope I spelled their names right; correct me if I didn't, Joy!). I'd actually had tea with Sandy and Joy once before, and Joy had also hooked me up with Helen, who is going to be one of my beta readers for my new cozy mystery series, so I immediately knew half of the group, and the other ladies were just as delightful as I knew they were going to be. One thing I've learned over the years is that if a tea friend introduces me to her tea friends, we're going to like each other. (There may be a bad apple out there somewhere, but I've never met her.)
We began our Christmas tea with a light, refreshing pear salad, which was as tasty as it was pretty!
We all oohed and aahed when the three-tiered server came out, and while I usually like the scones, they have rarely been so good that they were my favorite of all the treats. I must tell you that these Christmas-tree-shaped scones had a great flaky crust and were perfectly soft on the inside, and now I want to go make scones again!
Frankly, I was too busy having fun and socializing with Joy and all these ladies to write down all the names of the foods we ate, but I can say that I enjoyed it all. My favorite tea sandwich was a roast beef one, and while I enjoyed all of these sweets ("cheesecake shooters" was a particularly fun idea!) …
My favorite was these festive and fudgey brownies with sprinkles. You just can't make chocolate too rich for me, so this was a decadent treat—and in just the right amount.
We had jam and cream to eat with our scones, and I couldn't help noticing that it was served on a plate that's the same pattern as my everyday dishes, Johnson Brothers Rose Chintz. Fun!
We were seated in a lovely room at the front of the house, which I personally enjoyed because a) we were warm and cozy there and b) I'm a tearoom busybody and like seeing everyone who comes in and what sort of group they're with. But I had to go steal a peek at the other rooms …
And they were lovely as well! It's been so long since I've been to a tearoom—Joy and I realized that our last attempt to meet for tea was canceled at the beginning of the pandemic—and we truly had a "Grande" time at the Grande Event Tea Room. If you're a local, you can learn more about it here.
It was indeed a "grande" way to spend a rainy day! Those scones were my favorite food items (no surprise, I do love scones) and the roast beef sandwiches were very tasty, as were the cucumber ones. They are another perennial favorite of mine, and I liked how these were shaped as Christmas trees. And the teas were yummy, too. (Christmas in Connecticut tea and Christmas Cheer tea - and I don't remember which was which!) But the VERY best part of the day was the fellowship. It was so lovely to have tea again, and to gather with friends, and to see YOU again, after our last planned tea-meeting was nixed due to a COVID outbreak at my church in Sept. 2021. I'm so very glad we could get together, it made my Christmas season even more Merry than usual! For those who are interested, the tearoom's website is https://www.thegrandeevent.com/.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a really lovely tea, and I'm glad you were all able to get together for it on that rainy day! Looking at that food is making me hungry (in spite of the fact that I just finished supper). Was the jam served in egg cups? That's what it looks like from the photo--that's a very good idea! (I have lots of egg cups,and should try using them for that.)
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a wonderful time gathered around a table with chatter and delicious goodies!
ReplyDeleteGood friends, good food, and tea sounds like the perfect way to spend a rainy day. Thanks for sharing your delicious looking tea with us.
ReplyDeleteThis does make me want to go to a tearoom soon for tea. I haven't been much since the beginning of the pandemic and I miss it. Your tea time looks and sounds just wonderful.
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