January is HOT TEA MONTH! Bring some friends and your favorite tea cup and join us for our first high tea of the year! Organic teas, homemade organic tea pastries and our tasty tea sandwiches will be sereved. Learn the art of making the perfect cup of tea and enjoy the views of our long leaf pines.
Greenlands Farm’s Afternoon Tea
Heather’s heritage hails from England and Scotland, with three of her Grandparents being born on U.K. soil. She remembers having afternoon tea with them in her youth and the memories created from taking time to spend a moment with loved ones over a cuppa tea. She carried on the tradition with her daughters, Ainsley and Maud, and now with her grand-daughter, Jules.
Greenlands Farm presents a “full tea” to guests. Our menu boasts a delicious collection of sweet and savory items made fresh on the farm and from our bakery. We serve a few tea choices of our own tea line, The Tipping Cup, brewed with our “perfect cup of tea” standards. Included in your visit is an insight on brewing, so you too can enjoy a perfect cup of tea at home! Leave your tea etiquette at home; you’ll be on a farm. Don’t worry about your attire, putting your spoon on the table, or sticking your pinky out…just come enjoy a relaxed hour of good conversation and great people all over a cup of a great cup of tea.
Only 20 seats available so please call to reserve your seat...and don’t forget your favorite tea cup! $17.00 a seat
A Brief History of Afternoon Tea
Legend has it that afternoon tea was started in the mid-1800s by the Duchess of Bedford. Around this time, kerosene lamps were introduced in wealthier homes, and eating a late dinner (around eight or nine PM) became fashionable. At the time, there were only two meals each day -- a mid-morning, breakfast-like meal and the other was an increasingly late dinner-like meal.
The story goes that the Duchess found herself with a "sinking feeling" (likely fatigue from hunger during the long wait between meals) and decided to have some friends over for assorted snacks and tea (a very fashionable drink at the time). The idea of an afternoon tea gathering spread across high society and became a favorite pastime of ladies of leisure. Later, it spread beyond the highest echelons of society and became more accessible for some other socioeconomic groups.
Today, tea is a major component of many British meals, including breakfast , 'elevenses,' afternoon tea and 'tea' (which is more like traditional high tea than afternoon tea).
Types of Afternoon Tea
Although many Americans think of afternoon tea as having a set menu, there are many variations on this tea-centric meal.
The simplest form of afternoon tea is cream tea -- a meal of tea, scones and cream.
Add fresh strawberries to cream tea and you have strawberry tea . Alternately, if you add more sweets to cream tea, you get light tea .
Add savory foods, like finger sandwiches to light tea and you get full tea , which is the elaborate meal most Americans think of when they hear the phrase 'afternoon tea.'
Some hotels and tea rooms also offer other variations on afternoon tea, such as champagne tea (afternoon tea served with a glass of champagne) and teddy bear tea (a children's afternoon tea party featuring dolls and teddy bears). In Bath, England, Sally Lunns (a type of yeast bread, or "festival bread", originating from Bath, England) are a popular addition to afternoon tea.