All You Need is Love

At the beginning of August, some friends and I visited B. Love Conscious Eatery, a restaurant that specializes in "nourishing raw/vegan foods."

I heart the charming decor!

The tea cabinet

 (I may have to borrow this idea...)

I eschewed the traditional tea offerings and opted to try Rise's Hibiscus and Rose Hips Kombucha which tasted like sparkling, sweetened fruity tea. 

Kombucha is a fermented tea drink (click here to learn more about the fermentation process) touted for its health benefits (e.g., a 2014 review paper suggests that kombucha can help protect against metabolic and infective disorders). 

The "Rawsagna" that I wanted to try wasn't available so I ordered the Mac 'N Cheeze. This cooked dish tasted delicious! You'd never know that it was gluten-free and dairy-free!

For dessert, I had a chocolate fudge TeaPop--a yummy organic frozen treat by DeeBee. I forgot to take a photo, but luckily, I found some other TeaPop tropical flavours at my local Goodness Me store to keep me cool during the sweltering heat!

The Toasted Coconut TeaPop

The Tropical Mango Teapot

If you want to make your own Sweet Tea Popsicles, click here for a recipe.

I'm joining the following parties this week:

No Place Like Home

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tea in the Garden 

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

The Old Curiosity Tea Shop

Earlier this month, I visited The Old Curiosity Tea Shop, a Victorian tea room that has been on my bucket list for years!

The family-operated Old Curiosity Tea Shop has been part of the City of Markham for over 15 years. 

The loose leaf teas on sale.

The quaint Victorian decor.

I love it when tea rooms use vintage bone china!

The scrumptious sandwiches from our Victorian Afternoon Tea.

The delectable desserts.

The sandwiches and desserts were accompanied by a pot of Victorian Markham Tea (an orange pekoe blend).

What made this afternoon tea experience extra special were the lovely ladies who met up with me: Judith of Lavender Cottage (right) and Sandra of Ravenhill Cottage (centre)!

Sandra was my first teacup swap partner and Judith was one of the first blogging friends that I made when I joined Blogland.We've kept in touch via blogging and snail mail, but nothing beats fun conversations in real life!

 Thank you, Judith and Sandra, for the wonderful company! 

I'm joining the following parties this week:

No Place Like Home

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tea in the Garden 

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Bananarama

In late July, my friend and I took a day trip to Fergus, Ontario, a historic town located along the Grand River. Every August, Fergus celebrates its rich Scottish heritage with the 3-day Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games. We didn't make it to the festival, but I'm intrigued by the Tea Tent!

The primary purpose of our visit was to shop at this fine establishment:  

Bentley House of Fine Teas and Tea Room.

The quaint tea shop also has a small eat-in area (behind the brown post), but I didn't photograph it because there were patrons sitting at the tables. At our next visit, we'll have to dine in!

Some of the cute tea-themed merchandise. I should have asked if the teapot lamp was on sale!

Most tea shops sell teas in specific weights, such as 50 grams, but Bentley House lets the customer  pick how much tea to purchase which I really liked! I ended up purchasing different samples of black, green and white teas.

Because I love all things banana, I had to try the banana black tea.

It smelled sooo good and did taste banana-ish!

I added milk to enjoy a sweet and creamy banana tea!

What's the strangest tea flavour that you've tried?

I'm joining the following parties this week:

No Place Like Home

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tea in the Garden 

Tuesday Cuppa Tea 

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Last summer's White Linen Tea House visit was followed by some shopping at the Shawnee Country Barns Antique Co-op.

The Antiques Co-Op (barn on the bottom right) was "full of antiques and country charm".

I was so engrossed with all the tea pretties on display that I neglected to capture photos of the inside!

I exercised GREAT restraint and only purchased these 3 trio sets.

The pretty brown transferware design is perfect for a fall tea!

But what really sold me was the pattern name of this Johnson Bros Windsor Ware: 

Margaret Rose!

Now I'm keeping an eye out for another Margaret Rose trio so that I'd have an even set of 4!

Do you own tea sets that are your namesake?

I'm joining the following parties this week:

    No Place Like Home

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tea in the Garden

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

The White Linen Tea House

Last summer, I crossed the border and visited the White Linen Tea House in North Tonawanda, NY.

The tea house's cheery yellow colour and wrap around porch immediately won me over!

Room #1

The interior of the White Linen Tea House was just as beautiful as the outside. The entire first floor had been converted into a tea room! To date, this is the largest tea house that I've ever visited.

Room #2

The different rooms featured charming vintage decor and antiques.

Room #3

Teacups and teapots galore!

Room #4

Hats!

Rooms #5 & #6

Tea-related merchandise was displayed throughout the house. 

Our table was located in Room #5 so I ogled the tea pretties while we waited for our food.

Our pretty table setting.

Brewing our tea.

Unfortunately, I couldn't recall the tea that I ordered. I think it was something fruity?

(This is what happens when you wait over a year to write up a tea visit! Blogging fail!)

The White Linen Tea House offered afternoon tea service, but I opted to order from their lunch menu and try their scrumptious Signature Chicken a la King. It tasted as AMAZING as it looked!

I was used to the soft, fluffy scones so I was surprised when they served scones that looked like lady fingers?!? But I was converted after the first delicious bite. We loved the tasty scones so much that we brought some home with us!

The White Linen Tea House gets A++ across the board for decor, food, and service. 

It was one of the best tea houses that I've ever visited! 

We went on a weekday so the tea house wasn't busy. If you visit on a weekend, reservations are a must!

After our delicious lunch, we walked over the to the adjacent Shawnee Country Barns Antique Co-Op. The HUGE barn was packed to the rafters with antiques! 

I will share the treasures that I found next week...

I'm joining the following parties this week:

    No Place Like Home

Tea Cup Tuesday

Tea in the Garden

Tuesday Cuppa Tea