A Perfect Tea Party

Missy Tippens

A couple of weeks ago, I met my college roommate in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We love to meet halfway between Kentucky and Georgia at least once a year to spend a couple of days together to talk, eat, shop, talk, eat, talk, eat... You get the picture. :)

This year, at the recommendation of two writer friends, Karen Kirst and Laurel Blount, we made reservations for afternoon tea at Polly Claire's. It ended up being a wonderful place for tea and lunch!

I thought I'd share some photos. If you're ever in the area, you should try it. The food and service were excellent. And the setting was so nice!

The home is the historic Dent House. Apparently later, it became a children's home for The Bonny Oaks School. And became known as Keese Hall. It's on the National Register of Historic Places.

And the china... oh, the china (can you tell I love it??)...

Oops. Caught Melinda with her eyes closed. :)

The tea I ordered was the Royal Wedding Tea, and it really did taste like wedding cake! It was a little too sweet for my taste, so I ended up adding lemon juice and enjoyed it more.

Look at all the beautiful china! They use all Royal Albert.

And here are the toppings for my scone (which was outstanding!): Pumpkin for the season, lemon curd, cream, and strawberry jam.

The typical English presentation is from top to bottom (scones, etc. on top, sandwiches and savories in the middle, and sweets on the bottom). But in the US, they usually present from bottom to top. Here you can see our desserts on top.

Sandwiches and main course in the middle.

Appetizers on the bottom.

When you entered, you could choose a hat if you wanted to have an all-out tea party. :)

And here's the beautiful Dent House from the outside.

There's just something so fun about a tea party. I loved Polly Claire's and will definitely go back!

www.missytippens.com