A couple of weeks ago, I wandered around Winter Haven, Florida, eventually finding the right walk button and crossing the 6-lane highway.
As per my M.O., I was looking for coffee.
And found the Twisted Teapot instead!
I sat down in the beautifully decorated tea room with my aunt, uncle, and mom, and perused the menu.
Our server, Tim, greeted us at the table.
“We’re just here for tea and dessert”, we said, and proceeded to place our tea orders.
“Oh no no no”, said Tim, “I’ll be back with some samples for you to smell, and then you can tell me what you want.”
Tim brought jar after jar of tea for us to sniff and savor, each more delightful than the one before, and gave us the details on each one.
This was going to be a difficult decision!
We finally settled in on our choices and had a wonderful time.
There’s just something about tea and biscuits that makes for great relaxing conversation.
The only thing I missed were the individual timers to let us know when the tea was properly brewed.
I understand that the English are born with the innate ability to know when tea is brewed to perfection, but somehow we Americans lost that ability on the trip overseas.
Or maybe it was when we changed the meaning of “tea party” in Boston.
Anyway, we had a lovely time, and it turns out that Tim also worked a long time at a corporate job and became disenchanted, quit, and now does his own thing.
Including educating the great unwashed in the finer nuances of tea.
If you’re ever in the Winter Haven area, say hi to Tim and enjoy a proper English tea at the Twisted Teapot!
-D
