Tea: It's a drink enjoyed around the world for nearly 5,000 years.
If you’ve traveled to the U.K., maybe you’ve booked an afternoon tea in a tea room. Cucumber, egg and cress, or smoked salmon and cream cheese finger sandwiches; fresh scones with homemade jam and clotted cream; and cakes — served properly on a three-tier stand. 🍰 And, of course, tea.
Our pick: Mackintosh at the Willow in Glasgow, which features designs by architect/designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh and artist Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh and serves “tasty elevenses” and light lunches, as well as afternoon and high teas.
But, until you’re ready to travel, there are places to enjoy tea closer to home. 🏠
Of course, there are spots to just stop in and shop for tea — such as Shang Tea in Crown Center or Tea Market in Crestwood. 🛍️ Or you can pick up a delicious cup from Bruu Cafe on the Plaza or Dragonfly Tea Zone on 39th Street. 🍵
But, if you’re ready for a tea room experience, we've got a few suggestions for you. Pinkies up!
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Anna Marie’s Tea Shop opened in 1994. The small storefront is located on Liberty’s historic square and features more than 80 varieties of teas.
The shop also sells tea-related gifts — teapots and gadgets, from tea strainers to brewing baskets, as well as tea-party cookbooks. 📖 And you’ll also find owner Brenda Hedrick’s signature scone mix.
Hedrick told Feast that her favorite tea was matcha. 🍵
“We are constantly looking for new varieties,” Hedrick said. “When we first started, we probably only had five to 10 teas.”
Anna Marie’s offers monthly themed tea parties, such as a murder mystery high tea, as well as private teas, in Hedrick’s 1913 home.
📍 Anna Marie's Tea Shop: 9 W. Franklin St., Liberty, MO
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Emilie Jackson worked in international business and marketing for more than 15 years before she decided to start her own business. A native of France, she’s lived in five 🖐️ countries, including Portugal, England and Mexico. Now she's the owner of Emilie's French Teas in Kansas City.
According to Jackson, tea is “as fascinating and complex as wine.” ☕ 🍷 And for her tea room, she and her husband wanted to recreate the atmosphere of the tea rooms she’d visited in France with her mother. It’s a walk-in with a large selection of loose leaf teas and small French cookies, such as Madeleines or Financiers. 🍪
Look for photos of her travels — from picking green tea in Chiang Mai to having a cup in a Parisian tea room. At Emilie's, you can purchase teas as well as teaware and other tea gifts. 🎁 Tea classes and tea parties for larger groups are on hold during the pandemic but we hope to see them return in the future. 🤞
📍 Emilie's French Teas: 8131 Wornall Rd., Kansas City, MO
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| Loose Park Japanese Tea Room and Garden
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Unfortunately, the tea room is closed during the pandemic, so keep this one in your back pocket for now. But you can still peer through the windows. 👀
The Loose Park Japanese Tea Room is tucked into a traditional Japanese Garden, just behind the Loose Park Garden Center. 🗾 The garden — open to the public during regular park hours — features an ornamental fountain, big boulders and shrubs with a path that leads to the tea room. ⛲
The two-mat tea room is a ceremonial space designed for Japanese tea ceremonies — which you can book for a total of four visitors.
A Urasenke School chanoyu practitioner leads the activities, which last about 2 hours. First, there’s an educational talk on equipment, history and tea; and second, the tea ceremony, which includes Japanese sweets and matcha. 🍡🍵
Plan to arrive wearing loose clothing and with a pair of clean white socks, as shoes will be removed on arrival. ❌👟
📍 Loose Park: 5200 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, MO
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