My family loves afternoon tea. Maybe our gateway tea was the high tea up in Vancouver at Secret Garden Tea Company (isn’t the name magical too?). And over the years we’ve even traveled for tea around the world, like one in the smallest house in Amsterdam, and of course the famous Empress tea in Victoria. So I was delighted when I was messaged last December that Cafe Flora, an adorable Madison Park neighborhood cafe was starting up a holiday tea and when we went it was just beautiful and scrumptious. And then again this week they announced they were having a spring tea too.
And what is the spring afternoon tea at Cafe Flora like?
I was invited to experience afternoon tea at Cafe Flora and spring tea here is very true to the season. There are scones and beautiful preserves. The finger sandwiches are fresh like spring and include radishes and butter and cucumber and mint and these were both so delicious. Beautiful cherry blossom flowers adorned the pastry tray. I went with an old friend and it was such a peaceful way to spend the afternoon just chatting and catching up over tea. And I’ve heard from a few people now that say that the deviled eggs were one of their favorite things on the tea tray.
The menu of teas is plentiful and gluten free, vegetarian and vegan diets can all be accommodated. I tried a strawberry tea this time (it was an herbal tea) and my friend had my usual creamy Earl Gray that is also really delicious. When I last checked there were only a handful of times available left for this tea, but you can also request to be added to the waitlist. It feels like there is definitely a market for afternoon tea in Seattle and I hope Cafe Flora continues this tradition especially if we all love it so much. Do you love pretty teas like this too?
Art might be also be why I love this cafe so much
Another thing I love about Cafe Flora is the pottery and art they curate in the cafe. When I first visited, Kate Endle, a local artist had some works on the walls and I loved them so I ordered one for myself for Mother’s Day ages ago. I also have my eye on Dorotea ceramics because of pieces I’ve seen at the Flora Bakehouse (a bakery also part of the Flora group). This time I noticed the Heath Ceramics vases on the tables-we found Heath Ceramics at the Ferry Building in San Francisco years ago and it also inspired a trip to the factory (I highly recommend the factory tours.) and I have a couple of the vases at home. I often check out the plates and other ceramics used in restaurants, and it might be because my Jichan absolutely loved pottery, it was part of his Tea Ceremony practice, and it’s something we often admired together. Even the menus for the tea at Cafe Flora are a delight.
If you are in the Seattle area, I hope you have a chance to experience tea at Cafe Flora one day too.
(PS. while my friend and I were chatting I looked out the window and noticed Kitchen and Market‘s new store right across the street from Cafe Flora, so we went by and shopped a little afterward. I picked up a beet salad to eat with our dinner. We also noticed that they had pimento cheese spread (and this was also in one of the tea sandwiches) which would be such an easy way to recreate the tea sandwiches at home.)
(PPS. While having our tea I also remembered I haven’t been for brunch here in a while, and if you don’t make it here for tea and haven’t been for brunch, well then that might be an idea too.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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