Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Tea, Anyone?

I have probably mentioned before that Susan, who, with her husband, owns Logos Books, where I volunteer each week, is Char's cousin.  Actually she's Char's cousin's daughter.  Susan's mother, sadly, died several years ago.

It's because of Char that I became aware of Logos and I probably would not have volunteered to work there if there had not been the family connection.   I would thus have missed out on one of my favorite activities this year.

Susan has been suggesting that Char and Susan's sister Barbara (whom I had not met before), come up here to Davis and the four of us go out to tea.  At first Barbara was reluctant to leave the Bay Area for the heat of Davis, then Char and I went to Europe, but finally we settled on a date.

tea-list-interior-300x291.jpg (30751 bytes)We went to Tea List, a small tea shop which is just a few steps from Logos Books down a small alley.  The photo is from their web site and shows the small interior, nicely air conditioned.   The web site also proudly announces that they were selected "Best of the City 2012" in Sactown Magazine's June/July issue.
"Tucked in a quiet, greenery-filled nook in downtown Davis behind popular restaurant The Mustard Seed, the pocket-sized Tea List cafe couldn’t charm more if it tried…”
This is one of those delightful out-of-the-way places that you might never find if you didn't veer off the main street.  There is a sign on the street near Logos, but I had passed it week after week without ever stopping to investigate.

Sometime in the spring, I got to work early and decided to check out Tea List.  It was a lovely sunny day, with a nice breeze blowing and I sat at one of the outside tables and enjoyed my Earl Grey tea and read my Kindle until time to go to work.  I thought what a lovely, civilized idea a tea shop was and what a perfect place for this one.  I was delighted when Susan suggested that we meet there.

HiTsm.jpg (66850 bytes)We chose our tea first.  Since it was a hot day, we all went for iced tea.  Char and I had strawberry flavored green tea, while Susan and Barbara had some sort of peach flavored black tea.  What delicious tea!  It came in a little glass pitcher with a flat lid, filled with ice cubes and a few slices of strawberry.  The taste was mild, but tasty.

While we savored our tea, we were presented with a tray of our high tea goodies.  The bottom plate had four different kinds of finger sandwiches, a vegetarian choice, a chicken salad, a cucumber and cream cheese, and a ham, cheese and basil sandwich.  There were more than the four of us could eat (and the leftovers were packed up to bring back to Susan's husband, Peter, who was minding the store in our absence).

When we'd finished the sandwiches, we moved to the center dish, with scones (cream and jam provided), Napoleons, and some butter cookies with a chocolate ganache.

The small top shelf contained a selection of sliced ripe fruits.   The best peaches I'd tasted in years.  Thin slivers that had the deep flavor of a tree-ripened peach.

We lingered over our lunch and I had such fun listening to Char and her cousins reliving family memories.  Some I'd heard before, some I had not. Char's extended family is, shall we say, unique. By the time lunch was over, Char said surely I was a family member by now (I thought I had been a family member for years!)

We went our separate ways.  Barbara and Susan went off to get a milk shake for Peter, Char and I got back in her car and Char dropped me off here, before driving home.
During lunch we had shared with the sisters some of our crazy antics over the years, including the circus parade and our pumpkin pie escapades.  They laughed appropriately, so I felt moved to come home and check out the videos and send them links.

 
All in all this was just a delightful day, the kind that I wish I could have more often in this town!

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