24 Mar, 2011
It’s tea time in Ottawa
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Ottawa|Publishing/writing/career stuff|Recipes and Food
What is it about Ottawans and hot beverages? (Sidebar: if you live in Westboro you might be interested in knowing that there is talk of ANOTHER coffee shop opening in the ‘hood. Seriously.)
We are coffeeaholics, that’s a given, but it’s suddenly all about tea. Is this a reflection of a long-lost tea drinking heritage, or something totally new?
Tea shops are taking Ottawa by storm. I wrote about it for SavvyMom recently. You can read it here.
Anyway, yes, I have been really impressed by the selection and service at David’s Tea. In fact, I think it’s converted me. A little. The staff are pretty excellent. They know what they’re talking about. And they are patient for newbies like me. They will bring down canister after canister of tea for you to sniff… until you find something you like. And I like. One of the teas I mentioned in the article – Forever Nuts – looks like potpourri. But seriously, it tastes like fruity pie. YUM.
Note to self: tea is not just a cold-weather drink. You can brew iced teas from this stuff too. I look forward to discovering some fruit blends for DIY iced teas.
Also tea-related: have you ever had tea at the Chateau Laurier? Would you consider going with your kids? It’s been recommended to me a hundred times but we haven’t been yet.
It may seem daunting, but I was talking to etiquette expert Suzanne Nourse (@EtiquetteOttawa) about it recently and she highly recommends it for kids age 6 (!) and up. (Although she admits that it might be better suited to girls. Ha. REALLY?)
I asked her why she thought it was important to expose our kids to this stuff. I think we already know this but it was good to get the confirmation… kids need to learn how to behave in nice restaurants. And if they become familiar with this kind of environment it will give them some much-needed confidence, not to mention prepare them for meetings with future father-in-law’s, international CEOs, Nobel Prize winners, or all of the above.
Want to know the secret? High tea at the Chateau still has a fine dining aspect to it, but is much shorter than a dinner and doesn’t actually include multiple forks. And, there are treats. (Check out the menu!)
Suzanne has taken children there before, and prepares them by telling them that there are “home manners” and “princess” (or princely) manners. (Which is fitting since the Chateau looks like a castle.)
I think we’re doing a disservice by only bringing our kids to chain restaurants with paper menus and crayons at every table. I am determined to invite the girls to tea at the Chateau at some point in the near future. I think they’d get a real kick out of it. Suzanne gave me a great “rules” about tea time: no slurping, no pinkies, and the conversation must be brilliant. I like it. In fact, I think I might have that printed on a poster and hang it in the dining room.
