This past weekend, Dan and I were fortunate to have my parents visit us over the Easter holiday weekend. On Saturday my mom and I visited the Simpson House Tea Room in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania while Dan and our fathers went golfing. The visit to the tea room for a traditional English tea was a first for both of us and we really had such a wonderful time.
The Simpson House Tea Room is located in a restored farmhouse that dates back to the 1890s in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. The decor is bright and airy without being too overly sentimental. It recalled, what I would imagine, as an English cottage. We enjoyed a traditional full afternoon tea, or "low tea", that consisted of a mixture of savory and sweet finger sandwiches, scones, and sweet confections.
Simpson House offers an assortment of over 100 loose teas ranging from Black teas, to Rooibos to a variety of Green teas.
Our "Royal Tea", as it was described, included a pot of tea for each of us. We both ordered from the Easter specialty menu which included approximately 6 or so seasonal teas. My mom enjoyed a Black tea infused with white chocolate chunks and I chose a caramel Rooibos tea that was divine. The caramel flavor seemed to develop throughout my meal- I really wish I had inquired about the possibility of purchasing the tea to take home! My mom really enjoyed hers as well and it smelled delicious. Our individual pots included an ample amount of tea that carried us through the meal and remained warm until the very last sip.
The meal began with a choice of three house made soups. I chose a tomato basil soup and my mom went with a Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Corn soup that appeared to be lighter than the typical chicken corn soups I am used to seeing. The soups were paired with salads composed of fresh greens with what I believed was a raspberry vinaigrette.
