Treasured Tea Time

Elite '08

98

152

Janine P.

Sacramento, CA

If you are looking for a local English High Tea experience - this is the place to lift your pinky to, don a frilly hat, white gloves, boa, and sip from a cutesy teacup.  
All of which, you can pick out for yourself - kinda like when you were a little girl, invading your mom's closet and playing dress up - looking clown-like with the clumsy application of lipstick (okay that's just me).

When I first walked into this place years ago, I couldn't believe my eyes. I just wanted a cutesy teacup for my desk at work.  At first, I thought that I had barged in on a private tea party - complete with women wearing frilly hats, white gloves, and boas . . . lifting their pinkies.
Then, I thought that I must have entered some type of Allison in Wonderland alternate universe - this can't be real?  I kind of felt uncomfortable, but didn't want to be too obvious and bolt for the front door.  So, I nervously perused the pretty tea-ware (planning my escape).  Luckily, the nice sales lady noticed my un-easiness and approached me.  She explained that they have a daily "tea" that anyone can attend.  

The front portion of the place is a nice little gallery of teapots, teacups, and tea paraphernalia. The selection of loose leaf tea is of the usual amount that I've found at other tea purveyors in the area. The back half is a little girl's (or girl at heart's) dream tea party, come to life.
The only "Tea" that I've ever attended here, was the "Teddy Bear Tea".  It's for the kiddies.  My friend had her daughters' Birthday party here, and it was quite cute.  Just as the adult tea, you get to pick out a silly hat, some white gloves and many a boa.  And, you also get to select your teacup - from nice array of cutesy cups.  The food is very, very dainty, and just okay.  So, be prepared to grab yourself a burger or something before, or after.  

This really is the place to go to find a nice variety of teapots and teacups . . . Oh, and to relive your little girl dress-up days. I still can't bring myself to attend an adult "tea", but I will gladly relive my youth vicariously through the kiddies at a Teddy Bear Tea.

Side note:  As dainty and frou frou as this place can be, I spotted one brave man (he probably got "lucky" too) having tea in the midst of many frilly-hat ladies. . . Awesome!

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4

20

Katy C.

San Francisco, CA

I had afternoon tea here and it was lovely.  The tea room is divided in half--one half is the giftshop and the other is the tea room.  It's rather small--with about 5 or 6 tables.  Remember to make reservations.  

When you first walk in, you go to the counter to make a tea selection.  All teas are looseleaf and you can smell each tea before choosing.  I had the Peach Black Tea and it was pretty good.  The peach flavor wasn't dominant, and the tea was milder than I am used to (I like strong black teas).  I've been to four tea rooms and this is the only one that serves soup before the tea service--a pleasant surprise.  I had a creamy butternut squash soup.  Unlike other tea rooms, you do not have a choice of sandwiches, as they are pre-prepared for you.  Still, they are very good.  They serve cream and lemon curd with the pastries.  The cream was lighter than Devon cream--it tasted almost like whipped cream.  The scones are delicious, though.  

The ladies who own the place were nice people and they refilled our teapots as necessary.  They do not place more tea leaves in the pot, so the tea was very diluted after the 3rd refill.  

They also have hats and boas to borrow for your service...but I thought that was kind of gross, so I didn't choose to wear any.

The reason why I give 4 stars is a combination of the diluted tea and the reservation system they have---
You cannot make a reservation without leaving your credit card number.  I thought this was a bit too old-fashioned.  As I have had my credit card information stolen before, I am very wary about giving away personal identification information so easily.  The woman on the phone even asked me for the expiration date of the credit card!  I refused to give this though, and she was okay with just the card number.  I really didn't like this.

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Elite '08

85

240

WendySue R.

Sacramento, CA

My daughter and I attended a baby shower at Treasured Tea Time today.

Our invitation said to wear your best hat so my daughter came prepared.  I didn't have anything suitable (my Red Sox baseball hat clashed with my dress) so I went straight to the hat racks on the back wall and chose one I could borrow.  Next, we went to the china cabinet and picked our own tea cup & saucer.

For the little ladies they offer hot chocolate or pink lemonade - we had my daughter and her 6 year old cousin at my table so we opted for a pot of hot chocolate (just like that train movie, my little one told me).

Each table was given a pot of tea along with a strainer contraption to use in pouring.

Our first course was a cold soup - it was like melted ice cream with raspberry sauce.  Yum.  Even my picky eater liked it.

Then we were served a three tiered selection of goodies.  On the bottom were finger sandwiches - chopped ham salad, pear, cucumber, etc.  In the middle were some sweets and some cheese.  On top was a selection of scones - which we were able to dress with lemon curd & devonshire cream.

We also were served a brownie after all that!

I don't know how much this party cost our hostess but it was very yummy and the service was very friendly.

I'm sure we'll visit Treasured Tea Time again.

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Elite '08

74

213

Monica T.

Berkeley, CA

From the outside, Treasured Tea Time doesn't leave a whole lot to be desired.  It's in a rundown stripmall off some obscure street in Sacramento and surrounded by a peppering of not-so-nice houses.  The interior is not as elaborate or elegant as what you may find elsewhere, but the food is top notch.

The menu changes monthly with seasonal offerings that are well executed and unique from your average tea parlor.  There is a wide tea selection and you can pick out your own hats and teacups from shelves located at the back of the store.

So five stars for the tea service, but minus one for the lack of ambiance.

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