As visitors step through the doors of The Vintage Pear in Morgan
Hill, they take a ladylike step back in time to experience the
relaxing pageantry that is afternoon tea.
After selecting their own teacup from a large case filled with
just a small portion of owner Maureen Lindsey’s personal
collection, diners are invited to sit a spell while their snacks
are prepared in the kitchen of the appealing Victorian that sits
right on Monterey Street in downtown.
As visitors step through the doors of The Vintage Pear in Morgan Hill, they take a ladylike step back in time to experience the relaxing pageantry that is afternoon tea.
After selecting their own teacup from a large case filled with just a small portion of owner Maureen Lindsey’s personal collection, diners are invited to sit a spell while their snacks are prepared in the kitchen of the appealing Victorian that sits right on Monterey Street in downtown.
Soon, fresh scones appear, served with lemon curd, clotted cream and raspberry preserves, and as soon as they vanish, what should appear, but a plate of finger sandwiches made with whatever is in season? It may be cranberry chicken salad, apricot with pecan, carrot with cheddar or a mouthwatering artichoke spread – whatever strikes Lindsey’s fancy at the market.
Afternoon tea service is more than the delightful round of appetizers and desserts – everything from chocolate-dipped strawberries and molasses cookies to pear brown betty – that grace the table of a tea house. It’s a transportation back in time, a chance for women to feel like little girls giggling with their grandmas or proper English ladies. For some, it’s even a respite from the hectic confines of daily life just as relaxing as any spa manicure or massage.
A tradition that began with one hungry duchess, afternoon tea is most commonly credited in its beginnings to Anna, Duchess of Bedford, who grew weary during the afternoon between the two main meals British households enjoyed in the early 19th century.
While on summer vacation at Belvoir Castle, she began asking her servants to bring her a pot of tea and a selection of breadstuffs during the late afternoon to tide her over until dinner was served much later in the evening. The duchess began inviting friends to her afternoon snack session of small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches and sweets, and the trend was so popular she continued the habit once back at home in London.
Soon every socially conscious woman was hosting her own teas, and the tradition has survived to this day, writes Linda Stradley, proprietor of the recipe Web site WhatsCookingAmerica.net and a cookbook by the same name.
In America, the traditional afternoon meal is often mislabeled “high tea,” but “high tea” actually refers to “meat tea,” a hearty dinner meal, according to Stradley. Afternoon tea, while less regal sounding, is actually the delicate tea of a lady, she wrote.
But tea didn’t come without rules, according to Frances Lamparter, an amateur tea sleuth who visits tea rooms throughout the Bay Area in search of the perfectly brewed cup and a relaxing hour of pampered solitude.
“Napkin etiquette is so funny because the hostess was pretty much the one who decided when you had to go,” said Lamparter, an outside sales associate for a wire
and cable distributor who dreams of becoming a tea distributor some day. “If you leave the table, you’re supposed to put your napkin on the chair. You never fold your napkin back up. You never put it on the table. When the party is over, the hostess will put her napkin on the table, indicating it’s time for you to go.”
There are even magazines devoted to the art of tea service, said Lamparter, but most customers take a more casual approach to the ceremonies.
Diane McGinty, a financial adviser for the McGinty Financial Group in Morgan Hill and a long-time Gilroy resident, had her first exposure to afternoon tea when she was invited to a tea service by her friend Rose Hernandez, former proprietor of the Country Rose Inn Bed and Breakfast in San Martin. These days, she enjoys stopping in for the occasional spot of tea while catching up with her daughter or daughter-in-law.
“I think in our very fast-paced world, there aren’t very many opportunities to slow down and just sort of enjoy life,” said McGinty. “A lot of times women will like things like a bubble bath or going to a day spa, and this has sort of the same feeling of relaxation. Additionally, it allows you to kind of go back in time. I feel like I’m stepping into a Dickens novel with all the lace curtains and the tiny silverware.”
The soft surroundings and dainty accessories in the tea house also remind McGinty of times spent with her grandmother and of playing with dolls as a little girl.
“I think of her really lavishing her time on me,” said McGinty, who describes herself now as “comfortably middle aged.” It’s a tradition she’d like to pass on to her own granddaughters to keep the link alive.
The tea house is a home for all ages, according to Lindsey, who said she sees mothers, daughters, grandmothers and friends come together in the space she’s decorated with small trinkets for sale, from tea cozies and tassels to loose teas, sandwich tongs and scented bath products. Her most regular customers have cups that have been unofficially claimed and swing by to purchase the decorative sugar cubes that Lindsey prepares herself, applying tiny candy flowers to each cube.
Lindsey, a Boston native who has lived in Morgan Hill for 13 years, opened The Vintage Pear in 2003 after losing her job in facilities management and telecommunications to the dot-com bubble burst.
“There were no jobs to be had at that time, so I decided to pursue a lifetime dream,” said Lindsey, who hopes to eventually open a bed and breakfast facility in the area as well.
Lindsey offers tea services Wednesday through Sunday by reservation, but drop-ins may stop for tea and scones during business hours at 17265 Monterey Rd. in Morgan Hill. Tea service is $18.95 per person plus tax and gratuity. For reservations, call Maureen at (408) 776-1922.
Tea Rooms of the South Valley
The Vintage Pear
17265 Monterey Rd.
Morgan Hill
(408) 776-1922
Someone’s In the Kitchen
1745 San Felipe Rd., Suite 3
Hollister
(831) 636-8205
Lisa’s Tea Treasures
377 Santana Row No. 1145
San Jose
(408) 247-3613
