It's Zinnia Season!

The days are getting nice and long and the best of spring weather has arrived here in Tennessee. It just feels good to be outside doing...anything! Our garden is a bit behind, though, and today we tried to make up for lost time by planting rows of tomatoes, peppers, beans and melons. Delicious, beautiful bounty we long to share with you in the tearoom all summer long. The flowers are flourishing, too. What joy! This year it’s zinnias everywhere you look.

Recently, I had the joy of going to afternoon tea with a treasured friend who will be moving far from Tennessee in a few months. The tea wasn’t anything terribly fancy, just very good food served on a sturdy three-tiered tray at a small table for two tucked into a cozy alcove. The ideal setting for a heart- to-heart chat over tea and treats. It was perfect.

Later that night I got to thinking about afternoon tea and what makes a really good one. What really is the heart of tea? Perhaps it is best explained by listing what it is not...perfect place settings, spectacularly fine china, complicated, fussy food, pretense of any kind. On the contrary, the heart of tea warmly welcomes guests, offers a space for meaningful, face-to-face conversations, nourishes the body with steaming tea and wholesome food, nourishes the soul with laughter and at times, even a few tears. The heart of tea beckons one to linger longer, to sit, to talk of beautiful things.

At Three Sisters Tearoom this is our goal for every tea we serve. Though you may arrive a stranger, may you leave knowing you are amongst friends who know your name and who care about you.

Our china does not match and our linens are tea-stained from much use. But our food is homemade, the tea never stops flowing, and there is always a place for you! Just add scones and lemon curd and that really is the heart of tea! Join us, friend.