By Vanessa Infanzon
Celebrate spring and Mother’s Day with a visit to a Carolina teashop. Sip a wide variety of tea flavors in charming surroundings with the people you love. Shop for tea drinking accessories and find the perfect gift for the tea aficionado in your life.
Susan Gurnee, Lady of Ceremonies and owner of Growing Wheel Headquarters in Todd, North Carolina, teaches her guests about tea etiquette and the history of tea. Traditionally, the height of the table determines what kind of tea it’s called. High Tea is set on a tall table and is often served closer to 5 p.m. Guests for Low Tea may sit on a sofa with a coffee table covered with tea accouterments. A three-tiered tray, she says, offers three courses in one place. Guests begin at the bottom plate and work to the top for the sweets.
2. Carriage House Tea
Lady Mary hosts guests in this 104-year-old mansion for art and tea. Sip black, green, or herbal tea in the parlor filled with antique sofas and chairs. Teas are blended and packaged by Lady Mary and may be purchased in a tin or by the cup at the tea bar. Try matcha – green tea leaves that have been ground up into the finest powder – in three flavors chai, Japanese Izu (plain), and peppermint. Accessories such as teapots, infusers, measuring spoons, and bamboo matcha tools are stocked in the tea shop. Browse local artists’ work at Brightside Gallery. It’s connected to the teashop and features fiber, jewelry, paintings, and pottery. Asheboro, N.C. 336-736-8714