I want to tell you a story about Little Lauren.
When I was 5 or 6 years old, I was tasked to help my Thea clean my Puna’s collection of tea cups. My Puna had been collecting tea cups from all over Canada and the US for most of her adult life and she kept most of her collection hidden in cabinets, high up so her grandchildren couldn’t break them. Once a year or so, Thea would haul them down, clean them, and put them right back up there. There they sat for another year, watching as we grabbed the plastic cups that I inevitably threw at my cousins. I guess Puna’s caution was warranted. That year, I got to help, which was nice for her since she could just toss me up on the counter and I could hand the tea cups back to her. Don’t worry, this isn’t a horror story about how I broke all the cups. I’m only clumsy with my own body (I write this as I have a nice slash across my thumb from a kitchen knife I had tried to wash). I knew about “Tea Parties” from both Alice in Wonderland and British TV shows (I really liked the BBC). I begged Thea to let us have a tea party after we were done cleaning. She obliged and quickly set about to making this happen. Puna was not much of a tea drinker but she did have Lipton tea stored away (that tea was probably older than I was). Our tea accompanied a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (cut into 4, cause “tea party”) and 2 cookies. Once everything was set, we sat down to eat… which is when Little Lauren said the following, with a dramatic eye roll (I said everything with a dramatic eye roll from the ages of 6 to 26 so):
This isn’t a REAL tea party, Thea.
Which is when everyone realized just how much attitude I really possessed (jk they totally already knew). From this moment, an idea was birthed. Thea took me to a tea party for my birthday every single year until she passed. We had tea all over the Bay Area – and even in Boston and Hawaii. Every time she recited this story – it was part of our tradition. Sometimes I brought friends or my cousin(s) would join. My mom even got an invite every once in a while! I cherish every one of these memories and I continue to go to tea with my friends because it always reminds me of Thea. I even got a tea cup tattoo in honor of her. Unfortunately, I don’t have many photos of me at tea with Thea when I was little. Cell phones weren’t a thing and neither of us owned a film camera. In fact, there’s only one photo I can see in my head (and I’ll see if I can dig it up). Capturing memories with your brain was really the only way to do it. So I did and I look through them all the time.
All this is to tell you that I know my damn high tea locations and I want to tell you about my favorite one in the Bay Area.
Lovejoys – San Francisco
San Francisco really does have some cool locations. I wish I actually enjoyed going to the city (there’s too much to unpack there so moving on) but it’s a whole thing.
That being said, I will willingly go to San Francisco anytime if you tell me that you got us a reservation at Lovejoys. Parking in San Francisco is a complete nightmare but this location is further away from the more popular places so finding street parking is typically very easy. I don’t have a British grandmother but I imagine that this place is like walking into your British grandmothers farm house. It’s always so cozy and welcoming. The staff members are kind, they know all about the different teas/sandwiches they serve, and they always have a smile ready. One of my favorite things are the mis-matched tea sets. There’s a time and a place for matchy matchy tea sets (and the price tag that comes with that) but this is not the time nor the place. What I love about them is that their price for their High Tea is only $30 – which is far cheaper than most other places in the Bay Area. You also don’t have to choose the High Tea (there’s smaller amounts of tea service plus completely separate menu items) but you do get to choose what sandwiches you get (which is getting increasingly hard to find – so many places are doing a “no choice” tea, you get what they have that day). There’s a large variety of sandwiches, tea, and tea services. I’m also a big fan of them having petit fours separate (for purchase) because I very much do not care for them. Every time I go to tea and those are provided, I know they’re only going to be tossed. I’ve tried for years (since my first tea party) and I’ve never cared for them.
Anyway, please come have tea with me.
Writes with Wolves 