Afternoon Tea in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

Our "female foursome" left Michigan last Tuesday morning [Sept. 9th] bound for Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where we had reservations for Afternoon Tea at Sweet Remembrances Tea Room at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

I had the privilege of having tea at Sweet Remembrances in 2005 when owner, Nancy Reppert, hosted the first annual seminar for the Mid-Atlantic Tea Business Association, which she helped organize.  We reconnected again on a London, England tea tour in 2007, and again in March of this year on a Kentucky tea tour.  Mechanicsburg was on the way to Wilmington, Delaware, so stopping there for tea was a must on our itinerary.  It was the perfect beginning to a wonderful trip!

The tea room, which opened in 1990, is located in a post Civil War red brick row house on Market Street in historic downtown Mechanicsburg. Nancy's sister, Susanna, owns and operates the Rosemary House, a herb and spice specialty shop located next door which their mother, Bertha Reppert, established in 1968.

[Me]

We arrived a few minutes early, so we walked around back to see the garden.  Below is an arbor that Nancy adorns with chipped teapots and teacups that can no longer be used in the tea room.

The cute maid below was near the garden.



 Nancy, the owner of Sweet Remembrances, pictured below.

A table set for four awaited us.

~ Our foursome ~

[L-R:  Linda, Me, Barbara, and Lori]

~ The tea menu ~

I chose Peaches and Ginger to begin with, and later switched to Rosemary's Chai, one of their house blends.  Each of our teapots had a cozy to keep the tea warm.

~ Our tea began with a lovely Mandarin Orange Salad ~

Followed by a three-tiered server, laden with fabulous tea food!

We began with warm from the oven scones - a traditional cream scone, and a lemon pecan scone, served with jam and mock Devonshire cream.  They were the lightest scones I have ever eaten!

The savories consisted of Ham Salad on White Bread rounds; Basil Pesto Chicken Salad triangles; Cucumber, Radish, and fresh Chives on Pumpernickel rounds spread with Goat Cheese; and Pistachio Mascarpone Croistini.  [This recipe was recently provided on Nancy's blog, Rosemary's Sampler.]

Last, but definitely not least, were the desserts - A Fairy Cake, a creamy Chocolate covered Peanut Butter candy, and a Lemon Verbena tart triangle.  All were absolutely delicious!

It was a busy day at the tea room, and by the time we left, every table was in use.

Nancy had several tea-themed vignettes displayed throughout the tea room, and I photographed a few.

The tea set on top of the blue cabinet [pictured below] was Nancy's childhood tea set.

Interior of the Tea Room before patrons arrived.

When we finished eating we "waddled" next door to Susanna's herb shop.

~ Susanna behind the counter ~

Below L-R:  Nancy, Me and Susanna

What did I purchase?  A Sweet Remembrances Cookbook

And two Amy Lawrence Cookbooks.

There was an antique store, Veroniques, next to the herb shop, so we couldn't leave town without going there.  

[Internet Photo]

I was happy to find a 1967 Gone With the Wind booklet. The front and back cover are pictured below.  

Then we were off to Wilmington, Delaware.

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Today I'm joining Antiques and Teacups for Tuesday Cuppa Tea
and Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea Time Tuesday