The Great Tea Rooms of America [Hardcover]

Bruce Richardson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006

Bruce Richardson gives us another insider's glimpse into the world's growing fascination with the celebration of afternoon tea. The author of The Great Tea Rooms of Britain now takes us to 22 tea rooms in the United States and Canada where taking tea is serious business. This 2006 third edition contains four new tea rooms. Afternoon tea is no longer an indulgence reserved just for the British. From Cape Cod to Pasadena, Americans in search of a quiet respite are finding establishments that do make "a proper cup of tea." This collection is filled with 125 color photographs and 75 recipes. It is a great gift book that gives readers a tantalizing taste of what's brewing across America!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bruce Richardson is one of America's leading tea authorities. He is a featured columnist for Fresh Cup magazine and a contributing writer to such magazines as Tea Time and TEA. The writer/photographer is a frequent guest speaker at tea seminars and events across the United States. Mr. Richardson serves as a consultant to the food and beverage industry. He is the author of The Great Tea Rooms of Britain, A Tea for All Seasons, A Year of Teas, Looking Deeply into Tea, The Tea Table, The New Tea Companion. He is designing a new guide book series for 2006 release - Tea in the City: New York and Tea in the City: London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Benjamin Press; 3 edition (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966347862
• ISBN-13: 978-0966347869
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,021,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bruce Richardson has been a leading voice in America's tea renaissance for two decades. He began by importing and blending tea in the middle of Kentucky, a state known more for Bourbon than tea. His infectious passion for the ancient beverage has been enjoyed by countless audiences and readers. Bruce began writing about tea in 1994 and has now published a dozen books on the subject. His travel books and guides have led tea enthusiasts on tea adventures across Great Britain, France, Canada, and the United States. Bruce has served on the board of the US Tea Council's Specialty Tea Institute and speaks regularly at World Tea Expo. He is a columnist for TeaTime magazine and serves on the Advisory Board for Fresh Cup magazine. For ten years, he has hosted TEA 101, an annual seminar for budding tea entrepreneurs. He is the owner of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas and its publishing division Benjamin Press. Elmwood Inn Fine Teas are available online at amazon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Every American Tea Lover Has Been Waiting For!, September 30, 2002

By 

E. M. Holderman (Perryville, Kentucky USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Tea Rooms of America (Hardcover)

Bruce Richardson has done it again! After much success with "The Great Tea Rooms of Britain," loyal readers asked for and encouraged Richardson to do an American version. Over a three year span, logging alot of air and road miles, he has produced what so many have been longing for. He has given us the first-ever look into some of "The Great Tea Rooms of America."

While not feasibly being able to include ALL tea rooms in America, Richardson, based on his many years of experience in the tea trade, picked those that he thought best represented the fine art of tea. His knowledge is incredibly valuable. He begins the book with an introduction of tea itself and the history of the introduction of tea into America. Then begins the journey. With a wonderful representation of many different styles, twenty-one tea rooms are spotlighted, including: Brown Palace Hotel of Denver, Butchart Gardens of Victoria, British Columbia, Cliffside Inn of Newport, Rhode Island, Drake Hotel of Chicago, Dunbar Tea Room of Sandwich, Massachusetts, Dunshanbe Teahouse of Boulder, Colorado, Fairmont Empress Hotel of Victoria, British Columbia, Farmhouse Tea Shoppe of Dunwoody, Georgia, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort of Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Hydrangea of Wilmette, Illinois, Landy Mendl's of New York City, Lady Primrose's Thatched Cottage of Dallas, McCharles House of Tustin, California, Rose Tree Cottage of Pasadena, California, St. Regis Hotel of New York City, Sentimental Rose Tea Garden of Frazeysburg, Ohio, Swan House of Findlay, Ohio, The T Salon of New York City, The Tea Room of Savannah, Georgia, Waldorf-Astoria of New York City....and of course Richardson's own Elmwood Inn of Perryville, Kentucky. Included in the description of each particular tea room is a bit of history, delicious recipes, great color photographs (Bruce is also a photographer), and a narrative overview of his tea experience there. Included is Jane Pettigrew's (of London) editorial on Elmwood Inn. Each tea room's mailing address, phone number and website are listed in the back. I found the book to be informing, interesting and quite simply...fun.

While I know there are many American tea lovers that are thrilled this book is finely completed, there must be as many international tea lovers that are just as thrilled, as this book makes for an excellent tea traveler's guide across the great United States of America. I assure you, you can find confidence in this wonderful book. With Perryville being home to me, I frequent Elmwood Inn and enjoy the pleasures of afternoon tea as prepared by my friends, Bruce and Shelley Richardson. (I feel so fortunate!) After all, this is the only American tea room to be recommended by the British Tea Council.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Empty Cup, January 15, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Great Tea Rooms of America (Hardcover)

How disappointed I was in purchasing this book, especially considering how much I've read about the author. The writing is marginal, relying more on recipes from the tea rooms. The photographs are low quality, and do not typically depict the tea atmosphere as normally presented by the tea rooms. I was expecting "CLASSY" and got "TACKY". I think the author, Bruce Richardson, uses this book and his other to officiate his own tea room.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Warning . . ., February 11, 2008

By 

World Class Shopper (Boulder CO) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Great Tea Rooms of America (Hardcover)

Page 17 -- recipe for Double Chocolate Brownies. Part of the recipe is missing. When do you add the eggs, vanilla and sugar listed in the ingredients?

I am surprised that someone didn't notice this since the first printing which appears to have been in 2002, but perhaps the error did not appear in those issues.

I just bought this book and it makes me hesitant to try the recipes -- just wondering if there are other mistakes (this one was obvious).

Note also -- there are only 117 pages in this book with 77 recipes listed (77 recipes if you include the recipe for the double chocolate brownies on page 17 which isn't complete). I think the suggested price of $25.00 is a little expensive for the content.