For the last few
years, we have offered an afternoon tea here at the farm.
Afternoon tea is a 150 year old English tradition. In
the 19th century, the upper class did not eat until eight
o'clock in the evening. Therefore there was a long stretch
of time between lunch and dinner. For a certain countess,
Anna van Bedford, this was too long a time to go without.
Therefore she had her butler serve tea and sandwiches
with cake around four o'clock. Frequently she asked friends
over and through this method the habit spread throughout
the aristocracy. Now - a century and a half later - afternoon
tea has spread to all the English citizens.

The Wooden Shoe
Herb Farm serves a scheduled afternoon tea twice a year.
Our afternoon tea includes crackers with herbal toppings,
sandwiches with salmon and dill, mint and cucumber, tomato,
cream cheese and basil and egg salad with lovage. Scones
with jam and cream. A selection of herbal cakes. A sorbet,
cookies and a wonderful rich desert will complete the
tea. This will all be accompanied with a herbal water
and lemon verbena tea. We have a beautiful setting that
lends itself to spending some relazing leisure time to
feed the soul. Come and enjoy an informative talk as you
sit under the pines, overlooking the gardens while you
indulge in herbal goodies. Everything is homemade here
at the farm.
There is a limited
enrollment, so give us a call or send in the registration
form to sign up. This year we will be offering two
teas, on June 21st and July 5th, at 1:00
p.m. The talk and the handout will be on Calendula, the
herb of the year 2008. A demonstration of making a Calendula
herbal salve will be on-going at this tea and each participant
will go home with a jar of salve.
If you would like
a tea at a special time for your group, please call
the farm to arrange this event.