The Clockwork Rose Tea Emporium Experience

I had the most delightful experience this past Tuesday, a friend treated me to tea at the Clockwork Rose Tea Emporium. This is a wonderfully imaginative tea shop in Beaverton, that really should not be missed by those inclined to take a cuppa with delicious savories and sweets along with a truly unusual and marvelously creative atmosphere.

The Clockwork Rose Tea Emporium is a delightful mix of steampunk and Alice in Wonderland. I was in awe at the detail and creative talent of the two owners Maggie and Harold. The establishment is a feast to the eyes; hot air balloons, delicately balanced tea cups, and steam punk hats and portraits.

The tables are set with fresh linens (no paper napkins here), and the milk is already handy on the table (no need to ask for it). Sugar is both refined and demerara (no paper packets). Can you tell I have been in some pretty poor examples of tea rooms in my time. 

I am so pleased to say this is NOT one of them. This one excels on all levels.

The tea selection is extensive (Harney & Sons, as well as their own personal blends), and they just don't plop it on the table and leave you to maul over it. Harold, who has a extensive knowledge of the blends, comes to your table and goes over the list like a fine vintner discussing the bouquet of savory wines. I chose "Boston", a black tea with hints of cranberries, almonds and coconut. Dessert in a cup. My fellow table mates chose "Tower of London", a savory tea with a smoky flavor based on Earl Grey.

They do not skimp on the quantity of tea they serve either. Tea is brought to each individual in a eight cup pot, which is placed on a warmer. What a delight to have hot tea throughout the service as well as not needing to flag down a server to refill the pot with hot water half way through the tea.

The savories were a delicious selection of turkey, egg salad and cucumber sandwiches. (The cucumber was marinated.) For the hot savories, Maggie presented a lovely mini-quiche, mini-chicken pot pie and a truly savory sausage roll, all wrapped in the lightest of flaky pastries.

There were both traditional plain scones and snickerdoodle, served with her own homemade Devonshire cream, lemon curd and raspberry jam. They were light and paired well with my tea selection.

The sweets were a delectable combination of lemon bar, fruit tart, peteifores, mini-creme brulee, and macarons from France. I've never liked macarons in the past. They were always so overly sugary and hard as rocks. These were light, and the raspberry filing in mine, melted in my mouth.

However, the splendid tea and scrumptious edibles are not the end of this delightful tea experience. Everywhere you look there is a painstaking attention to detail. There is so much to visually take in... The handmade fireplace, the portrait of the steampunk captain, the player piano with an arrangement of silver tea services, and don't forget to take a moment to check out the "Water Closet" it is Maggie and Harold's tribute to "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."

It is the attention to detail in all things that makes the tea at the Clockwork Rose Tea Emporium an "Experience." 

I am not only impressed with Maggie and Harold's creative side, but also the incredible time and energy this must have taken to pull together. Their efforts have, in turn, inspired me. I am already putting together my Steampunk Outfit so I can participate in some of their upcoming special events.