tea bazaar

i'm with my wife at the most wonderful little tea room in staunton, virginia. i'm here for our district nazarene youth international convention (actually taking place a couple towns east in charlottesville). the 'twisted branch tea bazaar' has incredible ambience and a wonderful owner, matteus frankovich (pictured above). matteus has traveled all over on 'tea mission trips' and is just a pleasant conversant. we're drinking morracan tea with the most robust mint leaves. the oils of the mint make this tea extraordinary. they, the mint leaves, are grown locally and the grower brings in a different type of mint each visit. by the way, as tea rooms go, this one has a subtle masculine feel to it. i mention this because, historically, tea rooms are often associated with a women's gathering.


20 minutes later... matteaus talked us into a piece of hungarian walnut cake, layered with rasberries and topped with a bitter chocolate. the local baker grinds down the walnuts and uses them as the 'flour' for the cake. this place is perfection as far as tea room experiences go.