Photo by Sai De Silva on Unsplash
Ever go to tea with your Mom? Or had tea with your Mom? Maybe you don’t have a Mom, but maybe there is one person that is very special and you vibe with that person no matter what. You may have known them for a long time or maybe just met them, but you have a connection. This connection is a sensation of knowing that this person is in your life for a reason. They bring good things, lots of smiles and release from the routine of life. They enhance life, always enhance and that’s why you love to do things with them. Maybe go out to dinner, shopping, for a walk, just hang out and share.
You keep coming back and they do too and you really don’t question it, it’s just a good part of your life. So, that’s what tea with Mom is. We didn’t really “go to tea”, the plan was to have lunch and there happened to be tea too. The tea was really good, so that’s how this became a Tea Travels post. I had just returned from my tea traveling trip to Europe. I was also going there for a reunion at The Lido, renowned cabaret in Paris, France, but that’s a whole other post and will most likely be revisited again sometime soon. It happened to be my birthday and my Mom wanted to celebrate and she asked me to lunch. I was really excited and thought the perfect place would be The Mission Inn Restaurant in downtown Riverside located within the historic Mission Inn Hotel. First of all the food is delicious and the setting is magical. When you enter the doors of The Mission Inn you are transported to another time and a place. And that is because the founder took the best of California culture and history and created a unique experience that combined everything that people loved about California during the era (1850 to 1935). It’s the perfect combination of Spanish, Mexican and California Gold Rush folklore. We do know that the arts were celebrated here, important political relationships were developed and great business was practiced. There is always ambiance and the best food and drink. It’s human socialization and culture at it’s best.
We headed off to The Mission Inn, Mom and I. We posed for the traditional photo under the Campanario, a beautiful arch inspired by the Mission San Gabriel that graced the path that led to the front entrance. From the Campanario hung a collection of vintage bells of various shapes and sizes and a healthy growth of climbing ivy provided a lovely green backdrop.
Once we entered the Inn, we went left towards the Mission Inn Restaurant which is open daily and is the main restaurant for guests staying at The Inn. We were seated by a lovely host with a kind smile. The restaurant walls were inlaid with gorgeous blue tiles and mosaics. I was reminded that Frank Augustus Miller, the founder of The Mission Inn, loved the color blue and had named his own grocery store, The Blue Front Grocery.
The mosaics were gorgeous and colorful and rose up the walls to the curved arabic ceilings that shared common architectural elements with the Hagia Sophia. The walls embellished with hand painted murals by Tiffany Brooks, whose work is featured at the Biltmore Historic Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
Our waitress came over quickly and helped us decide on the daily buffet, which probably should have been called The Daily Feast. The buffet was laid out with an array of choices that would satisfy all dietary preferences from Vegan to Hearty Meat Eater and Seafood lovers. As usual, I ordered tea and this is where having tea with Mom actually begins. The featured tea that day was ROAR HUMBLY EXQUISITE TEA. So ROAR is a brand that hails from the South and has quite a history. The company was founded in 1896 by Henry T. Batterton in Alabama. He started the company specializing in coffee. In the 1950’s William E. Smith bought the company and has brought ROAR into the future with responsibly sourced coffee and tea. They also know the lineage of all of their coffee beans and tea leaves and donate to charities that protect the environment and help communities around the world. The company has now been existence over 100 years and is a force in the world of fine coffee and tea.
We had a great meal and chat. The tea was steaming hot and relaxing and cleared the way for engaging conversation. The waitress had brought out the organic green and spearmint blend. Organic teas are grown without pesticides or genetic modifications. The green tea produces energy and focus and the Peppermint leaves are know to soothe the stomach, have a cooling effect, freshen the breath and relieve stress. When steeped, green tea releases energizing levels of caffeine. A cup of green tea can contain around thirty-five mg of caffeine, half the amount found in a cup of coffee. It also contains catechins that are scientifically proven to improve cognitive function and possibly decrease the risk of dementia. ROAR recommends on their packaging that the water be 185 degrees Fahrenheit and that the tea bag steep for three to four minutes. It’s important to use the right water as well. Minerals in water bring out the flavor of the tea leaves, purified or distilled water will result in a bland tasting tea. I didn’t think to ask the waitress what water was utilized, but the tea was full of flavor and refreshing.
We caught up on our adventures and admired the vintage beauty of The Mission Inn and how well-preserved it was. It was heart warming to be in a beautiful setting that celebrated the past and all of the fantastical and wonderful events that had shaped the state of California.
