AntiquiTeas - Londonderry, NH

I'm back from an end of summer family vacation. Next week my oldest begins preschool for the first time. I am trying not to panic. I know he'll love it and will adjust well. But will I?

Our vacation took us near a few very unexpected tea finds. I'll be writing more about those later this weekend.

For now, I wanted to talk about the teashop I mentioned in my last post. I've been scouting out tea shops in the area to get a better sense of what is available for an article I'm working on. I was trying very hard to find places in New Hampshire with afternoon tea service. It is actually much harder than one might anticipate! I called an acquaintance of mine who owns a teashop in New Hampshire to get her recommendation. She didn't hesitate before recommending AntiquiTeas in Londonderry.

My friend and I drove up on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. AntiquiTeas is located on a pretty busy road not far from I-93. I had read in one review online that it was located in a converted house -- a ranch. You can see an image of it on the left that I pulled from Google Maps. The entrance to the teashop is up the ramp with the white railing on the right. The lower entrance (next to the building that looks like a garage) is an entrance to the gift shops on the lower level.

There were three different rooms where one could have tea. The front room, appearing to be the house's original living room, had a large bow window, bold floral wallpaper, and rose colored tablecloths. (Pictured right). There were two other rooms, including the one we were seated in, that had antique white walls and delicate floral tablecloths.

There was something incredibly comfortable and welcoming about the atmosphere. My friend and I both generally favor more contemporary styles, but were both taken by the warmth of the space. We immediately settled in and relaxed. The staff could not have been friendlier. There were a number of other parties having tea that day, including a mother with her young daughter who were clearly making a very big day of going out to tea.

The tea menu was quite complete. They have a house blend that is always their first suggestion. We, however, were very excited to see Soderblandning (called Swedish Tea on the menu) and made that our choice for the table. The teapot was held in a tea cozy and the tea was warm and plentiful. We were each served in a vintage teacup.

The tiered tray arrived and the food was both plentiful and extraordinarily well constructed. Every single thing we tried was fabulous. The bottom tier held four different types of sandwiches: cucumber, ham, tuna salad, and an amazing chicken salad with cranberry. The sandwiches were all moist and flavorful. They all seemed quite fresh.

The middle tier held an amazing assortment of sweets. We found carrot cake, chocolate brownies, jam filled pastries, cheesecake, and something that I think was a pineapple tart.

The top layer consisted of fresh fruit (grapes, cantaloupe, and strawberries) and a mini-quiche topped with a bacon-wrapped apricot. The mini-quiche was the one thing that I couldn't decide if I liked. I did, however, applaud the creativity.

We spent an hour and a half enjoying our tea and the time simply slipped by. I forgot where we were and what I was supposed to do later. I just reveled in the moment with a dear friend. That, to me, is the sign of a good teashop.

We spent a little time after tea exploring The Shoppes at AntiquiTeas on the lower level. There were tea-related items like tea cozies and jams and jellies, but there was also glassware, clothing (including a big collection of Red Hat items), and jewelry among other things.

There was so much about AntiquiTeas that at first glance I would have said wasn't "me." I'm not usually interested in those types of gift shops and I would have thought that the teashop target audience was much older. HOWEVER, my mind was changed completely. I never felt like we were the least bit out of place and I enjoyed every minute of my visit. I definitely couldn't picture going here with my husband (he's enjoyed tea at places like Boston Park Plaza but this definitely wouldn't be his speed) but it was a fantastic place for an afternoon with a friend. I had moments where I could picture bringing my children for their first tea when they're older. I had other moments when I could picture bringing my husband's grandmother. Truly enjoyable.

The details:
Tea is generally served every day except Tuesday, with hours changing by season.
You are asked to call ahead 24 hours for morning tea or afternoon tea. Lunch is also available.
Currently Morning Tea is $14, lunch is $10.95, and afternoon tea is $18.
A minimum of two people is required for afternoon tea. (Lunch is available to parties of one.)