Wild Rose meets Tea Rose

September this year I'll be visiting London again with my husband. Our trips to London always include a visit to my favorite restaurant, Sketch in Conduit Street, for either an afternoon tea or dinner in the Gallery. In 2016 I visited the Gallery for the first time to celebrate my husband and me being together for a year. I was mesmerized by the whole experience as I'd never had a proper British afternoon tea. It is there that I discovered the wondrous world of tea with their wide selection of blends. After drinking their pu'er I became a real enthusiast with cupboards filled with beautiful china, different tea glasses and cups, a ton of different blends and infusions stored in elegant tea canisters. Thinking about it now, tea has always been part of my life with learning how to serve Maghrebi mint tea at a young age and being lauded for the love I poured in it. When I looked into the history of this minty beverage I discovered that it all started with the British introducing gunpowder tea into Morocco in the 18th century. To me it was only natural that I'd also learn more about the British way of tea so I could enjoy it even more. Honestly, the British afternoon tea has definitely become my favorite way of enjoying this beverage.

In Belgium there are only a handful of places where you can enjoy an afternoon tea the British way with Salon de thé Claude in Antwerp being my favorite. Through Claude I discovered De theeroos (English: The Tea Rose) by Valérie Hallin. She is a tea sommelier with a love for England, tea, herbs and flowers; even growing most of these herself to use in all of her creations. She has written a book on how to enjoy tea in every season: De theeroos - Thee beleven doorheen de seizoenen (English: lit. The tea rose - Experiencing tea throughout the seasons). Currently she's working very hard on her second book which will come out late September this year still. De theeroos is more than a tearoom just outside of Bruges: Valérie Hallin also hosts unique experiences outside of the confines of her tearoom and garden.

In Crooked Glasshouse I alluded to how I was going to a tea party in Meise Botanic Garden's Balat Greenhouse. I can't even begin to describe what an amazing experience it was. I'd never been to Meise Botanic Garden so my husband and I went exploring a bit before the time we were expected to be there. We took a little stroll through the Island Garden in the castle pond (I loved taking the raft across). My husband took a video of me hopping from stone to stone in my Elizabeth OP set from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. I was really scared - irrationally so - to fall in the water and ruin my coord before the tea party but luckily I was able to keep my clumsiness to a minimum. Once we arrived at Balat Greenhouse we were greeted by Valérie and a very appealing table setting adorned with flowers. Apparently I'd caught the photographer's eye with my beautiful dress and he wished to take some pictures of me and Valérie (many more photos would follow after with my husband as well). Once it was time, we were told what seat we were assigned to. I was lucky enough to sit next to Valérie's mother who regaled me with stories about her bobbin lacemaking sisters as well as her life by the sea. My husband, who was sat to the left of me, enjoyed his afternoon by talking about musicals with the couple on his left. Apparently the man was part of a men's choir and loves The Phantom of  the Opera so much he had All I ask of you as his wedding dance. Valérie definitely created the perfect seating plan because everybody seemed to be having engaging conversations. Naturally most of these conversations were about the food and tea being served by Valérie. Everybody could clearly tell she put so much love and care into everything. When she would tell us about the history of British customs, how she harvests her magnolia flowers or the meaning of certain flowers all attendants would hang on her every word. My husband and I certainly appreciated the historical presentation.

Coord rundown:

• Headdress: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
• Gloves: Dents
• OP: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
• Bloomers: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
• OTKs: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
• Shoes: Off-brand
• Bag: Secondhand Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
• Umbrella: Angelic Pretty

Outfit rundown:

• Glasses: Matsuda
• Shirt: Emporio Armani
• Suit: Emporio Armani
• Belt: Dolce & Gabbana
• Shoes: Ambiorix

The afternoon tea started with a nonalcoholic tea-based apéritif which was kept cold with frozen berries. Then we moved on to tasting two types of scones, one savory and one sweet scone (with clotted cream of course), accompanied by a variation of jams and chutneys made from flowers, herbs and fruit. Apparently there's a proper way to eat a scone and Valérie was kind enough to explain this to us. Unfortunately it seems that I did make a mistake when eating mine since I didn't put the cream and jam on my plate. The most interesting tidbit she shared with us is how Belgium does have a tea culture, though it seems to be a bit lost to time. In Belgium we have our own version of afternoon tea named cinq heures in French or vijf uur thee in Dutch (English: lit. five o'clock tea). Valérie also had us indulge ourselves with some fine Belgian chocolate that was paired beautifully with the tea she served it with. After a short break we got to enjoy the final course of this amazing tea experience: a Victoria sponge topped with colorful flowers. It certainly was a feast for both the eyes and the taste buds. Valérie made sure we would reminisce about this day for weeks since she gifted every one of us a gift box which included her first book and some delicious goodies.

De theeroos is truly one-of-a-kind in our small country, offering informative and unique experiences accompanied by amazing tea and food pairings. The tea party in Meise Botanic Garden was one such event. Later this year, she'll also be hosting a Christmas Afternoon Tea in Ten Torre Castle which I'll definitely be attending as well. As for the second book, I'm extremely excited to go to its release party later this year. For now I don't know all that much about it, but I do know that I might be featuring in it - as will all the other attendants - since she wanted to document this event.

Thank you, and take care.