5 places around Boston where you can throw your own tea party

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Today marks the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. But as WBUR’s Gabrielle Emanuel reports in this feature, the story many Bostonians familiar with — of patriots throwing tea into the Boston Harbor in protest of a tax hike — might not be totally accurate. (For starters, it wasn’t incited by a tax hike.)

“The Boston Tea Party has been one of the most sensationalized moments in our nation’s history,” Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum creative director Evan O’Brien told Gabrielle. The tea party is often depicted today as a rowdy demonstration. In fact, the protest was neatly organized, and participants even swept the ships clean before they left.

To mark the anniversary of monumental event in American history, the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum is leading an elaborate Tea Party reenactment tonight — which you can stream online. O’Brien hopes it reminds people of the remarkable discipline and insistence on representation the colonists displayed at the time.

The anniversary also coincides with a resurgence in the popularity of the more modern version of a tea party. While it may not be financially sound to throw $2 million-worth of tea into the harbor, local tea houses offer the chance to drop a few tea bags in cup of hot water and munch on ornate finger foods for a much more reasonable price.

Here are five Boston-area tea houses to swing by to sit, sip and snack while marking this day (or any day) in our nation’s history:

1. Abigail’s Tea Room at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

Those looking for a history lesson along with their afternoon tea will want to visit Abigail’s Tea Room (named after former president John Adams’ wife, Abigail Adams), which sits inside the Boston Tea Party Museum, located just off the Congress Street Bridge in the Seaport. You also don’t need a ticket to the museum to visit.

Abigail’s Tea Room serves the five distinctive tea blends that were thrown into the Boston harbor 250 years ago: Singlo and Hyson tea (both varieties of green tea), Colonial Bohea and Souchong (both black teas now referred to as “Wuyi tea,” for the Chinese mountain range where they were cultivated) and Congou (a black tea said to be favored by Princess Diana). If you’re feeling peckish, they’ve also got scones, sandwiches, New England clam chowder and a bar stocked with cocktails, wine and (of course) Sam Adams beer.

Afternoon tea at Silver Dove in Boston. (Photo courtesy of Silver Dove Afternoon Tea)2. Silver Dove Afternoon Tea

Silver Dove is a glamorous, cozy and contemporary tea room located near Boston Common on Tremont Street. Here, you’ll find a classic afternoon tea experience where each pot of tea is brewed specifically for you and served alongside a tower of fancy finger foods (all of which are gluten free).

The menu at Silver Dove is extensive, and includes rare teas that may even surprise tea connoisseurs. They also mix a number of cocktails, several of which include tea. It’s a hot spot for Instagrammers, so be sure to make a reservation or check their walk-in availability if you’re looking to visit on the weekend.

3. Fancy That Tea House

If you’re in for a day trip, Fancy That is a tea house located further south of Boston in Walpole. Meticulously decorated by owner Sarah Erlandson — whose love for all things pink, pretty and Rococo-inspired is clearly palpable as soon as you step in the door — Fancy That is the tea room you visit to feel like you’re in a storybook.

Choose from over 100 different varieties of tea, all of which come with a tower of treats, such as scones, cupcakes or macarons. This place is popular, so be sure to make a reservation and don’t be afraid to dress up! (Just note: all guests must be aged 12 or older.)

Tea and a sandwich at Fancy That tea house in Walpole. (Photo courtesy of Fancy That)4. Vintage Tea & Cake Company

Self-described tea enthusiast Adel Donegan lived in England for 10 years before opening up the Vintage Tea and Cake Company, a tea party catering business that now has two tea rooms northwest of Boston in Lexington and Belmont.

Sip from the selection of popular teas in either of the sunny tea rooms while enjoying a wide selection of finger foods (they also have a menu for “mini tea lovers” aged 12 and under). For the month of December, Vintage Tea and Cake also features a few holiday offerings, like peppermint macarons and holiday-spiced marmalade for scones.

5. Courtyard Tea Room and Map Room Tea Lounge at the Boston Public Library

Last but not least, we have the two tea rooms at the BPL’s Central Library in Copley Square: the Courtyard Tea Room and the Map Room Tea Lounge. Both spaces offer a similar selection of tea lattes, cocktails and green, black, oolong and white teas. The difference between the two lies within the price and experience you’ll get when you visit.

Afternoon tea at the Courtyard Tea Room has a prix fixe menu, and begins with a soup and salad starter course. Tea is a second course, served with a wide selection of fancy finger foods, some of which are from local bakeries. Reservations for this room are hard to come by, so plan your visit in advance.

The Map Room Tea Lounge has a more relaxed atmosphere, and larger portions. Along with your tea, you can order a charcuterie board or food more resemblant of a meal. The Map Room also partners with local eateries like Magic Bites in Arlington and Suya Joint in Boston to provide spicier sides for your traditional tea.

P.S.— As we inch closer to 2024, we all have a little room for improvement and growth — as individuals and as a city. What do you think Boston’s New Year’s resolution should be? Whether it’s serious, silly or cynical, we want to hear your thoughts, so share!

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