Tilly Mint's Tea Room

For Trish, the owner of Tilly Mint's, tea evokes a feeling of comfort and being loved. It always reminds her of the familiar ritual her mom would go through when she made a pot of tea.  

First, she would "put the kettle on" and as the water began to boil, she would gather together her tea accouterments: the silver tea scoop to commemorate the coronation of Elizabeth II; the loose tea sent by her sisters from England; the stainless steel teapot with the beautiful design; the knit tea cozy; the teaspoons; and, of course, the pretty china tea cups.  

To a little girl whose nickname was Tilly Mint, it was always a special occasion when mom made tea. She would tell Trish "If you are a very good girl, you may have tea in a glass." Of course, she would be good so she could have that special glass of hot tea. It wasn't until years later that she realized there was nothing special about that glass. Most likely, her mom didn't want me to break her precious china teacups, so she invented the "special glass."  

We had tea with breakfast, lunch and dinner just about every day of my childhood. As Trish grew up, her mom always knew when something was troubling me. "Come on, Til," she would say in her fading British accent. "A cup of tea, a talk and a good cry can solve a lot of problems."

She was right. Trish deeply misses those treasured times and Thanks her mom.

Now you can understand how Trish came to name her tea room "Tilly Mints".  It's in honor of the nickname given to her by a very special woman who expressed so much love with a simple cup of tea.