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The Delights of The Tea Shoppe at Mashpee Commons Instead of following my usual walking route, I went up Steeple Street beyond Irresistibles and before you get to Ann Taylor. There it was: The Tea Shoppe, A European Tea Salon at 26 Steeple Street. What a delightful change of pace it was. Like being in a different world. Deciding to return recently for a closer look, I was not disappointed. By the way, the bay windows you see as you approach the Shoppe won an award at Christmas for most improved decorating in the Commons. As you enter you are in the bakery that provides delicacies for the restaurant as well as luscious freshly baked creations to take home or to work. In the restaurant area you will be pleased by the Cape Cod pastel yellow and light blue colors. “Pleasant” is the word. Some of the decor changes according to the season, I learned. You will also be pleased by the polite attention you get from the young ladies who attend to your needs. Also, Proprietor Jeni Hennessey is likely to drop by to see how you are doing. Describing the Shoppe to me, she said, “We aim for a setting of quiet elegance.” Her aim is very good! You will find that quiet elegance in The Tea Shoppe at Mashpee Commons. Attention to detail is apparent. For example, the Tea Menu says, “We serve only loose tea and place the leaves in a paper filter prior to brewing. The water used for brewing is charcoal filtered so that you can enjoy the best possible cup of tea! If you prefer to have the tea leaves loose please inform your waitress.” Tea, by the way, is the world's most popular beverage. I enjoyed a pot of Scottish Breakfast Tea and savored each bite of the lightest, most delicious Quiche Lorraine I have ever tasted. It came with a tasty Caesar Salad.
Tea is not the only beverage at The Tea Shoppe. You may also ask for Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Mineral Water, Nantucket Nectars Juice Drinks, Spiced Chai, as well as Soda and Colas.
With all the baking going on there, it's no surprise to learn that they provide Breakfast Pastries and Special Occasion Cakes and Catering as well as Take-out. “We take great pleasure and pride in preparing Custom Dessert Platters, Baked Goods Gift Boxes, and Sandwich Platters,” says Jeni. While I was having a chat with the friendly Proprietor, she told me how she saw an ad in the paper one November day in 2002; then soon afterward she and her husband Michael bought the establishment. That day was also his birthday. In 2005 they orchestrated an expansion that gave more space to the restaurant side as well as the bakery/gift shop. She told me that she and her husband were natives of the Hampshire area in England and she spent many years traveling as “an army brat.” Later she joined the Women's Royal Air Force. She was a surgical assistant in dentistry and an office manager overseas and in the U.S. Jeni says she gets great enjoyment having foreign visitors in the shoppe. The colorful gift shoppe is next to the bakery display, and the porcelain tea cups that decorate the walls of the restaurant are also for sale. Your cup of tea will be kept warm by a tea cozy. In the background you will hear very pleasant music that is not intrusive as you chat with your companions. Jeni describes the music as “an amalgam of classical and light.” The 15 tables are ideal for parties of up to four and can also be arranged to accommodate just about any size group. The year-round Tea Shoppe opens at 9:30 a.m. daily except on Sunday it's 11:00 a.m. The restaurant is open until 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. On Monday through Saturday it's open until 6:00 p.m. In winter, closing time is 5:00 p.m. The bakery's hours are similar, except that it's open until 9 p.m. Mon. through Sat. in summer. The closing time varies in winter. Directions: Coming from Hyannis, take Route 28 to the large rotary at Mashpee where Route 151 meets Route 28. Follow 28 toward Falmouth and take the second entrance into Mashpee Commons. Going straight ahead, you will be on Steeple Street where The Tea Shoppe is located. As you enter the Commons there's plenty of parking. Whether on foot or in a car, when you reach the Market Street Bookshop, cross the intersection, pass Irresistibles, and you'll be at your destination right across the street from Rosie Cheeks II. If you reach Ann Taylor you've gone too far.
During our chat Jeni told me, “I always wanted to move near the ocean. Now I own a Tea Shoppe on Cape Cod--God is good!” I would like to repeat that her “aim for a setting of quiet elegance” is also very good! You will find quiet elegance in The Tea Shoppe at Mashpee Commons. For answers to any questions that pique your curiosity, just call 508-477-7261.
That's it for now from The Cape Cod Rover. Till next time, View Other Cape Cod Rover Visits Copyright 2008. Tom O'Connell. All rights reserved. Note: Tom O'Connell is a Cape Cod Writer and Lecturer. Take a look at his www.sanctuary777.com website where you will find many essays as well as excerpts from his books. His new memoir is Bugging Out: An Army Memoir (1954). He is also the author of The O'Connell Boy: Educating The Wolf Child~An Irish-American Memoir (1932-1950).See chapters at www.sanctuary777.com.
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You have never seen such an assortment of teas, each one described carefully on the Tea Menu that runs to three full pages. It says Scottish Breakfast is “More robust than its English and Irish counterparts. Think Bagpipes and kilts!” At home I brew Irish tea, but one needs a change now and then. At The Tea Shoppe I honored the part of me that's Scottish.
The lunch menu is varied and includes such mouth watering sandwich selections as Crab Salad; Turkey & Cranberry; Cucumber & Boursin; Cheese, Tomato & Red Onion...and that old favorite Peanut Butter & Jam. Whole or half sandwiches can be ordered and the prices are modest, mostly in the range from $4.25 to $8.00. The menu states, “We use only Fresh-baked breads: Country White, Seven Grain, or Marble Rye.” For a complete list of menu items and assorted teas please go to www.teashoppecapecod.com
My waitress Jenna was pleasant, very thorough, and attentive. She described the quiche in detail. Later, since Proprietor Jeni Hennessey had also mentioned her “famous Raspberry Scones, ” I received a description of the scones that motivated me to have one before departing. Now I know why it's famous. Jenna also mentioned the Lemon Lemon Lemon (yes, three!) Cake, but I decided to save that delicacy for another visit during the spring.
After your Tea Shoppe experience there are many places to visit, from high-end chains to small independent shops. And you may want to browse a while at the Bookshop. I think you'll agree that your visit to The Tea Shoppe at Mashpee Commons was both fascinating and delicious. And your stroll around the Commons was fun. 
