Mobile Tea Parties from The Tea Experience
Fancy yourself a cup of tea? In Westchester you can enjoy an elevated tea party for your kids (or yourself) from The Tea Experience, a mobile tea party/catering business created by Leslie Allicks. This includes themed tea parties for all occasions such as baby and bridal showers, graduations, book clubs, children’s themed parties, meetings, and more.
They also offer virtual and in person tea education classes and tea tastings for new and novice lovers of the beverage. This fun concept started in 2007 when she opened Lola’s Tea House in Pelham that transitioned to this mobile tea party catering business. Read on to learn more about this interesting Westchester-based business and the woman behind it.
Interview with Leslie Allicks of The Tea Experience
Westchester Family: How did the idea for The Tea Experience come about?
Leslie Allicks: Tea is a part of my ancestral story. It’s a piece of my past that has prepared me for my future. I love providing people with the simple pleasure of enjoying tea.
The spark started in 2005 when my Dad was diagnosed with cancer (in the terminal stages). As you can imagine, this changed my outlook on life, family, and my career.
During the first year, my Dad and I enjoyed many good conversations about our family history (we are of Caribbean decent). He would speak about the importance of being happy in life. My Dad would say, “….no meal is complete without a cup of tea.” It was through those conversations that I was able to find out that not only do I come from a family of tea drinkers, but my paternal grandfather worked at the Haviland china company in NYC (no wonder we had so many varieties of teacups and saucers at home!). A real link to the tea industry.
It was during these conversations that a lightbulb went on for me. I wanted to pay homage to my Dad and my familial connection to tea. Sadly, my Dad passed away in June 2006. At this point, I realized that I needed to follow my heart and passion in honoring my family’s tea tradition. This is when I decided to start Lola’s Tea House. We opened in 2007 and the store was a huge success. The brick-and-mortar version closed in 2012, which transitioned to my mobile tea catering business called The Tea Experience. I know my Dad and Mom are proud of me for honoring our family legacy and passing down a love of tea to others.
Westchester Family: What do you think makes a great tea experience/party?
Leslie Allicks: TTE provides customers seeking a unique and memorable event (e.g. tea tasting, tea party, bridal shower, baby shower, birthday party, fund raiser, etc.). We offer the finest tea-themed experienced catering service that can also travel via the County. We feature and find the top quality and healthy teas and tea-themed gifts. This takes out the time consuming and often confusing research for our customers.
We also offer a virtual and IRL tea tastings and tea educational events. This makes it easier for people to receive tea education throughout the world and connect with other tea lovers. There are limited reputable companies offering this service to the general public.
Westchester Family: Tell us about your kids’ tea parties.
Leslie Allicks: In addition to the tea parties, we can help to host themed parties such as Princess, Alice in Wonderland, etc. We add our spin on the theme for a fun and engaging party for all ages.
For all parties, we offer packages that include delicious sandwiches, classic scones, and delicious desserts. We place this on our delicate China and pair the treats with a collection of loose teas.
Westchester Family: What are some of your favorite teas?
Leslie Allicks: My favorite teas are seasonal. I love drinking iced tea in the summer such as peach oolong or wolfberry melon; warmer teas in the fall such as genmaicha–green tea, and spiced teas in the winter with a cup of citrus cinnamon and chai.
Westchester Family: Tell us more about your other offerings,
Leslie Allicks: We also offer a monthly tea membership called SimpliciTEA. Through these boxes, members receive a curated collection of four to five surprise tea gifts. This includes a two-ounce canister of a high quality, fresh, and flavorful loose leaf tea. Additionally, they might find recipes, cookies, honey, specialty sugars, chocolate, and tea accouterments. Membership boxes can be a one-time gift or customers can purchase a membership to receive them for three, six, or 12 months.
Learn more about The Tea Experience
www.theteaexperienceny.com
Follow them on social media at TheTeaExperienceny on Facebook and @the_tea_experienceny on Instagram