Invitation to tea at Silver Spoon Tea House

The timing for tea could not have been better.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been making may way through a Sullivan Entertainment re-watch of its most noteworthy television productions, the 1985 adaptation of “Anne of Green Gables” and its 1987 sequel, and the spin-off series, “Road to Avonlea.”

My older sister and I just about wore out the VHS tapes used to record the series during our annual free trial of The Disney Channel in the mid-90s (which might be the most mid-90s sentence I’ve ever written), and I’ve been happily borrowing the DVDs from Spokane Public Library , now that VHS and VCRs are virtually obsolete.

By happenstance, my sister invited me and our mother to tea time at Silver Spoon Tea House , along with a friend and her family this past weekend. In the Queen Anne-style mansion on the lower South Hill, we enjoyed fresh blueberry scones with clotted cream and lemon curd, savory soups and crepes and a tower of tasty finger sandwiches, decadent desserts and fresh fruit. Anne Shirley herself could not have imagined a more elegant spread.

Our group also enjoyed six pots of tea, served in painted rose china, of course. With a 3-page tea menu, we had difficulty choosing, but were delighted by the variety from traditional Darjeeling to a literal Garden Basket tea with fragrant fruits and flowers.

While I’ll never give up my 21st-century “girls’ nights” with craft beer or cocktails, an afternoon escape into the pomp and circumstance of high tea is a fun retreat from the bustle of the modern grind.