Where: Canton, Georgia Style: Industrial chic Tea Selection: 25+ loose leaf teas by Tea Leaves & Thyme (yes the former teahouse sells a line of teas!) Teatimes: Wednesday – Thursday 11 to 3; Friday – Saturday 11 to 4; Sunday 1 to 3; Princess Teas; Private parties of up to 30 by reservation Reservations: 24-hour notice Contact: Reserve here or 770-617-2100 Cost: $65 Christmas Tea; $50 Christmas High Tea; $55 Autumn Tea; $50 Brunch Tea; $45 Signature Tea; $45 Tea Your Way; $40 Autumn High Tea; $30 High Tea; $20 Mommy/Daddy & Me Dessert Tea (ages 10 and under); $20 Tea & Scones Destination Tea Tips: There’s free parking at The Mill on Etowah. Signs will point you towards “The Shoppes,” and you will check in at Sweety’s shop (but not be having tea there…you’ll see). Walk-ins are also welcome for lunch as seating is available. Leave plenty of time to shop the 48,000-square-foot Cotton Mill Exchange in the complex, where 200 booth vendors sell everything from antiques to clothes, local art, jewelry, home decor and yes, teacups!
Destination Tea Notes: When Sweety’s launched their “Tea for Two” to-go boxes in 2023, they were so popular that co-owner Cheryl Lott decided to introduce an afternoon tea service in 2024, in partnership with Kim Jordy, of the former grand dame teahouse Tea Leaves & Thyme. If you’re new to Georgia’s afternoon tea scene, we’ll tell you, this means that Sweety’s afternoon tea has some serious expertise behind it. Their menu explains, “This partnership is a dream come true for owner Cheryl, who cherishes many fond memories of tea time with friends, family and her own children at Tea Leaves & Thyme.” Everywhere there is evidence of Cheryl’s deep understanding of the beauty and meaning of the afternoon tea tradition. Sweety’s aims to honor Kim’s legacy, which they do accomplish, through serving a delicious, generous, scratchmade menu alongside Kim’s teas properly decanted and kept warm using teapot warmers. Even the tables are set with china collected over 50 years by Cheryl’s dear friend: “As you sip your tea and enjoy these special moments, know that these dishes carry with them a legacy of love, hospitality and community.”
Inside this huge 123-year-old renovated cotton mill, Cheryl rolls a tea cart from Sweety’s shop to the tea room down the hall. After an early stint in a spot that passing shoppers could traverse, this year Cheryl beautifully furnished a new, more private space that feels more intimate. We happily returned to experience this new tearoom, as well as their Christmas Tea menu, which introduced us to a new favorite afternoon tea savory. We finished our outing with one of our favorite ways to walk off afternoon tea indulgences: by hunting for local and thrifted gifts at The Mill on Etowah shops.
Sweety’s homemade soups, sandwiches, salads and homemade ice cream are sold out of their shop (afternoon tea seating is down the hall). Their website explains, “Cheryl chose the shop’s name to honor her mother-in-law, who has taught her how to love people through food for over 30 years. Many of the recipes used at Sweety’s are family favorites, passed down and enjoyed by the Lott family for more than 50 years.”
We are loving the pinks and turquoise in the new space, lit by huge paned windows, where tea hats to borrow wait on window seats.
Trailing teacup-and-flower garlands decorate the front of the tearoom. We dubbed this the “fishbowl table,” as there were many curious passersby interested in our teatime.
A long banquette runs along one side of the tearoom, perfect for large parties.
Tea Selection
We were loving the seasonal blends, and highly recommend Tea Leaves & Thyme’s Snowflake with almond and coconut. Teas are perfectly steeped and brought out ready to pour, each guest receiving a four-cup pot set on a teapot warmer (below). You are also welcome to order additional teas throughout the afternoon tea.
Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets
Cleverly, Sweety’s serves the soup course in sugar bowls. We had a choice of this homemade yummy Tomato Basil soup, a Cheesy Potato Soup, or a Green Apple & Feta Salad. All sound tempting!
Sweety’s makes their afternoon tea menus in-house, but had been short-staffed on our visit, and so had to bring in several of the pastries. Everything else was homemade and we expect so will the dessert course be in future.
Allow us to draw your attention to this clever bread-free riff on a cucumber sandwich – the Cucumber Dilly Cream Cheese Bite, and the savory we are still dreaming of: a delectable Turkey Craisin Pinwheel. So good! The savory course also included a Roast Beef Crostini…
…Sweety’s Original Chicken Salad mini croissant (yes, you can order their chicken salad to take home, as guests often do), and a Pimento Cheese on Cinnamon Raisin Bread.
Drop Cranberry Orange Scones are served warm, softly opening to a slightly cakey crumb, delicious with Sweety’s cream and honey.
The Christmas petit four and salted caramel macaron, although outsourced, were fresh and moist, the vanilla cream cookie was skippable, and the most decadent bite was the homemade bourbon brownie.
Afterwards we strolled down to The Cotton Mill Exchange for Christmas shopping.
Sweety’s Autumn Tea (2024)
After you check in at Sweety’s, your host will walk you down the hall to this seating area.
Marble tables pull up to a long corner banquette in tufted brown.
Tea Selection (2024)
We anticipate deliciousness as we spy some of our favorite teas from our teatimes at Tea Leaves & Thyme (there is a second page of teas). We are each invited to choose a pot, and we go with one of our all-time favorites — Snowflake — and decaffeinated Apricot. All of the listed teas are available for purchase!
Teapots are brought to the table ready to pour (making the provided tea strainers superfluous), and kept warm over tealights.
Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets (2024)
We begin with a delicious homemade butternut squash soup.
Two plates were needed to serve us 3 scones each! Our favorite was the Apple Scone with Apple Cider Cinnamon Glaze, served with homemade Sweety’s cream and individual jars of imported lemon curd. Drop scones came in Blackberry Earl Grey and Lemon Poppyseed, each one glazed.
Out rolls the tea cart with the savory course.
Fresh finger sandwiches were very tasty, including Pumpkin Cinnamon Cream Cheese with Pecan on Cinnamon Bread, Dilly Cream Cheese on Cucumber Round, homemade Pimento Cheese on Cinnamon Raisin and one each of Sweety’s signature chicken salads, Waldorf (with mint-tarragon dressing) and Original (with dillweed dressing). We cut the chicken salad croissants in half to be able to taste each one.
Dessert includes several specialty items made in-house: Sweety’s homemade Pumpkin Spice ice cream with pumpkin cookie; Sweety’s soft and not too sweet rum cake and Sweety’s crunch bars (peanut butter crunch bottom with chocolate and butterscotch topping). Chocolate macarons and Cinnamon Spice Cake Balls round the dessert course to five items. We loved the mini light green milk glass bowls for the ice cream, definitely an atypical afternoon tea dessert, but a welcome one!
It’s impossible to wear one of Elena’s tea hats without being stopped by an admirer because her beautiful designs are one-of-a-kind. Shop her ArtofHats Studio store online.
The Railroad Street back entrance for easier access
Destination Tea’s Afternoon Tea Rating
[Note: Sweety’s Cafe & Tea Room is a Destination Tea advertiser].
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