Where: Griffin, Georgia Style: 1870s home ingrandmillennial style Tea Selection: 12+ loose leaf teas by TeaFusions Teatimes: Tuesday to Saturday, 3 to 5 Reservations: Reservations required for all except Walk-in Tea Contact: 770-733-5921 or online Cost: $34.99 Fall High Tea; $25.99 Afternoon Tea; $25.99 Breakfast Tea; $24.99 Walk-in Tea; $19.99 Dessert Tea Destination Tea Tips: Almost everything in The Emerald Chandelier is for sale, so leave yourself time to browse the antique furniture, table linens, home decor, vintage dishes, loose leaf teas and gifts. Lunch and brunch are served before afternoon tea hours, but beverages and desserts are served all day.
Destination Tea Notes: Must…resist…the…urge…to write…in all caps!! Tea friends, run don’t walk to The Emerald Chandelier. Especially if you are in the metro Atlanta area, put this afternoon tea on your bucket list. It is absolutely worth blocking a half-day to visit Griffin’s beautiful new teahouse, run by mother-daughter team Teresa Eubanks and Ashlynn Davis. An avid antiques collector, Teresa told us how what began as an idea to open her own antiques store — perhaps with a little coffee counter to entice customers — became a full-blown tearoom. Teresa explains she was “God-led and God-inspired.” Entering the 1870s home Teresa entirely refurbished, from electrical (the house still had cloth wiring) to the front porch (which had fallen in on itself), we must agree Teresa is divinely inspired: this place is gorgeous. In addition to restoring the original gingerbread trim, roof cupola, tall windows, heart-pine floors and fireplaces, Teresa decorated with flair: painting trim and fireplaces in bright colors, selecting floor-to-ceiling wallpapers in fun patterns, adding handmade window treatments and of course, antique chandeliers.
Beyond the yummy afternoon tea menu and option to add-on wine, beer or mimosa, we love that The Emerald Chandelier revives the business model of the United States’ earliest tearooms. In the U.S., tearooms were women’s entrée into the restaurant industry, the first restaurants women could operate, staff and attend unchaperoned. Very often run out of an owner’s home, the tearoom’s dining area was also a showroom: much of what you saw in it was for sale, such as handmade items like textiles and jewelry or antique furniture and dishes. Which is how things work at The Emerald Chandelier, where you could leave with the table and chairs you sat on, or artwork that hung above. So after all, Teresa’s dream of a store for her antiques also came true. Teresa knows none of this is coincidence, and when you consider the timing — The Emerald Chandelier opened in October, just two weeks before the closing of Georgia’s oldest teahouse, beloved Tea Leaves & Thyme — you must know she is right.
Perhaps the best part of this dream is that Teresa’s daughter and granddaughter come to work everyday. After sweet Marjorie naps, she visits with guests, much to our joy. Mom Ashlynn admits that she first thought her mother’s plan would never work, but eventually agreed to come work with her, and is now herself inspired to grow the business, dreaming up partnerships with local candlemakers to launch a line of candles scented like their favorite teas.
Each of the four tearooms is named for a birthstone of the women in the family. The gorgeous Topaz Room is chock-full of antiques to explore.
On a return visit, we discover the new seating arrangement: “The Throne” invites solo diners to enjoy their meal at a table that makes you feel like the guest of honor.
This antique mail cabinet houses loose leaf teas for sale.
The Emerald Room features a beautiful chandelier and lattice-patterned wallpaper.
So many details to appreciate, like vintage tablecloths, most of which you can purchase!
The drapes kick up the personality in the Aquamarine room, where shelves also display items for sale (below).
The Amethyst room is gorgeously papered in floral vines.
Teresa found antique doors for all the rooms, to allow groups that reserve the rooms for special occasions to have privacy.
On our first visit, our table set for two is softly lit by floor-to-ceiling window.
Tea Service
The house pre-selects two teas for your afternoon tea, and you are welcome to add-on other teas, wine, beer or mimosas [our strawberry mimosa is made with the juice leftover from their homemade strawberry preserves -yes!]. The tea choices of the day are Temple Garden (green & white teas, pineapple, mango, papaya, strawberry bits, orange peels and natural flavors) and our longtime favorite (lucky us!) Snowflake (black tea, coconut, almond, vanilla). Delicious!
A first for us, these pretty Teabloom sets include decorative glass teapot with matching warmer.
On our second visit, owner Teresa joins us! This time we sample their To Life tea by TeaFusions in Peachtree City, a rooibos-white-green tea blend with lavender, rose, currant and jasmine. You might expect this tea to be cloying, but rather it was lightly floral, and refreshing. This time the table is set with tennis sets, the teacup sitting directly on the tea plate. We love these, also known as “tea & toast sets” and “tv snack sets.” They are designed for situations without a table, so one can manage to hold everything in one hand, and eat or drink with the other. [Photo credit: Mary Jane Holt]
Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets
Our First Afternoon Tea at The Emerald Chandelier
In the kitchen, chef April is perfecting new recipes seasonally, and she has our compliments — her food is scrumptious, and perfectly portioned for afternoon tea. After a fresh Cucumber Lemon Dill Tea Sandwich, we are very impressed by this tidy Egg Salad and Ham Ribbon Tea Sandwich, and delightfully surprised by the MayFlower Tea Sandwich (shaped like a calla lily) with Cream Cheese, Orange Marmalade and Almonds.
Surprise! That was only round one of the savory course, which altogether features 6 items, including a Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwich with Capers and Red Onion, Salami Tomato Puff with Mozzarella and Parmesan (like a tiny pizza pocket), and Chicken Salad Apple Bite with Green Olive (yes to less bread!).
Blueberry scones are served with mock clotted cream, and the dessert course is a Petite Cheesecake…
…and a chilled Strawberry Soup with Raisin Bread Croutons. Yum!
Afternoon Tea (Fall 2022)
We love the perfectly portioned, tasty homemade tea sandwiches and light bites served here: Egg Salad and Avocado Aioli Ribbon Tea Sandwich; Apple Slice with Bacon Dip and Pecans; Goat Cheese and Candied Pecan on Raisin Bread; Salmon Cucumber Tea Sandwich with Wasabi Aioli and Cranberry Brie Bite with Pecans. Homemade scones are served with mock clotted cream and homemade peach preserves. Scrumptious! Scroll down to see the dessert courses.
Fall High Tea
We like the cheerful pop of yellow on the tiered stand hardware, displaying the Fall High Tea. Now you know at Destination Tea, we like proper terminology. This one’s a cross between an afternoon tea and high tea, so our stickler side gives it a pass. Though served in the style of afternoon tea, this menu is closer to a true high tea because of the hearty fare, which includes: Soup of the Day (Chicken Wild Rice), Cucumber stuffed with Salmon Cream Cheese, Bacon and Caper Deviled Egg; Apple Chicken Sausage Crostini; Meatball with Sweet Gravy and Pumpkin Empanada. Very satisfying!
Both the Afternoon Tea and Fall High Tea come with a Petit Four (this moist bite an iced lemon cake with lemon curd filling). Perfect.
Both tea menus also come with Sorbet, this one a Strawberry Mint, which was possibly the best thing we ate.
If you don’t already know that afternoon tea is much needed in today’s world, our conversation testified to that fact. We were fast friends, sharing stories of our struggles and triumphs, and just generally being so glad to have this joyful, peaceful moment to get to know one another. And it was a particular joy for me to listen as two tearoom owners discussed the business, one just starting out, another just having retired. As Mary Jane rightfully said, we three knew we were in the presence of greatness: last fall, Kim Jordy finished operating the longest run teahouse in 21st century Georgia. [From left to right: Teresa Eubanks, Owner of The Emerald Chandelier, Your Good Friend Angela of Destination Tea, Author and Radio Host Mary Jane Holt, and Kim Jordy, Owner of the former Tea Leaves & Thyme.]
Teabloom teapot and warmer sets are for sale, as well as jewelry, loose leaf teas, and other fun gifts that line the foyer and hall.
We love comments! Destination Tea's comment policy shares a guiding principle with afternoon tea etiquette: please be gracious. We welcome honest comments that are not rude or scathing.
Do you have information on tearooms in North Carolina? Seems tearooms here are few and far between! ☹️
Hello Carole, we have 25 afternoon tea venues listed in the North Carolina Afternoon Tea Directory. Hoping you find one near you!
I had been going to the Emeral Tea House in Griffin, Georgia for a while now, and it’s an absolute delight.
Ruby Ramey
Sharpsburg, Georgia.