Mom Mom

The voice behind every tea write-up on this site is Mom Mom — the matriarch of the Frederick family, who opened the Coventry Tea Room in 1977 in Coventryville, Pennsylvania. Before the dining room held her tables and chairs the same building had served as a British colonial farmhouse, a doctor's office, and, for a time, a stop on the underground railroad.

For more than thirty years her cream puffs were what brought people into the dining room, alongside the collection of teacups and teapots she'd gathered over the years. Her regulars became lifelong friends. The restaurant has closed but her cupboard has not. Every product page here begins with her note — what she'd serve to a friend who stopped by, and what she wouldn't.

If you're new to tea, start with the black teas guide. If you're not sleeping well, the herbal teas guide is where she'd send you.