April 18, 2010
Afternoon Tea at the Strawberry Hill Museum
Fusion Red & White Tea paired with Povitica
April 18, 2010: Immigrants from Croatia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Russia, Ukraine, and other central European countries came to America, making Kansas City their new home.
When a flood forced many families to move to higher ground, they stumbled upon a hill, in which they called Strawberry Hill, named for its strawberry patches. In1887, a Victorian home was built on Strawberry Hill for a wealthy family.
About 100 years later, this old Victorian home has been transformed into what is now known as the Strawberry Hill Museum & Cultural Center.
In search of another Victorian style tea room, I decided to visit the Strawberry Hill, located on 720 N. 4th Street, Kansas City, Kansas. My mother joined me and we had a wonderful afternoon.
At first our mission was just to visit the tea room, but once we got there, we decided that we better do the tour.
Volunteers from the Strawberry Hill Ethnic Cultural Society took us on a tour through this renovated home, a cultural heritage museum of the central Europeans that settled in Kansas City, and a doll collection.
The coolest thing I saw was a bed that Pope John Paul II slept on three different times when he visited the city. I also caught a glimpse of the Papal menu he was served.
Following the tour, we made our way to the tea room.
This atmosphere was light and welcoming. They played Croatian music on a CD player in the corner of the room. The music featured Croatian folk artists Marijana and Edd Grisnik, who happened to live on Strawberry Hill at one time. I thought that was cool.
The Assortment of Teas at Strawberry Hill
I spoke with the server and found out some neat history of the tea room. When the family lived in the house the tea room was not enclosed and it served as a porch.
When the1919 influenza pandemic hit Kansas City, many children became orphaned. The house was sold and turned into an orphanage. Eventually, the orphanage closed and now, it’s a tea room.
After an hour long tour, we couldn’t wait to relax with our hot teas and Slavic desserts.
They brought us an assortment of tea bags to choose from. Some of the bags were homemade, which added a nice touch. I chose fusion red and white tea and my mom chose Darjeeling. Apparently, Darjeeling is from the foothills of the Himalayas.
I liked the fusion red and white tea. I’d never had it before. I found it to be subtly sweet and delicate.
Other fun teas to choose from were gingerbread decaf, raspberry zinger decaf, sugar cookie decaf, and sugar plum spice.
Along with my tea, I eat povitica, a nutroll of central European descent. It’s traditionally made in Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, and Hungary. It’s popular at weddings, Easter, and Christmas. It tasted like bread, ever so sweet with a hint of nut.
My mother was served Kolache. They brought her three small pastries with different flavored fillings, one apricot, one raspberry and one poppy seed.
My mother ordered Strawberry Hill's spin on the Kolache, a Slavic dessert
Today, the tea room was not very busy. According to our server, the busiest time of year for Strawberry Hill is around Christmas time when people flock to see the Christmas decorations.
The tearoom is regularly open from 1-4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. I was told that during the holiday season, if you don’t arrive at 1 pm, you may not be seated for tea. It’s that busy!
A quaint tea room, with an interesting theme! If you go here, I highly recommend taking the tour of the museum first.
