Spill the Tea

As a British-born kid, my birthday (June 13), often falls on the official Queen’s Birthday weekend—now the King’s—the second weekend in June. I always felt honored to celebrate my birthday with the monarch. Now, living in America, I usually host a birthday afternoon tea in my garden that weekend, complete with cucumber sandwiches, and my homemade scones with jam and clotted cream.

The COVID-19 pandemic and other catastrophes have occasionally put the kibosh on these at-home celebrations. So, two years ago, while my mother was visiting from overseas, we headed to Pasadena’s Rose Tree Cottage for the most scrumptious afternoon tea hosted by elegant and erudite fellow Brit, Edmund Fry, and his American-born, Anglophile wife, Mary.

I recently returned to Rose Tree Cottage where Edmund, dapper as ever, met me at the front door dressed in black slacks, a blush pink jacket, a white shirt, and a black bow tie. He also wore de rigueur white gloves and a white flower pinned to his buttonhole. After wandering through the teahouse with its souvenir shop stocked full of British goodies, including bone China and elegantly laid tables, we headed into the whimsical garden. There, Mary joined us for a homemade blend of tea, scones, jam, clotted cream, shortbread, and sticky toffee pudding.

The Frys opened Rose Tree 40 years ago and have been at their current location on South Pasadena Avenue for 20 years. Before opening the teahouse, Edmund and Mary worked in retail. They met “around 1970,” says Edmund, at the now-defunct Robinson’s department store.

“The tea rooms in [the United States] were marvelous,” Edmund declares, “but I couldn’t get a good cup of tea there.”

That set the couple off on a journey to create their blend of tea that would ultimately lead them to Kenya, and onto a whole new adventure.

Born in London in 1940, Edmund moved to Los Angeles in 1965, “for the oranges and the sunshine.” Figuring out a new tea blend— still served at Rose Tree to this day— felt inevitable to the soft-spoken entrepreneur who once worked in the tea department at the renowned London emporium Fortnum & Mason.

It's that personable, friendly, British touch that has drawn people from around the globe to Rose Tree. The Frys rise daily at 4 a.m. to prepare for customers.

“We’re traditional,” says Mary. Adds Edmund, “And we care about people from all walks of life.”

Reviews of Rose Tree have popped up in both local and international magazines, and customers have sent myriad cards and letters. At one point during my visit, Edmund pulls out a beautifully embossed card from Buckingham Palace. “From Charlie,” he beams. Meaning: King Charles.

But customers don’t just come for the tea, which includes the cottage’s signature elderberry cordial. They come for the sticky toffee puddings, Yorkshire puddings, and the insanely popular homemade scones, all made in an Aga stove.

“We’ve sold probably over two million [scones],” says Edmund. “There’s nothing like Rose Tree.”

Customers can book afternoon tea a week in advance over the phone only. During tea, guests are not allowed to use cell phones or take photos.

“It’s so much better to sit and enjoy and really talk to people,” Edmund says. “People don’t do that nowadays. We want to make sure everyone enjoys their afternoon. We go out of our way to do that. We’re here seven days a week and we’ll keep doing this until we’re dead.”

The business also funds the Frys passion project, the Rose Tree Cottage African children’s foundation, Bloom Where Planted. They founded the nonprofit in 2003 following a trip to Kenya on a tea-seeking mission. The nonprofit serves students at Longonot Township Primary School in Nakuru. The Frys will travel again to Longonot in September to deliver additional school supplies, including sewing machines.

“This is the most important thing for us,” says Edmund. “This is why we continue with Rose Tree. We’ve met so many children and helped so many and we want to keep doing that.” Rosetreecottage.com