The Goose & Turrets thinks afternoon tea is of great importance for one's spirits.

In the 1940s in Nashville, Tennessee, Emily's grandmother was introducing her to afternoon tea. When Emily got home from grammar school, awaiting her were, in order of importance: her beloved grandmother, a cup of hot tea (sometimes with milk, sometimes with lemon), and a freshly pared and sectioned apple.

In the 1940s in Trumpington, Cambridgeshire, England, Raymond's prep school was serving a mug of hot tea and an egg salad sandwich to all the boys promptly at 3 p.m. When one is boarding thousands of miles away from one's parents, this is a welcome grandmotherly substitution.

No wonder that the Hoche-Mongs take tea seriously. At the Goose & Turrets every afternoon at 4:30, the tea cart appears in the common room. It is laden with freshly brewed tea, a savoury, and a sweet. This might be:

• St. James tea with a cheese board of brie, tillamook, and Irish Blarney cheddar accompanied by a fruit tart
  
• White China tea with hot pimento cheese sandwiches and Lisa's brownies (ask about the name) Keemun tea with sausage-biscuit pinwheels and madeleines French verveine tea with cucumber sandwiches and strawberry/rhubarb pie