If you like tea and you would like to know more about the history of tea rooms throughout the U.S., "A Tale of Tea" as told through two rural tea rooms in Lancaster County, Virginia might be a good read for you. These tea rooms were found on the Northern Neck of Virginia: a peninsula on the eastern side of the state. The area is certainly rural and at the time of the tea rooms was mainly accessible by water. That such a Southern area was able to support two tea rooms, though briefly, supports the popularity or 'craze' of tea rooms in the early to mid-20th century. The book begins with a brief account of the discovery of tea; its rise as a popular drink both in Europe and in the American colonies (interesting sidebars about tea and the Boston Tea Party are provided); and the development of tea bags (initiated by two women in the early 1900s). Though there were tea rooms in the United States as early as the late 1800s and extending into the 1940s, the 'heyday' for the tea room movements was the 1920s. These early years of the 20th century were an interesting period in history: the Spanish Flu; World War I; the fight for women's rights; prohibition; and the proliferation of automobiles. Establishing a tea room of their very own was a step for women to emerge as more independent in the early days of the 20th century. These were basically run by women for women! Many of the earliest tea rooms in the U.S. (turn-of-the-century through 1920s and 30s) could be found in homes or in converted freestanding abandoned buildings such as barns, storage sheds, mills and yes, even gas stations. The location and placement were only limited by the imagination of the women who would design, decorate, own and manage them. Three types were prevalent during this time: the home-based tea room set up in a dining room or living room in the house of the lady owner/manager; the stand-alone tea room like the Lady Mary Tea Room in the center of Kilmarnock; and the gas station/te