For me, tea evokes a feeling of comfort and being loved. It always reminds me of the familiar ritual my mom would go through when she made a pot of tea.

First, she would "put the kettle on" and as the water began to boil, she would gather together her tea accouterments: the silver tea scoop to commemorate the coronation of Elizabeth II; the loose tea sent by her sisters from England; the stainless steel teapot with the beautiful design; the knit tea cozy; the teaspoons; and, of course, the pretty china tea cups.

To a little girl whose nickname was Tilly Mint, it was always a special occasion when mom made tea. She would tell me "If you are a very good girl, you may have tea in a glass." Of course, I would be good so I could have that special glass of hot tea. It wasn't until years later that I realized there was nothing special about that glass. Most likely, mom didn't want me to break her precious china teacups, so she invented the "special glass."

We had tea with breakfast, lunch and dinner just about every day of my childhood. As I grew up, mom always knew when something was troubling me. "Come on, Til," she would say in her fading British accent. "A cup of tea, a talk and a good cry can solve a lot of problems."

She was right. I deeply miss those treasured times. Thanks, mom.

Now you can understand how I came to name my tea room. It's in honor of the nickname given to me by a special woman who expressed so much love with a simple cup of tea.