AS THE WORLD CONTINUES TO EMERGE from its Covid-19 slumber, it’s nice to know that not all facets of life aim to come roaring back. For nearly a quarter of a century, Albuquerque’s St. James Tearoom has offered a genteel respite from the busy Duke City, thanks to co-owners Mary Alice Higbie and her son, Daniel. Mary Alice, a self-described “tea toddler who grew up to be a tea lady,” began serving tea to her imaginary friends—luminaries like the Queen of Sheba, Queen Elizabeth II, Peter Pan, and the fairies who lived outside her childhood bedroom in Albuquerque.
As an adult, she found a way to continue the tea party, steeping herself, if you will, in the study of British teas. She is a tea-etiquette lecturer and consultant, certified by the Protocol School of Washington, in Washington, D.C., and a part-time porcelain artist. A decade
