Would you care for a spot of tea? Miss Spenser’s Tea Room at Longview Farms near New Virginia has just what you’re after.

“We have the best afternoon tea this side of the pond,” says owner and operator Donna Hardin.

A short 30-minute drive south of Des Moines, guests can sit down to a traditional English tea with all the delicacies one might expect in the British Isles.

The menu is seasonal and gen­erally begins with a soup and something with a savory crunch. Then come the cucumber and other finger sandwiches. Scones and toppings are next, capped off with an array of cakes, cookies and bars. Miss Spenser’s Victorian sponge cake garnered third place honors this past summer in Iowa Public Television’s “The Great British Baking Show: Iowa Edition.”

Teas, always loose, never bagged, are selected to pair with the day’s menu — a pumpkin spice...