Tea was discovered in ancient China when a leaf blew in the window and landed in the emperor's bath, which he was slurping through a straw. Sip leaves steeped more decorously with today's Groupon: for $10, you get afternoon high tea for two at Ma Belle’s Cafe in Dartmouth (a $19.99 value). High tea is served from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Ma Belle’s Cafe delights tandem tea-sippers with afternoon high tea served in welcoming surrounds that include a cozy fireplace. Nibbling duos can engage in Pythagorean theorizing as they chomp through a roster of triangular, crustless sandwiches that enfold fillings such as egg salad, cucumber, and tuna in a delicate breaded hug. Individual pots of tea prevent arm wrestles for the last sip, and quaffers can choose to melt mouth-cave icicles with one of 30 varieties of flavoured infusions including pumpkin spice, coconut-mango, and Earl Grey. Alternatively, a cup of filter coffee affords drinkers the piping-hot temperature of tea without the dangers of accidentally divining each others’ futures. As a dulcet epilogue, a flock of assorted house-made treats including mini scones and mini cupcakes serenade sweet teeth with mini ballads.