Higher Tea

High tea doesn't have to involve crumpets and irritatingly good posture.

At a new bed-and-breakfast called North Fork 53, nestled in the mountains along the North Fork River between Highway 26 and the coastal town of Nehalem, the ritual is taking on a whole new meaning.

The first Sunday of each month, North Fork 53 owners Brigham and Ginger Edwards will present high tea, featuring terpene-paired teas and local cannabis strains served alongside three courses of farm-fresh snacks.

North Fork 53 was a dream three years in the making. While working unhappily at a Portland cannabis grow house, Brigham Edwards took a drive on Highway 53 to meet a woman he'd been chatting with on OkCupid. He ended up falling in love with both Ginger and the North Fork area.

North Fork 53 is a picturesque retreat with hanging lights on the lattice-gate foliage, well-worn but well-preserved wooden buildings, and postcard-perfect river views. When the community's historian put it up for sale 18 months ago, the Edwardses, financed by his friends and family, bought the place. After nearly a year's worth of renovations—mostly handled by area volunteers—and the addition of a commercial kitchen, North Fork 53 reopened in October 2015 and began taking guests.

But Brigham Edwards' other passion is a company called PNW Potions. When childhood friend Jason Rypkema's mother was diagnosed with cancer a while back, Rypkema turned to Edwards for help getting pain medication. Edwards' first Rick Simpson oil gave her dry mouth overnight, so he went back to work. His next product, an infused tincture, gave Rypkema's mother months of relief. After six months, Rypkema came onboard with PNW Potions—helping devise cannabis-infused sweet liquid droppers with additives like maca, ginseng and yerba mate.

High tea is where it all comes together.

Originally introduced as an afternoon meal for the British working man to eat while standing up, North Fork 53's high tea features Jasmine Pearl Tea Company leaves and Gnome Grown Organics cannabis strains, each paired via terpene profile and aroma. Guests will have the option of lightly infusing their tea with PNW Potions, and will vape or smoke all three paired strains inside, at their table, while munching on three tiers of farm-fresh snacks from the garden out back. In keeping with what's becoming tradition, none of the food will be served infused—the aroma of the smoke or vapor is vital to the process.

The Edwardses also offer occasional "bud n brunches" and international dinners. The one Brigham Edwards likes to talk about is the Moroccan dinner North Fork 53 served on New Year's Eve, which featured belly dancers.

"The tribal belly dancers, the Bedouins, were an amazing quartet," he recalls. "We felt their presence really compounded with the cannabis and chef Shimron Tubman's courses into a mind melter."

GO: North Fork 53, 77282 Highway 53, Nehalem, North Fork will hold its first high tea March 6 and a Stoner Easter Egg Hunt Bud n Brunch on Easter Sunday, March 27. High tea $65, bud n brunch $80. Room rates are separate.

Willamette Week