Those seeking a fine High Tea in Houston have known for several years that the finest venue was the Hummingbird Tea Room in the Woodlands. If you drive there now, you will see the name has changed, but the high quality remains.
Newly dubbed in November 2025 as the Panicafé Tea Room, it is managed by Florencia Rossini, who worked closely with its former owner, Nasim Bell.
Despite some renovations, “We kept the tradition of the Hummingbird. I promised her: as you can see we still have the collection of teapots and teacups. Some of them are 100 years old, so they maintain English tradition. She believes in energy and the energy transforms so we kept that.”
After growing up in Italy, Rossini moved to Scotland, where she started creating recipes “and showing people what I actually do, and making videos of what I do.”
She started working with Bell in 2002, who was planning to close the tea room at that time. They collaborated on reinvigorating it and made it a success. “Now we have reservations every weekend. There are waiting lists.” She said the day after my visit there were a hundred reservations.
“I’m excited because on Sundays we are packed so it’s really good business and I love what I do. This is a special club here.
“It is a place where people come and talk and enjoy being together and enjoy the time. A problem in this world is not taking enough time to talk and engage with other people. So, I feel like this is amazing. I love what I do.”
Panicafé is more than just a tea room. “This is a safe place for women to come and rebuild. And after going through hard times, several ladies come in here and learn and they make a living. There are all women in all my stores, 100% women, and they are all from different backgrounds and different situations. I always teach them from zero. I love them.
“They really leave from here with their own houses, their own cars. I found that doing this work was bigger than the job itself.”
The clientele has responded in kind. “A lot of women come in here to support the purpose that we have behind the business.”
The business is international now. “We have Panicafé’s in Spain. We have 16 all around Barcelona and more in Cordoba in Argentina. The market is expanding and they want to expand all over the US.
“I’m the CEO of the company of the US. I’m always on site in three stores every day. They are new, so I like to maintain the uniqueness and the service and what we wanted to get out of it, which is the experience and the European flair of it.”
Houston features three locations. “We have two other stores. One is in Woodlands Parkway, which is really popular and we have a lot of population there. And Woodforest is more on the high end, with half the clientele: this is booming with new construction and new places.” From the Tea room, one is 17 minutes south, the other 17 minutes north.
“Both stores are coffee shops. They are more of a European-style store, more casual than the tea room, so you can go and get your coffee but it’s more like grab-and-go. The tea room is more of an experience so you stay here a little longer and experience.
“All the shops have European pastries, and the coffee is Italian C’est Galfredo, so we have a really strong, delicious espresso machine. We do the cappuccinos, the classics, the lattes, all those.”
The menu in the tea room is extensive, with sandwiches, salad, and quiches, all made in-house. “So there’s no pre-made, everything is made by order and on the moment. It’s the best quality products that we can get just to make it really European and authentic.
“People love to go both places, but when they have time they come here to the tea room. So that’s what it’s become.”
Panicafé Tea Room is THE place to visit on a trip to the Woodlands. “You are you, and you come in here and you feel the vibe and everybody’s fine together. That is all you get in here.”
AFTERNOON TEA:
There are three options:
Light ($49). This includes 3 finger sandwiches, spinach quiche and a freshly baked scone, and a selection of handmade seasonal pastries.
Classic ($67). All of the above plus an extra finger sandwich and a refreshing salad cup.
Festive ($115). A glass of champagne served with several appetizers; followed by 6 finger sandwiches, a quiche, salad cup, scone and seasonal pastries.
Website: www.panicafetx.com
Address to the three Panicafe’s
Gosling
24345 Gosling Rd. Suite 120A
Spring, TX 77389
Tea Room
30420 Farm to Market Road 2978
The Woodlands, Texas, 77354
Pine Market (Woodforest)
859 Pine Market Ave Suite 200 A, Montgomery, TX 77316, Estados Unidos
My 2022 article on the Hummingbird Tea Room: