July 30, 2008

All Good Things...

...come to an end.

Yes, sadly Tom left Boston to go 5 hours over the Atlantic back to the fabled shores of tea and crumpets and thus your fearless team of tea-testers has been split to move on to bigger things. Hana is now flexing her culinary talents at the wonderful Pink Cat's Bakery and Tom is just making another mug of Earl Grey and thinking about seeing the world.

Before our sad farewells, we went out for one last afternoon tea together in June. Where would we go? Take a look at that side bar of percentages on the right, and it's not rocket science to guess it would be back to The Taj Lounge. And yes, one year on from our original review it was still a delight to be pampered like the royalty we deserve to be. The menu was slightly changed from before but the experience was still elegant class at Boston's very best.

Holding back the tears we looked back on our year sampling teas on your behalf. Yes, there are some regrets... Why could we never get round to writing reviews of the quick-stop tea shops? Will anyone else ever sum up what bubble tea is all about? Should we have even bothered with the Inn at Harvard? But those few regrets were countered with the pride of having held our own tea-tasting party, having secured access to the wonder of the Athenaeum, and of course having reviewed all of afternoon teas on offer in this town. Well done to us and our worthy project.

And now for the conclusion - the final verdict. Five of the afternoon teas stood out way beyond the others and would be our recommendations to everyone.
* The Taj Lounge for five star luxury
* L'Espalier for culinary majesty
* The Athenaeum for time-travel experimentation
* Upstairs On The Square for funky originality
* The Boston Harbor Hotel for sun-drenched relaxation

We hope we help you enjoy your Sunday afternoons for years to come. Thanks for reading and much love for you and your tea-loving tastebuds. Tom and Hana

P.S. Feel free to keep sending comments and emails to us. We'll still be here to help.

May 2, 2008

Boston Athenaeum

10 1/2 Beacon Street
Boston MA
02108
(617) 227-0270

Website

Yelp Reviews

Map

Our hard work paid off! After sampling the ten afternoon te
as on offer around Boston we received an invitation to take the most exclusive tea of all. Boston Athenaeum is a members-only club, a library, a museum and a veritable institution all rolled into one. Founded in 1807 and moved to the wonderful address of 10 and 1/2 Beacon in 1849, it is one of America's oldest libraries and is full of priceless histories and biographies (and even one book bound in human skin!) It reaches 5 floors high with sculptures, antiques and reading rooms overlooking the famous Granary Burying Ground below. Its collections are vast and much of the earlier artwork of the Athenaeum went on to form the basis of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. For over 200 years it's provided a meeting place for Boston's intelligentsia and is world-renowned for events such as concerts and lectures.

Afternoon tea was known to be a daily tradition at the Athenaeum during its early years. Since 1984 it has been revived as a service put on to treat members and their guests on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month. Like most things at the Athenaeum, it's a little unique. You stand outside the Long Room at 3 pm and then one-by-one pay the $20 charge ($8 for 5-and-under) and file in to find yourself a nice table looking out over the graves of patriots like Sam Adams and Paul Revere. The food is presented on a central buffet table that you help yourself too and at the end of the table a generous volunteer serves you a choice of two teas that are on the brew. You can go up as often as you like to get more food and tea (both are regularly replenished) and you can browse around the room with its Qing-dynasty vases and busts of famous minds like Ben Franklin. There is even a stash of sherry you can help yourself to. No phones or cameras though, and a bags are checked in at the Athenaeum entrance too (hence these photos have been provided by the staff).

While many of the people taking the afternoon tea here are regulars, the teas themselves are always different. The staff take a huge pride and invest a lot of effort into coming up with something new every 2 weeks. Often the menus will be themed based on lectures taking place at the Athenaeum that week - in the first few months of 2008 there's been a Roget's Thesaurus-themed menu and then there was the fantastic Jonathan Swift-themed menu that we were lucky enough to taste.

With such great ideas and a great setting, the teas are understandably popular and should be booked well in advance. If you're not lucky enough to know a member who can take you as their guest then consider becoming a member - it's $115 per person if you're under 41 (twice as much for those above) and gives you access to so much, as well as putting your name up with past members like John Quincy Adams and Ra
lph Waldo Emerson.

Tom...
Wow, a much larger introduction than our other afternoon tea reviews, but the uniqueness of this place and their tea needs to be told. It's so mesmerizing and incredibly Harry Potter-esque here - the room is spellbinding and you are surrounded by historical antiques... and I don't just mean the other diners. I really love spending time in places with history and the Athenaeum is not short on that. Where else can you sip sherry from cut glass while tourists gather around ancient graves below?

It took me a while to get used to the buffet-style service and the themed menu idea but once I was over the initial shock of jostling for position with hardened geriatric regulars it was a breeze. As a Brit abroad, I've never felt more at home than in this old room with my tea, having to fend-off George Bernard Shaw-lookalike diners three times my age but ten times more eager than me to grab the scones and curd. It was just like a village wedding.

Although beautifully served, the two tea choices (English Breakfast and Hu-Kwa) were very limiting and not really brewed too well. The setting, the relaxed feel and the food more than made up for it. The idea of a fully-researched themed menu blew me away once I got it. After speaking to the lovely staff we found out that one dish - the sensational hot chocolate Madeira drink - was from a 300 year-old Spanish recipe that they'd looked up after diligently researching what kind of drink Jonathan Swift enjoyed in London in the 1700s. Not only was it gorgeous (I had 3) but it was a real conversation piece and that's what I loved more than anything.

Hana...

Afternoon tea is "hard" work indeed, Tom. ^-^

I have a dilemma with this place. On the one hand, like Tom, I absolutely love the setting of the historic Boston Athenaeum for afternoon tea. Yet on the other hand, it is so exclusive- tea is only available for library members. I understand that it is something special for the members. If more people are to come, only to patronize their afternoon tea, the staff might have a work overload and loyal tea members might feel un-eased. That is the reason why I felt so happy to be able to take part in this secret afternoon tea (of sorts). It was a wonderful experience - the overall tea, as well as the welcoming staff.

The buffet-style tea here actually worked to my advantage. It was because I love sweets and I don't eat meats. I was very excited at having seconds and thirds of the sweet desserts, definitely more than eating the savory pieces! As I got some food, and then some tea, I noticed the silver antique teapots - very, very classy. But it's not just that, there was more... the white linen table clothes, the modern sparkling plates, and real silverware, even down to the delightful to read menu.

So alongside with the Taj (for traditional aristocratic afternoon tea), Upstairs on the Square (for girly, funky tea), and the Boston Harbor Hotel (for seaside relaxation tea), this is the Boston Athenaeum's tea, comprising in its own uniqueness. Where else can I sip some tea, drink some chocolate, and have a shot of sherry alongside the Revolutionary heroes that now lay beneath the Earth
?! At the Boston Athenaeum Library. Cheers!


April 19, 2008

The Gallery, Ritz-Carlton Boston Common

2 Avery St
Boston MA 02111
(617) 574-7100

Official Website

Yelp Reviews

Map

Finished in 2008, the new Boston Common location was a bold move for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. After 80 years across the park in their original building by the Public Gardens, Ritz-Carlton upped sticks and headed for a new modern building in the less fashionable downtown area. Behind they left their established majesty to become the new Taj Hotel and ahead they forged a new slick luxury hotel with an urban feel. Royalty can stay at The Taj, Boston Common Ritz-Carlton is after the movie stars and sports teams.

One of the last editions to the new Ritz-Carlton was its afternoon tea. Not only is the Ritz name synonymous with afternoon tea but at the old location it was both a showpiece and a tradition of the hotel. With the Taj continuing the old tea across the parks with more than capable hands, the new Ritz-Carlton has a lot to live up to.

Tea is on Saturdays and Sundays with sittings at 1:00, 1:30, 3:00 and 3:30 pm. It is held in The Gallery - a comfortable lounge area at the back of the modern lobby with a centerpiece fireplace and art from the hotel's million dollar collection. The typical afternoon tea costs $32 and consists of scones with cream and lemon curd, followed by an assortment of luxury finger sandwiches and then finally English biscuits, fruit tartlets and mignardises (small sweets). For $13 more you can also add champagne and strawberries and there are also vegetarian alternatives, as well as a $20 version for 12-and-unders. There are 12 teas to chose from covering classic and scented black teas, green teas and tisanes (herbal teas). The menu proudly proclaims that all the teas served are Mighty Leaf teas.

Hana...

The Ritz Carlton, known for afternoon tea, was one of the places that I'd been eagerly wanting to try. I had high hopes for it. During the course of our tea, the food was very elegantly presented (to go along with its modern interior design). The fact that they have 2 types of afternoon tea - one regular and one for vegetarian, gets high mark in my book. However, with the inclusion of caviar on small pre-made open face sandwiches and getting two of the same kind (from the vegetarian side), my feelings for this place were reduced to sub-average. Actually, the sandwiches seemed quite small. What I remembered most from this tea experience is not their tea sandwiches unfortunately, but only their lovely scone. It was so rich, buttery, and heavenly on a cold winter day.

Afternoon tea here was good, but it was definitely not excellent, in my opinion. The interior is very modern in every way. However, I find the tea area too open to the lobby, where people go in and out. There is no distinct separator, except for the presence of a carpet. A fireplace keeps you warm if you happen to be sitting near it. If you happen to get a table on the other side of the lounge, you are not so lucky as burst of cold air will come each time someone enter the hotel. It was a nice place to try out, but a memorable one? Not really.

Tom...

As soon as we sat down and were handed the menu I was a little perturbed seeing the endorsement for Mighty Leaf teas. They make great teabag teas but it was the first time I'd seen a brand you could can get at your local Whole Foods so prominently revealed on a $32 menu. It wouldn't shock me if most hotels get their teas through a commercial brand but to mention it seemed odd. Certainly it's a far cry from the expert-picked tea menu and personal tea collection at Swan's Cafe down the road.

The food and tea were beautifully presented. Everything fitted in with the modern luxury feel - the cuts of the bread, the plates, cups and teapots - all modern and elegant. There were some classic touches too - the silver service tray with its Ritz-Carlton lion on top, and the candle-powered teapot warmers on which our pots were rested. The staff were attentive to start with and the seemingly innocent questions as to why we were exchanging gifts culminated in a surprise final course - a handful of their decadent chocolates garnished with an orchid and with Happy Birthday written out on the plate in drizzled chocolate. A nice touch, it was just a shame that the staff were entirely absent when we were looking to pay up and move on.