Travels of Boston Teacup

As well as tasting teas and crunching on cakes all across Boston, the Boston Teacup has also managed to try a few well-known services around the world. Although we were unable to review these offerings as the delightful duo you know, our individual experiences are worth reporting, so that you can compare how the Hub's finest compares with the international legends.

First up, is The Peninsula... but sadly not the famous Peninsula of Kowloon, instead this was The Peninsula Beverly Hills. This discreet luxurious hotel is found just behind the famous Rodeo Drive strip of high-end fashion stores and provides a great place to relax and refresh between ridiculous splurges on thousand dollar T-shirts. Afternoon tea is taken on embroidered sofas at the back of the hotel atrium, with a harpist present and fresh L.A. daylight pouring through the glass. As you indulge in the excellent pastries and sandwiches you’ll be sharing the room with a revolving-door of movie execs coming in for deals over quick drinks. Eavesdrop for Hollywood gossip!

The Peninsula have rightly taken everything seriously here, after all, their brand is synonymous with afternoon tea. The food and presentation was top class and the lovely teacosies around the silver pots was a wonderful touch. The tea selection could be extended but they couldn’t do much to improve on the stellar service. It really is a recommendable afternoon, on par with Boston’s best and making a nice change to dine on soft sofas. It would be tough to choose between here and The Taj , but I think The Taj would win.

Next on the list is The Oriental. No, not Boston’s Mandarin Oriental but the original Oriental which has resided for 100+ years on the river banks of Thailand's capital, Bangkok. It is now part of the Mandarin Oriental chain but the hotel, and especially its afternoon tea, is far older and grander than almost any other hotel in Southeast Asia.

Tea is taken in the author’s lounge, a beautiful restored wing of the original hotel, famed for distinguished literary guests, its sun-drenched atrium and adjoining guest library room. Has anyone you know had tea and stayed here? Try Graham Greene, Noel Coward, Joseph Conrad and even Prince Charles and Diana!

In terms of ambiance it couldn’t get any better. The beautiful orchid filled room, the pianist, huge comfortable wicker chairs and outside a riverside garden with talking Mynah birds. Servers were friendly Thai ladies who behaved far more relaxed than most people serving tea at hotels like this. They persuaded me to dine on the Thai tea set, which had Thai-inspired sandwiches, scones and cakes that were much more interesting than the norm, but slightly too sweet for my tastes and didn’t go so well with the average tea on offer. The feel of the whole afternoon made up for it though, this is definitely an amazing place  to have tea, to relax and never leave.

And finally on the list is the UK Tea Council number 1 pick for afternoon tea in London, The Lanesborough Hotel, where a menu curated by London’s first tea-sommelier is served in the central conservatory away from the hustle of Hyde Park Corner outside. This is high-end award-winning  afternoon tea, noted for its luxury, top service and outstanding in its tea selection. It’s definitely somewhere great to take your sister for a treat.

The tea menu is indeed interesting and well-chosen but not quite as diverse as at the Park Plaza in Boston (where a tea sommelier has been in place for years!). Still, every drop is brewed to perfection and it goes so well with some of the best sandwiches and sweets to ever have had the fortune to meet my mouth. Why doesn’t coronation chicken appear in more sandwiches in the US? Beyond the wonderful tea, the fabulous food and the elegant room with its piano, polished silver and art noveau chandeliers there was something that made this really the best of the best (yes, better than any in Boston) and that was the service. Our young French waiter was a level above perfect – attentive yet discreet, a showman yet humble, and with a sweet smile that made you feel as royal as the family who live literally just across the road.