This week, the tea I am reviewing is not a tea but a time! Afternoon Tea at The Langham is a very luxurious experience, from the dedicated wait staff to the gold leaf­–­topped cream puff, which is almost expected since they have been doing it for over 150 years, after The Langham in London started serving it. They even made sure to add a little background knowledge about the person who started afternoon tea, Anna Maria, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in their afternoon tea menu. The Langham has mastered the craft of making afternoon tea an enjoyable experience. You can try four teas that are made specifically for their afternoon tea or a variety of 20 other teas. These teas are all made by Wedgwood and include two types of Oolong, two white teas, four green teas, and 12 black teas, and their specialty teas: The English Flower, The Langham Breakfast Tea, Silk Road, and Palm Court Exotic (The Langham). I noticed that most of the blends that The Langham used relied heavily on flowery flavors like rose and jasmine, excluding the Breakfast Tea.
Personally, I am not someone who likes very flowery teas, but I felt like trying something new. So, I chose the Palm Court Exotic, which was made up of Chinese Fujian white tea, hibiscus flowers, rosehip peel, and rose petals. As soon as I poured out my pink tea, I could smell the rose. It made me skeptical, but when I took my first sip, I was pleasantly surprised. The taste of rose was very present, but it was held back by the white tea it was mixed with, making it a very rounded cup of tea. I enjoyed it plain for my first cup but after that, I added a cube of sugar and a dash of cream because I felt it complimented my finger sandwiches better that way.
Now, when it comes to afternoon tea, you cannot forget the cutest part of the meal! The Langham’s afternoon tea came with four little finger sandwiches which ranged from a fresh lobster tart with a corn base to a fancy ham-and-cheese sandwich. They also served fresh scones, two for each person, with a very thick cream, strawberry jam, and a lemon curd. Then came the desserts, which stood out to me the most because there was a dark chocolate raspberry truffle with a sheet of gold on it. The food does not sound like it was a lot but by the time my mother and I got to our desserts, we were struggling to eat anything else, so most of them were left with a bite taken out of them. If you do decide to go to The Langham, the food might not be the same, considering they change it every six months.
Overall, having afternoon tea at The Langham is a fun, cute, and elegant experience. Is it an affordable thing to do every week for a college student? Sadly, it is not. Being fifty-dollars per plate, some people might feel a little ripped off for some food and tea. The thing is when you go to afternoon tea, you do not just pay for the food; you pay for the experience and the atmosphere. So, it might not be an every week or even an every month thing to do, but it would be fun for a special event.