Afternoon Royal Tea at The Empress
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
So from a previous post, I mentioned that I finally had the chance to enjoy afternoon tea with my ladies.
Our Victoria trip was planned in rush and we made reservations only a few days prior to heading off to Victoria. The Empress suggests making reservations a week or two in advance. Luckily, they were able to accommodate us in such late notice. When we arrived, it was about an hour after they opened for seating and the Tea Lobby was already full. The location is beautiful. (I could live in the washroom!)
For the tea, we enjoyed the Empress Blend. I absolutely loved the blend. Before leaving, our server gave us our complementary sample of the tea to take home. It's packaged in a really nice tin box and there's 10 tea bags in each! Here's a description of it straight from their website.
We also elected for the food option ($12 more per person). The food we sampled were pretty much the same as the sample menu provided on the website. The scone was delicious and each one came with an individual sealed jar of jam. (So cute!) I really enjoyed the pastries--especially the Battenburg (vanilla and chocolate sponge checkerboard wrapped in marzipan) and shortbread. *drools* A few of us had trouble finishing our portions. I was only able to sample part of some of my sandwiches and pastries.
In the end, was the experience worth the $70 (including gratuity)? You be the judge of that.
Our Victoria trip was planned in rush and we made reservations only a few days prior to heading off to Victoria. The Empress suggests making reservations a week or two in advance. Luckily, they were able to accommodate us in such late notice. When we arrived, it was about an hour after they opened for seating and the Tea Lobby was already full. The location is beautiful. (I could live in the washroom!)
For the tea, we enjoyed the Empress Blend. I absolutely loved the blend. Before leaving, our server gave us our complementary sample of the tea to take home. It's packaged in a really nice tin box and there's 10 tea bags in each! Here's a description of it straight from their website.
"The Empress blend is a selection of seasonal, quality teas, created exclusively for The Fairmont Empress by the Metropolitan Tea Company. With components from Assam (thick malty and full bodied), Kenya (floral-like flavor and a golden coppery infusion), South India (superb fruity and sprightly flavor), Ceylon (airy, almost piquant flavor), and China (burgundy depth with light oaky notes), it is truly one of the finest blends in the world."
We also elected for the food option ($12 more per person). The food we sampled were pretty much the same as the sample menu provided on the website. The scone was delicious and each one came with an individual sealed jar of jam. (So cute!) I really enjoyed the pastries--especially the Battenburg (vanilla and chocolate sponge checkerboard wrapped in marzipan) and shortbread. *drools* A few of us had trouble finishing our portions. I was only able to sample part of some of my sandwiches and pastries.
In the end, was the experience worth the $70 (including gratuity)? You be the judge of that.
