The Empress for Afternoon Tea

Wow it has been a long while since our last review, appologies to anyone who keeps up with this blog. Does anyone actually read this one? Well, we'll still write our reviews nonethe less. Perhaps some famous writer will catch on and want us to travel the world and do nothing but stay in fancy hotels, spa, eat and write reviews. Ah yes that would be the life!

Back to the review though...................

So my mother and I drove down to The Empress earlier this week to take in our Christmas tradition of Afternoon Tea. I will try to keep this as UN-Biased as possible, seeing as I worked there for over 2 years. Afternoon Tea is an English tradition that should be experienced at least once in a life time, particularly at The Empress.

Right from the start, the tea room is an elegant lobby from old, that has comfortable seating that overlooks the harbour. The large spacious room presents an old England charm that takes you back to earlier years of large elegant hats and white gloves.
We were seated at a cozy table for two, our jackets taken from us and white cloth napkins draped across our laps. The lovely server brings us our first sampling of the afternoon, fresh strawberries with Devonshire cream, finished with a bright colored gooseberry. The fruit is full of flavor and the cream completes this first sweet course.

As we are enjoying our first course, our server returns to inquire which flavour of tea we would like. We have a choice of The Empress blend, flavours from Kenya, China and Southern India. Or, if we would prefer, a herbal Green Tea Blend is also available. I choose the traditional Empress Blend and am not disappointed. A fabulous tea full of flavour and richness.

After a few minutes, our friendly server returns with an elegant 3 tier plate presenting our meal for the day. She offers to take our picture for us, and with delight we accept. The 3 tier plate has a variety of lavish foods to look at before enjoying. The lower level consists of an array of tea sandwiches to choose from. A flavourful Carrot & Ginger is my all time favorite, with the Chicken Curry sandwhich coming in at a close second. There is cucumber, Smoked Salmon, and Egg Salad to also choose from, delicately cut and sliced to perfection.

The second tier up holds the savory scones, fresh Strawberry preserve and the clotted cream, along with a couple of orange infused cream puffs and Christamas Cake pieces. This is my favorite part of the course. The fresh baked raisin scones, with Strawberry preserve spread a top finishing with a teaspoon of the rich clotted cream, truly makes this scone a delight.

The top tier of the tea plate offers a variety of sweets to savour; the Chocolate cream truffle melts in your mouth, and the fresh shortbread signifies that the Christmas season has arrived.

The Afternoon Tea at The Empress is an experience to remember and to cherish with someone who appreciates good tea, savory foods, and fine service. The tea is costly though and is not something you could afford to take in every weekend or month. At a cost of $29.95 per person in the low season, $39.95 at Christmas, and up to $49.95 per person during the summer, this is one afternoon you may need to save for. If you wish to experience this once in your life time I have to honestly say that spending $39.95 on tea sandwiches and sweets is definately worth it.

If spending an afternoon in an elegant old tea lobby is your style then the Afternoon tea at The Empress hotel is for you. I will definately be back!