Indulge at These Three New Afternoon Teas

原创 Tracy W. theBeijinger

Spring is the season to finally shrug off that heavy jacket, enjoy the breeze and sunshine, and indulge in a fancy afternoon tea session with old friends who've been hibernating all winter. Just in time for the warmer weather, here are three new afternoon teas that caught our attention.

Conrad Hotel Beijing

To celebrate their fifth anniversary, Conrad Hotel Beijing has revamped a sugar-free High Tea menu at Chapter and Lobby Lounge, featuring mango & passion-fruit cheesecake, chocolate cannoli, apple mousse tart, carrot cake, vegan scones, cookies, gluten-free crisps, nachos, and rye bread crackers with hummus. To avoid any refined and processed sugar, the culinary team used xylitol and fresh ingredients as alternatives, Harald Feurstein, the General Manager, explained.

Among a dozen bites, we especially liked the carrot cake, which had two layers of round dough filled with cream cheese frosting between the layers. It was satisfying and sweet, seasoned with cinnamon, and topped with a tiny fake carrot made of meringue. The healthy cookies were infused with superfood chia seed, and oatmeal, which made them sturdy and rustic.

Chapter has an elegant atmosphere with a library-esque ambiance, designed by Spin Studio from Japan. Having delicate afternoon tea among all those books will surely impress your guests. This mindful afternoon tea costs RMB 298 (plus 15 percent service charge), and is available between 2.30-5pm at Chapter. It also includes two cups of tea or coffee. Call 6584 6270 for reservations.

Nuo Hotel Beijing

Laurent Moreno

Meanwhile, Nuo Hotel Beijing has collaborated with Laurent Moreno, a world-renowned executive pastry chef from France, and will launch a new afternoon tea for chocoholics at Lobby Lounge on Apr 2. Moreno has 15 years of professional experience and has worked with the famous Pierre Hermé (dubbed “the Picasso of Pastry” by Vogue), Michelin three-starred restaurant La Tour d’Argent, Champs-Elsyées Ladurée shop in Paris, Fauchon, and Dalloyau. Sounds impressive? He is also a training and business consultant at the World’s Top Ten Pastry School Ferrandi, and Ecole Gastronomique Bellouet Conseil, and represents Cabosse Chocolate and Grand Marnier brands as a Celebrity Ambassador.

The chocolate-heavy delights that he brings to Nuo are artsy and elegant in appearance. They include strawberry and basil chocolate cheesecake, French dark chocolate (using cacao from Vietnam), Le Carnaval (milk chocolate cake, raspberry confit), Choux Laurent, and more. His Le Bounty was very impressive, thanks to its glossy ganache glaze, topped with a chocolate sheet and tart passion-fruit flavored cream, and a generous spoon of caviar with savory and umami flavors to balance the rich sweetness of the dark chocolate. The touch of a tiny gold leaf foil made it more like a work of art than a mere dessert. The Sesame Blanc, green tea, vanilla chocolate Ivoire was also impressive, which involved Moreno creating the perfect ratio between Chinese tea and chocolate. Its white chocolate was not overly sweet and had a hint of tea flavor.

You could also pair the sweets with their creative iced coffee – they freeze the coffee into cubes, put them in a nice glass, then you could just pour milk and syrup on those cubes to make your perfectly chilled cup of joe. The chocolate afternoon tea will be available from Apr 2 at Lobby Lounge, Nuo Hotel. Call 5926 8888 for reservations.

Rosewood Beijing

After collaborating with China’s notable Bao Bao Wan Fine Jewelry, Rosewood Beijing joins Delvaux, one of the world’s most famous luxury brands to present an exquisite afternoon tea at Bistrot B Lounge and Bar until Apr 30.

Founded in Belgium in 1829, Delvaux filed its first patents for handbags in 1908. Their bags are works of art with dynamic and incandescent colors, such as chili orange, turquoise, flamingo pink, saffron red, and ebony, inspired by Ethiopia. Executive pastry chef Florian Couteau and his team create a number of savory and sweet delights to echo Delvaux’s latest collection, such as orange and roasted pine nut marmalade with Madagascar whipped vanilla ganache, which came in a beautiful ball-shape with shiny orange glaze that was not overly sweet; Caribbean chocolate crèmeux with Himalayan salt sable, which mirrors the season’s Ethiopia silk twill; and rye bread with ricotta and asparagus. This afternoon tea costs RMB 388 and is available between 2.30-5.30pm at Bistrot B Lounge and Bar, and includes an exclusive gift prepared by Delvaux. Along with the afternoon tea, there will be a pop-up store in the Lobby Shop with the maison’s latest Spring/Summer 2018 collection. Call 6536 0066 for reservations.

Photos courtesy of venues, Tracy Wang