Jefferson Hotel - Afternoon Tea

3.5 out of 5 stars

The Jefferson Hotel is a hidden gem, and one of the prettiest places to have afternoon tea in D.C.  Several friends joined me for tea, and we had a good combination of tea-drinkers including first-timers, experienced, and an expert (originally from England). We gave it a 3.5 because the food was very good, but not outstanding, and there was some confusion with our reservation.

Atmosphere.  The Jefferson is a small boutique hotel on 16^th Street, which is easy to miss because it is tucked away between office buildings.  The lobby is small and elegant with a black and white tiled floor and a large iron arched gate in front of the Greenhouse, where the tea is served. There is a high glass rotunda ceiling, which makes the room feel light and airy, regardless of the time of year.  I felt like I stepped into a different era.  It’s seems like the type of place that the Downton Abbey ladies might go to for lunch if they were in D.C.  The Greenhouse has a large room with several tables, plus a few side rooms and alcoves for smaller groups.

Tea/Food Quality.  We ordered from a list of black, green, white, and herbal Ronnefeld teas.  None of us were disappointed.  The tea was excellent, but a couple of people thought it was on the strong side.  A little extra sugar fixed this.  

The food portions were generous.  We received four types of tea sandwiches, but the smoked salmon with fried capers was the favorite.  The others, an open-faced cucumber sandwich with caviar, egg salad, and roast beef were all good, but on the bland side.  The sandwiches were a little dried out, possibly because they were sitting on the table so long (see below comments under service).  My understanding is that the tea sandwiches change regularly.  When I had tea at the Jefferson last year, I thought the food was much better, so maybe they were having an off day.

There were two kinds of scones, plain with sugar and raisin, served with clotted cream and jams.  Four people thought the scones were terrific and two thought they were good, but a tiny bit soggy inside and could have used a few more minutes in the oven.  The other sweets were also very good.  The mini-fruit tarts were fabulous (perfect vanilla custard) and mini éclairs with chocolate cream were excellent (our favorite).  The orange Bundt cake was a little dried out, and I wondered if it had been previously frozen.  There were also mini-cinnamon buns, with glazed sugar on top, which were just okay.  They seemed a bit out of place for an afternoon tea, and I wondered if they were breakfast leftovers.

Service.  There were a few mishaps with the service.  Minor things, but their attention to detail could have been better.  Our reservation was for 2 p.m., and at exactly 2 p.m. the platters of tea sandwiches were placed on the table.  We appreciated their promptness, but weren’t ready to begin.  A few of the guests had not yet arrived and we hadn’t been given menus to order our tea.  We only received two menus for six people so we shared them.  This was taking a while, so we finally asked for more menus.  During the tea, we felt rushed by the staff, which was odd because there were several empty tables and they weren’t very busy.  In addition, when I made the reservation I was told that there was free valet parking on Sundays (one of the reasons we chose this hotel).  However, we were charged $10 each for parking, and told that the policy had changed.  We complained, and they did end up validating our parking, which was nice.

Cost.  The cost for afternoon tea is $39 and $55 if you add a glass of champagne.  The price seemed reasonable, especially considering the generous portions sizes. 

Would we go again?  Yes!  The Jefferson Hotel is beautiful and a perfect environment for afternoon tea.  I wouldn’t hesitate to go there again.

Willard Intercontinental Hotel - Afternoon tea

Willard Intercontinental, Washington, DC, December 2013

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Willard Intercontinental is a beautiful, historic hotel, located in Washington, DC on Pennsylvania Avenue, a few blocks from the White House.  Two friends and I went for the holiday afternoon tea in late December.  Overall, we thought it was outstanding.  The only reason we didn’t give it 5 stars was because the service was spotty.   

Atmosphere.  It’s hard to beat the elegant atmosphere at the Willard Hotel, with its spectacular marble pillars, high ceilings, and chandeliers.  The hotel is especially pretty in December during the holidays, when it is filled with lights, poinsettias, and a large decorated tree in the lobby.  This year, they also had a wonderful, large gingerbread house of the U.S. Capitol.

The tea service is held in “Peacock Alley,” a long hallway that runs through the lobby level of the hotel.  Small tables with white linen tablecloths and comfortable chairs and couches line both sides of the hallway, allowing for intimate conversations.  The downside is that, because Peacock Alley is one of the hotel’s main hallways, there is a steady stream of people walking past you while you are having tea.  All this activity was a little distracting and made it a less peaceful environment.  Despite this, the sound level for talking was fine, and the background music played by a harpist during the tea buffered much of the external noise.

Tea/Food Quality.  The tea and food were terrific.  Guests can choose from several different types of loose tea.  We ordered the Earl Grey, the custom Willard-blend, and Chamomile.  Assorted tea sandwiches were listed on the menu, and the staff was very accommodating about letting us make substitutions.  They also said they could make us vegetarian sandwiches, but we didn’t take them up on this offer.  We tried the following sandwiches: chicken salad (everyone’s favorite); salmon (very good); goat cheese and caviar (needed more cheese); and cucumber (too plain).   

The scones were the real winners.  We received two kinds (cranberry and nutmeg), and we all thought they were the BEST scones we’ve had in a long time -- perfect texture (not too dry), and accompanied by crème fraiche, lemon curd, and jams.  The bite-sized desserts were good, too, including crème brûlée (really good), pumpkin tart, peppermint profiterole, and a gingerbread cookie.  The chocolate crème log was just so-so.  

Service.  Here is where they fell short.  The staff took a long time to take our order, which was understandable because it was crowded.  However, there was little follow-up after we were served.  When our desserts arrived, there was not enough room for all of them on the three-tiered plate stand, and we were told that we would receive the remainder of our order on another plate.  We gave up waiting for the additional dessert plate (we were there almost two hours), and it arrived right before we received our check.  We ended up taking them home.

Cost.  It was $48 per person for afternoon tea service, and an additional charge for a glass of champagne.  This is expensive, but in range of afternoon tea services at other similar hotels.

Would we go again?  Absolutely.  The Willard Hotel tea is in a beautiful environment and the food is excellent. 

Welcome to my blog – DC Tea Taster!

I started this blog as a way to combine two things that I really like – my long-time experience drinking and selecting tea, and spending time with good friends.  My goal is to provide Washington DC area tea drinkers with reviews of different afternoon tea services so they have this information in one place.

For the last several years, a group of close friends and I have met for afternoon tea during the Christmas holidays at a different hotel in Washington, DC, and we always have a great time.  There is something about drinking tea in a nice environment that encourages good conversations and a feeling of connectedness.  I decided that I wanted to have this experience more than once a year.

My plan is to try different afternoon tea services in the DC area with some friends and write reviews that may be helpful to other tea drinkers.  I‘ll go as often as possible (probably every month or so because high tea can be expensive and it is a lot of calories if I eat all of those sweets too often!).  I‘ll share information with you on the atmosphere/ambience, tea/food quality, service, and cost.

I’ll start with DC hotel teas service and include some smaller venues, too.  If you have any suggestions for places to try, please let me know!  Also, as you can probably tell, this is my first blog, so I hope that my reviews and the content will improve over time.

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” ― Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady