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Maximising opportunities for serving afternoon tea at boutique hotels & tearooms

Guests are increasingly demanding when it comes to appreciating distinctive-tasting tea

Serving afternoon tea

Serving afternoon tea to guests visiting hotels and to those staying overnight and having a morning pot of tea with their breakfast imposes the same challenge: ensure distinctive-tasting teas are served.

There is an uplift in demand for traditionally-made orthodox teas and higher grade loose leaf teas such as FOP and TGFOP (tippy golden flowery orange pekoe). It is these quality teas which deliver the best flavour and give more satisfaction to guests, even if they are not particularly knowledgeable about tea. The improvement in taste over teabags is readily apparent. However, not all hotels and tearooms are set up for serving afternoon tea, let alone good tea. A lot of attention has been given to serving good coffee but rather less so when it comes to tea. And the profit margin for tea is arguably much greater!

Firstly, pay attention to the little things such as warming the pot first, to ensure that the tea is really hot when poured.

Secondly, kettles should be used when serving afternoon tea as urns often do not allow the water to boil and may be at too low a temperature. Freshly drawn and boiled water is essential for brewing good tea. For green tea the boiled water should have cooled to around eighty degrees centigrade.

Thirdly, teapots need to be made with a ‘cage’ at the base of the spout to catch leaves so that they do not block the spout or pass into the cup. Strainers can create mess. The most effective teapots are glass infuser teapots where the strength of the infusion becomes readily apparent. The infuser can be removed to a plate to avoid stewing. Afterwards, the contents can be easily tapped into a bin for disposal.

Fourth, do not skimp on the tea – it is important that the tea has a good, recognisable flavour. Plus, use a good grade. Small leaf grades infuse quickly but can become rather one-dimensional and quickly become too tannic.

Fifth, communicate before serving afternoon tea that many lighter-bodied teas may be better without milk. This particularly applies to Earl Grey, Darjeelings, many Ceylons and China teas.

Sixth, provide an ‘egg’ timer so that guests know when the tea should be ready: typically, four minutes for black tea, three minutes for green.

Finally, offer a reasonable choice. Many people recognise some family favourites such as Assam, Keemun, Lapsang Souchong, China green as well as afternoon blends and Russian Caravan. Offering other lesser-known oolong, white, flavoured teas and herbal infusions may be much appreciated. Change the choice periodically to discover which appeal most to your customers.

On a parting note, it may be worth considering other opportunities to serve tea where it pairs well with particular foods. For example, it is accepted that jasmine teas go well with Chinese foods. Darjeelings can go well with spicy foods and complex oolongs are good in the evening. For hotels, malty Assams, full-bodied Ceylon Dimbulas and creamy China Yunnan teas can be good at breakfast. A great introduction to the new day!

Have a browse of our online catalogue for loose leaf tea ideas or see our wholesale teas page.

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