Afternoon Tea at the Taj, Boston
The room was breathtaking, warm, cozy, and elegant. We were seated at a window seat overlooking Newbury Street. The menu was extensive and we wanted to try it all, but settled on The Duchess and Traditional Cheese Tasting. Our teas of choice were: Vanilla Earl Grey, Taj Blend Spicy Chai, and White Blossom. We weren't disappointed with anything and were quite stuffed with everything. The service was attentive and cordial. While we had a leisurely tea, there was another seating at 3:30 so we were politely ushered out around 3:15 to make way for the next round. Totally fine, but sometimes when gals get together, it's disruptive to the conversation! They should tell you at the reservation that the time is limited. But seriously, that didn't damper anything about the tea experience. Here are some photos:
My friend Mark and I decided to do monthly tea dates and wanted to start from the Lower East Side and make our way to the Upper. We're positive the further uptown you get, the fancier it gets and anticipate having to break out the black ties for our final tea destination! We started at the lovely and cozy Podunk. It felt like I was visiting my mom's kitchen with all the yummy smells and intimate feeling. It was all delicious and completely casual which is a nice break from the 50 different serving platters, tea warmers, chinaware, and 3 tiered silver trays. The downside to Podunk is no bathroom (how's a girl supposed to enjoy multiple cups of tea? I certainly didn't, which I felt defeated the entire purpose of afternoon tea!) and our server explained nothing about what was what on our delicious platter of food. We found out after the fact what everything was, but would've preferred to not spend the entire tea time guessing. While the place is cozy, the chairs are not so comfortable for an extended tea time. Here are some pics:
