The Bottom Line
- Elizabeth Knight is friendly, knowledgable & passionate about tea
- Lots of information about tea
- Great opportunities to buy souvenirs and gifts
- Not appropriate for children
- Tea tastings only occurred at two stops
Description
- Featured Stops on the English and French Tea Traditions Tour:
- La Maison du Chocolat
- Takashimaya
- Bernardaud
- James Robinson
- Arium
- Tea in the City Price: $85-110, depending on the tour
- The Tea in the City tours cover 1-2 miles at a comfortable pace, with bathroom breaks and seating available at many stops.
- Including afternoon tea, the tour lasted nearly 5 hours.
- Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. You'll be walking from shop to shop and the tour takes place rain or shine.
- Tea in the City Tours are available upon request, and occassionally scheduled in advance.
- Groups of 6 are required for most tours, but Elizabeth can coordinate smaller groups.
- Confirm with Elizabeth when you will be eating -- arriving at 12:30 for the tour without eating would have been a mistake.
Guide Review - Tea in the City Tour
Next, we headed to Takashimaya for some shopping in their top-notch tea boutique. The Fifth Avenue outpost of this Toyko department store has a beautifully stocked tea shop and restaurant in the basement. Members of our group bought tea pots, various loose teas, and even some of the tea-infused confections that were available at this high-end boutique. Shoppers especially appreciated the fact that you could easily smell and view samples of the many loose teas.
Our purchases in hand, we walked over to Park Avenue to view Marie Antoinette's china pattern at Bernardaud before visiting James Robinson. At James Robinson we got to view a variety of antique silver tea pots, creamers, sugar bowls and other accessories. A representative at James Robinson talked to us about the evolution of tea accessories and shared some of the highlights of their extensive collection. The store also creates high-end reproductions for anyone looking to add some classic pieces to their tea service collection.
Around 3 p.m. our group headed down to the Meatpacking District in several cabs to have afternoon tea at Arium. Their tea menu included over 100 offerings, and everyone enjoyed socializing while sampling a full afternoon tea, including three types of scones, five different tea sandwiches and five small sweets alongside our tea of choice. Everything was delicious and the amount of food was quite generous.
