Afternoon Tea at The Shelbourne in Dublin

During my action-packed business trip to Dublin and Belfast last year, I seized the opportunity to extend my stay for an extra day in Dublin. As a spontaneous decision on my last day, I treated myself to a delightful afternoon tea at The Shelbourne hotel where I was staying. Gratefully, I managed to secure a spot on the same day, adding a touch of serendipity to my memorable Dublin experience.

The dishware was so incredibly cute that I took more pictures than usual of the plates and dishes. 

It was so crowded I wondered how I managed to snag a table the day of. I felt very lucky. 

Jam, butter, and clotted cream

Tea service included many choices of tea. You didn't have to pick one, you could have three or four versions if you wanted. I chose a Rose tea and a Vanilla tea. 

My biscuits with jam and clotted cream

Afternoon Tea at the Majestic in Porto

It's been a long time since I've been to afternoon tea, and even longer since I blogged about it, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found that the Majestic Cafe in Porto, Portugal served afternoon tea. 
I had wanted to visit this cafe for its historic significance and beautiful ambiance, and it was a bonus that I could also enjoy afternoon tea. 

The cafe is a bustling place with a constant line out the door. When we arrived on a weekday afternoon, there were about five people in front on us. We were seated within ten minutes at a lovely table along the wall with a perfect view of the crowd. 

Sitting down gave me a chance to enjoy the splendor of the Majestic close up, instead of hurrying in for a photo. 

My tea set was very traditional and all branded cutlery from the Majestic. My tea was served on a traditional 3-tired tray. 

Another great thing about the Majestic is that their tea is served per person, so you don't have to order for two people and the other person accompanying you can order anything from the menu, which is what my partner did. 

Although the Majestic Cafe was classy and fancy, I wasn't. 

 The sandwiches, scones, and pastries were all delicious, but because we were sitting in the back, I was staring at the dessert case the entire time and could not resist ordering the chocolate cake. It just looked so moist I had to have it. 

Black Afternoon Tea at Hotel Aman

Everyone knows I'm obsessed with having afternoon tea everywhere I go, and even though I’ve technically already checked Tokyo off the list after spending an afternoon at Bulgari, I couldn’t resist the temptation to have the Black Afternoon Tea at Aman, one of Tokyo newest and chicest hotels.

Unlike the ultra modern western hotels in Tokyo, Aman is all about infusing contemporary technology with traditional Japanese aesthetics. This is evident in their lobby, which blends every organize element in nature, from the live tree growing in the center of a pool, to the stone floors, to the rocks laid out like a zen garden among the lobby, the tree stump tables, paper shoji.

The lobby upon first impression

seating area for tea

True to its name, in Black Afternoon Team, everything was black. 

black place setting

tea menu

food menu

black tea pots

I ordered Irish-Whisky Cream tea, and my partner ordered green tea

We enjoyed our seat by the window were we got a prime view of downtown Tokyo.

sweets on the middle layer, very seasonal with all the summer fruit

savories on the bottle layer, a unique medley of offerings

 The tea was splendid, and they obviously have a chocolatier on staff who prepared excellent chocolate sweets in the shape of shoes, a hat, and a pearl in oyster.

chocolate on the top layer

white chocolate hats over jelly!

green tea and traditional scones

jams, devonshire cream, and honey

The view of Tokyo from our window seat