Among the delicate tea leaves’ many uses, perhaps the least known is that it was used in courtship rituals.
Today’s generation has been immersed in the café culture, spending hours on their phones and laptops beside like-minded creatures, sipping Spanish latte or frappes as long as some relationships probably last.
THE Imperial Afternoon Tea offers sweet and savory canapés to complement The Writers Bar’s selection of TWG tea blends.
In ancient cultures, tea was the drink of choice. Not iced tea or tea with pearls — just honest-to-goodness tea, served in a cup and saucer, with some savories or sweets, if you prefer.
Many cultures consider tea drinking as a ritual — something that brings more than a refreshment to a body, but more so to the soul. Today, such rituals are kept alive and even given a luxurious twist — yes, something that offers more than soul quenching.
Raffles Makati, in cooperation with the Ayala Museum, features Chinese-themed high tea, Imperial Afternoon Tea, at The Writers Bar.
Ongoing until 30 March, the Imperial Afternoon Tea offers diners sweet and savory canapés to complement The Writers Bar’s selection of TWG tea blends. The multi-tiered set for two includes sweet and sour shredded pork tartelettes, foie gras on brioche with Shaoxing jelly, butterfly pea flower macarons, red bean choux au craquelin, and black sesame pralines to name a few. The experience can also be upgraded to include glasses of signature mocktails, cocktails, or Veuve Clicquot Champagne.
While indulging in the culinary delights, diners can also partake in a visual feast by exploring a captivating collection of Qinghua fine wares on loan from the Ayala Museum’s Loving the Qinghua exhibit. These historical artifacts on display were specifically produced as export commodities from China to the rest of the world dating back from the 13th to 16th century, with a few select pieces publicly displayed for the first time exclusively at Raffles Makati.
The opening of Imperial Afternoon Tea was attended by VIP guests, celebrities, top media outfits, and several Ayala Museum executives, including Ayala Foundation president Ruel Maranan and Roberto T. Villanueva Foundation president Marybeth Villanueva-Kilayko. The intimate event was hosted by Raffles Makati’s director of sales and marketing Eugene Tamesis, while hotel manager Aubrey Ada honored the guests with executive chef Bèla Rieck.
The Writers Bar at Raffles Makati is open daily, 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. Imperial Afternoon Tea is served from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. by reservation.
Guests of Ayala Museum, a subsidiary of Ayala Foundation, may enjoy the Imperial Afternoon Tea at 20 percent discount upon presentation of their booked museum tickets.