High tea is one of our all-time favourite ways to spend an afternoon – there’s simply no better way to while away time than gossiping with your best pals, with a bevy of delicious bites at your fingertips and pots of tea brewing away. What more could you ask for?

A New Afternoon Tea Experience at The Greenhouse

It is with great excitement that we experienced the brand new Afternoon Tea at the stunning The Cellars-Hohenort in Constantia. Known for its lush landscaping and impeccable attention to detail, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more perfect place to partake in this revered tradition.

Afternoon Tea at The Cellars-Hohenort is now served in The Greenhouse, which was previously the hotel’s fine dining restaurant. The space lends itself perfectly to the tea experience – it is flooded with light from the floor to ceiling glass panelled windows that overlook the lovely gardens, giving the sense that you’re sitting right in amongst the lush foliage.

Everything has been meticulously thought of, from how the experience flows from course to course,  right down to the crockery selection. Tables are set with the specially curated Jenna Clifford The Wavy Rose collection of bone china by Lavish’d, which echoes the well known rose gardens of the hotel with it’s pretty floral pattern and curvy edges.

Savouries to Sweets

You can have the most spectacular surroundings, but let’s be honest, the real test of a tea experience are the treats. Executive Chef Tronette Dippenaar, has created a brand-new menu of dainty sweet and savoury delights, that will not only look enviable on your Instagram feed but also deliver in taste and texture.

What we loved about the way the tea is presented is that each treat is just the right portion size, which, with so many lovely options, is really key.

You want to try them all, it would be sacrilegious not to, so the fact that they are perfectly portioned is a real win.

A plate of stunning savouries is presented first; it includes a perfect cucumber finger sandwich (no tea experience would be complete without that), as well as a Caramelised Onion Tart, Smoked Salmon Mousse Cornets and Goats’ Cheesecake, to name just a few.

Layers of Loveliness

When the tiered stand of sweets was presented there was an audible gasp around the table, partly due to it’s classic prettiness but also because alongside it comes a basket with freshly baked buttery scones (still warm!) and beautiful banana bread too. Who could possibly eat all of this? Oh, me. I can.

The delicious sweet offering included a super moist Walnut Carrot Cake, a mini Lemon Pie, a decadent layered Opera cake and a mini Milk Tart (a total stand out).

Celebrating? Kick off tea at The Greenhouse with a glass of L’Ormarins Brut Classique Rosé (or non-alcoholic sparkling wine), and then peruse the tea menu to choose from the 11 loose-leaf teas or Lavazza coffee. While we love a good cup of coffee, the tea menu is where it’s really at – each tea blend is meticulously curated by Master Tea Blender, Mingwei Tsai; we tried the Cherry Quince Rooibos and just loved the subtle sweetness and hint of cherry flavour.

If you enjoy a floral flavour note, then be sure to sample a pot of the unique Cellars Hohenort Blend of Nigiro tea, which incorporates the spicy fragrance and bronze/apricot colour of the Liz McGrath Rose. The Liz McGrath Rose was hybridised in 2003 to commemorate the 80th birthday of the late Mrs McGrath, the founder of The Liz McGrath Collection of three sister-hotels.

Tea at The Greenhouse is an elegant affair, and the most perfect way to while away a few hours in a truly beautiful and elegant setting.

Served Wednesday to Sunday 11h00 to 13h00 & 14h00 to 16h00. R395 for Adults, R195 for Children (4-11 years). Booking is essential.

93 Brommersvlei Rd, Constantia Heights, Cape Town, 7806 | Phone: 021 794 2137

thecellars-hohenorthotel.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter