afternoon tea at kahala

Today, BFF and I went to the Kahala Hotel & Resort. This year, we are celebrating milestone birthdays, so we decided to treat ourselves to the Afternoon Tea service at the Veranda.

We both got the Classic Tea Service (US$28 + tax). This includes a lot of different items plus your choice of Mariage Frères Tea. I was first introduced to Mariage Frères by another blogger, whose blog as of 2012 is no longer, and now love their teas. I decided to choose a "flavor" that I can't find in Japan...Bouddha Bleu, a green tea sprinkled with blue cornflowers. The fragrance is light and very relaxing. BFF chose the Wedding Imperial, a golden Assam kissed with a hint of chocolate and caramel. With a splash of milk, she really enjoyed this one.

On the top tier, was the hotel's scones--cranberry scones and chocolate chip scones. Since BFF bakes, she wasn't impressed by these. Actually they reminded us of the local stone cookies. Kind of dense and more like cookies.

The middle tier had the "traditional" high tea fair--Goat cheese and apple crostini (cheese from Maui's Surfing Goat Dairy), Maui Onion tart (caramelized onions, fresh thyme on a savory pastry), Confit of Tuna Sandwich (with fresh basil mayo and lemon), Smoke salmon mousse (piped into a cucumber cup topped with tobiko)

And the bottom tier had several tea treats--Pavlova tartlet (passion fruit cream, meringue & fresh fruits), Mai Tai Eclair (pastry shell filled pineapple & rum cream then dipped in chocolate), Strawberry Shortcake (a light fluffy cake filled with strawberry jam and cream) and Guava Linzer (a hazelnut shortbread filled with guava marmalade).

We really enjoyed the bottom two layers and the time we spent there. (Thanks BFF!)

Kahala Hotel & Resort
5000 Kahala Avenue
Honolulu, Oahu
Phone: 808.739.8888