Holiday Tea at Urban Tea

After a less than stellar visit for Moon Festival Tea Service, I was invited to come back and try their Holiday Tea service. I had been to Urban Tea Merchant before with my mom and had an amazing experience, I was hoping for a repeat of that today. As we were waiting to be seated, we took a look at the new items in their retail section.
As a fan of Earl Grey tea, I was delighted to see this version, Chocolate Earl Grey tea made by TWG. Opening the tin, the chocolate smell is hidden behind the smell of the tea. Take a second sniff and you'll know what I mean. 
Another tea offering for the holiday season is their Red Christmas, a rooibos tea with strong hints of hisbiscus and clementine, truly bringing the scents of the holidays to life! 
Another offering for the season is the Noel Noel tea, a black tea with some white tea buds. The flavours are bold and it's a great after dinner drink. These teas are great for the people in your life who have everything, as it invites them to relax, take a break and truly enjoy the holidays. 
And if you don't know what teas to get for your friends, you can always opt to get them a teapot instead. Urban Tea Merchant has a wide selection of them, some traditional and some bordering on whimsical, like the one shown above. 

If you are not in the food for a full tea service, you can drop by and purchase a macaroon or two...prettily displayed here.
We started off with a Red Christmas infused Prosecco Cocktail (you can upgrade to a flute of Veuve Clicquot instead). The flavours of the tea does come through and you can clearly taste it over the sweet prosecco.
We also got some Petit-Chou to start accompanied with their “Weekend in St Tropez” butter, which had a light touch of citrus. The pastries are fluffy and really light, and not oily at all.  The best thing is to pull one open and put a generous pat of the butter inside.

We got these huge tins of teas to help us pick out the tea that we wanted. I went with the White Christmas, which I fell in love with when I first smelled it. According to their website, the tea is made from Precious Yin Zhen (silver needles) blended with orange peel, hibiscus and spices. This was delightful and I loved how they brewed this tea in a clear glass pot, so you can really appreciate the golden colours of the tea.

And here is our Holiday Tea Service, three layers of savoury and sweets!

The bottom tier is filled with sandwiches and crostinis. There are a total of eight items, ranging from a Yam Puree Pastry Puff, a Crostini topped with Boursin Cheese and a “Singapore Breakfast Tea” Sesame Crusted Seared Ahi, and two variations of the “Red Christmas Tea” Turkey Tea Sandwiches, complete with cranberry sauce and dijon mustard. These are paired with the cornichons you see in the middle.
Highlights for me included the Smoked Salmon Ribbon with the Ponzu Jelly strip. The salmon was thinly sliced and served on top a thin slice of rye. The ponzu jelly is all you need to flavour the salmon.
The Roast Beef Double Decker is a new item for me, and I loved the medium rare roast beef. Nothing is worse than overcooked roast beef. The extra layer of bread is probably not necessary, but it does offer a visual difference from the other tea sandwiches.
And the standard that comes with almost every tea service, the “Lapsang Souchong Tea” Chicken Salad Cone. Although I've always found the cone to be a bit too sweet, the chicken salad is solidly savoury and the cone is filled to the brim with with it. I remember when it used to be served in little petit chou cups but it's just as tasty as ever.
  The next tier is filled with Scones, little creme brulee Chocolate Cups as well as a delightful Gingerbread Cake with a Red Christmas Tea icing.  The Devonshire cream is made in house and a little terrine of strawberry jam complements the sones. I loved the poinsettia made from fondant and the holly decoration made with pomegranate seeds and a sprig of mint. How pretty! My favourite was the cake with the scones a close second.  
On the top tier, there are lots of Seasonal Fruits, such as gooseberies, pineapple, starfruit and even persimmon. The Chevron Strawberries are a classic, we also have Petit Fours, Macaroons and the Chocolate Tea Truffles rounding out the plate. 

Take Note:

• The staff are very knowledgeable and passionate about the teas
• Breathe deeply when opening the tins of teas, you'll get more out of it
• Not sure if you want milk or not? Ask the staff and let them guide you.