The Rubens at The Palace hotel in London is now serving an exquisite £500 pot of Golden Tips Tea, which can be sipped overlooking The Royal Mews.
The hotel serves its Royal Afternoon Tea in London’s most regal location, overlooking The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace. Adding to this already illustrious experience, the five-star hotel is now serving its freshly baked scones, pastries and finger sandwiches alongside one of the world’s – and the UK’s – most expensive cup of tea. In collaboration with specialist tea merchants PMD Tea, The Rubens is exclusively offering its guests PMD’s fine Ceylon Golden Tips, a rare tea blend produced in the highlands of Sri Lanka. Titled “The Rubens Golden Tips Tea,” a pot serving three cups is priced at £500, or approximately $817.
Ceylon Golden Tips has a history of exclusivity and high prices in London. In 1891, a pound of Golden Tips was sold for the equivalent of £1,260. Over a century later, PMD Tea is bringing the special hand-picked blend back to London, exclusively available at The Rubens. Expert tea pluckers skilfully hand pick the tips of the small, succulent shoots of a special tea plant at sunrise. The buds are then sun dried on a velvet cloth with the upmost care, turning the buds from silver to gold.
The Rubens Golden Tips Tea has a smooth, light, mellow texture with hints of fruity notes. The tea leaves can be infused up to three times, with the flavour profile changing each time for the drinker to enjoy a new depth of flavour.
The Rubens’ afternoon tea team is giving the Golden Tips Tea the five-star treatment – gold tweezers will be used to pick the leaves and weigh them with precision. The tea will be infused using still natural mineral water and poured from a special silver tea set with white glove service. The Rubens recommends sipping on the tea before tucking into sandwiches and scones in order to truly savour its delicate flavour.
The Royal Afternoon Tea is served in The Rubens’ Palace Lounge daily from midday – 5 p.m. (and until 6 p.m. on Saturdays). The Afternoon Tea is priced from £45 per person, and The Rubens Golden Tips Tea is priced at an additional £500 per pot.
