First of all I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! As always I’m so grateful to you, my readers, who have been following along with me throughout the years. I also wanted to take the opportunity to say, “Welcome!” to those of you who are new here to The Avid Pen. I hope that you will continue to follow along and find inspiration in the everyday.
In this post I’m sharing about a recent surprise tea that my mom treated me to at The Ballantyne Hotel, it was the perfect early Christmas present. It is also THE place to go if you’re looking for a unique (and relaxing) afternoon tea experience in the Charlotte area, and we always enjoy not only what delicious treats we’re served at each of the teas we’ve attended over the years, but also the atmosphere and interacting with the always welcoming staff at The Ballantyne.
Every Thursday-Sunday from 1-4pm afternoon tea is available in the lobby at The Ballantyne, and no matter where you sit where in the main ‘atrium’ of the lobby, which is lovely and open as well as the renovated area I like to call ‘the living room’, you’re sure to enjoy your afternoon tea experience.
For our the Holiday Tea we decided to sit in the welcoming wing backed chairs in the atrium area with a view of the large Christmas tree and the harpist who played Christmas themed songs throughout the tea.
I could not hide how happy I was about the surprise afternoon tea.
Chamomile
I always enjoy seeing how much attention to detail The Ballantyne puts into creating the treats that you will enjoy during your afternoon tea experience. My favorite of the pastries (besides the eggnog scones) was the Cherry Mousse Tart with preserved cherries. It was light, airy and the sweetest part about the dessert was the preserved cherry (which was oh, so delicious!)
Since I always enjoyed savory over sweet (in general, but there are exceptions) I always go for the egg salad sandwiches first, and for this particular there was also a savory mushroom tart that was one of the best savory tarts I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy. I would have been happy with just a plateful of the mushroom tarts, the cherry mousse and the egg nog scones. Absolute perfection!
If you’re planning on visiting the Ballantyne in the New Year for one of the themed afternoon teas, I have an exciting announcement. In March (the exact dates will be on the Ballantyne’s website) they will be hosting a My Fair Lady themed afternoon tea!
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