(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –The Rubens at The Palace hotel serves its Royal Afternoon Tea overlooking one of the most notable places in London: The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace. Adding to the experience, the five-star hotel is now serving its scones, pastries and finger sandwiches alongside the most expensive cup of tea in the United Kingdom.
In collaboration with tea merchants PMD Tea, The Rubens is offering its guests PMD’s Ceylon Golden Tips, a tea blend produced in the highlands of Sri Lanka. Named “The Rubens Golden Tips Tea,” a pot serving three cups is priced at £500.
Ceylon Golden Tips has a history of 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 blend back to London. Tea pluckers hand pick the tips of the small shoots at sunrise. The buds are then sun dried on a velvet cloth, turning the buds from silver to gold.
With hints of fruity notes, The Rubens Golden Tips Tea has a smooth, light texture. The tea leaves can be infused up to three times, changing the flavor profile each time.
The Rubens’ afternoon tea team is giving the Golden Tips Tea the five-star treatment, using gold tweezers to pick the leaves and weigh them. The tea will be infused using still natural mineral water and poured from a silver tea set with white glove service. Additionally, The Rubens recommend sipping on the tea before tucking into sandwiches and scones.
The Royal Afternoon Tea is served in The Rubens’ Palace Lounge daily from midday to 5 p.m. (and until 6 p.m. on Saturday).
