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 Where Business is Brewing
Afternoon tea may seem an unlikely place to get business done, but more and more executives — men included — are discovering the benefits of
this late-day ritual.
BY MICHAEL KAPLAN
If you think afternoon tea is the exclusive domain of ladies with fancy hats who fetishize tiny sandwiches, it’s time to change your way of thinking. Slowly but surely, in posh hotels and tea houses across America, pots of English Breakfast and Oolong — along with three-tiered trays of elegant savories, scones, and sweets — are fueling high-powered tête-à-têtes between businesspeople of both sexes. Don’t worry, carnivores: Strip steaks for lunch and bacon-fueled power breakfasts aren’t exactly disappearing. But some hard-charging executives are finding that afternoon tea serves as an ideal backdrop for making deals and mapping strategies.
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POWER TEA PLACES
Here are top spots for tea at hotels around the country.
• New York, The Peninsula New York
The librarylike setting of the Gotham Lounge makes it feel as though you’re taking tea at a fine British estate. (212) 956-2888, www.peninsula.com
• Chicago, The Drake Hotel
The Palm Court Lounge offers afternoon tea by its fountain and an immense floral arrangement.
(312) 787-2200, www.thedrakehotel.com
• Dallas, Hotel Adolphus
Queen Anne furnishings adorn The Lobby Living
Room, where tea is served. (214) 742-8200,
www.hoteladolphus.com
• Las Vegas, Petrossian Bar at the Bellagio
A sophisticated respite in the heart of Vegas.
(702) 693-7111, www.bellagio.com
• Los Angeles, Hotel Bel-Air
The Hotel Bel-Air takes tea time seriously, and the exquisite service is offered at The Restaurant or on The Terrace overlooking the property’s “Swan Lake.” (310) 472-5234, www.hotelbelair.com
• Miami (Coral Gables), Biltmore Hotel
You’ll get a glimpse of the hotel’s historic grandeur as you sip tea in the lobby. (305) 445-8066, ext. 2779, www.biltmorehotel.com
• San Francisco, The Ritz-Carlton
Afternoon tea in The Lobby Lounge is accompanied by a harpist. (415) 296-7465, www.ritzcarlton.com
| | On a recent afternoon at New York City’s Peninsula Hotel, inside the elegant, art-adorned Gotham Lounge, three of the cozy tables are occupied by well-dressed men sipping tea and talking business. And why not? The atmosphere is relaxed and intimate and private, underscoring the degree to which the Gotham is an ideal place to discuss matters that might require some discretion. Drinking tea disarms any of the macho pretenses that can get in the way of a serious business-oriented chat. There’s no awkwardness over whether or not to indulge in brain-fuzzing cocktails (though a glass of champagne is plenty acceptable). And the smoked salmon sandwiches on pumpernickel bread, topped by a tiny dollop of caviar, are sensational.
Plus, with or without your BlackBerry present, drinking tea in a formalized setting is an extremely civilized thing to do, and it’s second nature in many cultures. According to Elizabeth Knight, author of Tea in the City: New York and a tea consultant for hotels around the United States, countries such as India, England, China, and Japan all have a variety of customs — none of which preclude men taking afternoon tea and using it as an alternative to the clichéd power lunch. Folks in Hong Kong augment their tea with dim sum. The Japanese prep for cups of green tea by first ingesting sweets made with bean paste and pounded rice. “In India,” says Knight, “they take a freshly baked tea leaf, put it in a tempura batter, and deep-fry it.” She looks like she longs for Bombay as she smiles and adds, “Delicious.”
Knight is sitting across from me at the Peninsula, offering a crash course in tea etiquette for men (work your way down the platter from scones to sandwiches to sweets; don’t just pick and choose whatever strikes your fancy at a given moment), and she says she has seen the rise of afternoon tea among gentlemen. “They usually come in at four o’clock rather than three,” says Knight. “It’s late in the day, and I think they schedule their meetings with the intention of heading home afterward, rather than going back to the office.” Just as important, unlike lunch, which can be overly time consuming, tea is brief. The light meal is all pre-prepared and ready to go as soon as guests arrive.
When asked why tea is enjoying a boomlet of popularity now, she replies, “I’m not sure why it didn’t happen sooner. After all, men have been interested in tea for centuries — just not in America.” Knight sees the new demand for tea — according to James Norwood Pratt, author of New Tea Lovers Treasury, tea sales in the United States currently exceed $8 billion, up from half a billion in 1990 — growing largely out of the fact that people are traveling more and becoming increasingly worldly. “It’s not unlike the wine revolution that has taken place in this country. Now tea is having its day.”
Arguably, it is about time. The history of afternoon tea — not to be confused with high tea, which actually takes place at 5 p.m. and is more of a supper — began around 1839 when Anne Maria Stanhope (aka, the Duchess of Bedford and one of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting) sought a cure for what she described as “the sinking feeling” she experienced each afternoon at around 4 p.m. Tea and razor-thin butter sandwiches proved to be the panacea she needed. Eventually she invited friends to join her, scones and elaborate sweets got incorporated into the menu, and afternoon tea between the hours of 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. evolved into the toast of London society. Sherry, champagne, and port were added to make things a bit more festive, and afternoon tea soon became de rigueur among ladies of a certain ilk. Topping it all off, at the time there was a movement afoot to use teas from India (a British colony) rather than China, which made the very act of afternoon tea feel vaguely patriotic.
As Knight and I soak in the Peninsula’s mellow vibe, enjoying the rich and smoky scent of my Lapsang Souchong tea (perfectly compatible with the palates of Scotch drinkers — and, in fact, it’s sometimes augmented by a tipple of single malt), I find myself coming around to her way of thinking. Maybe I’ll even arrange to do my next interview over cups of tea and bites of tiny sandwiches. But first I need to learn a little bit of the etiquette. For starters, what don’t I do? The first thing, Knight explains, is obvious: Don’t touch anything on the three-tiered platter unless you intend to eat it or at least put it on your plate. If you want to see what something looks like, turn the platter around. And avoid eating the sandwiches with a fork and knife (those utensils are for the cakes). Also, don’t ask for cream to go with your tea. Despite all the ballyhooed richness that’s associated with afternoon tea, it’s milk that mixes with your English Breakfast (cream, she explains, is just too overwhelming).
STEEPED IN CULTURE
While Westerners tuck into posh tea rooms, many in Japan find respite and refreshment inside their own tea house, one of Japan’s most original and significant architectural forms. Tea houses by some of Japan’s most renowned architects are captured in The Contemporary Tea House (Kodansha International) by Arata Isozaki, Tadao Ando, and Terunobu Fujimori.
The book explains how tea houses — small, simple spaces that traditionally feature a hearth, straw-mat flooring, and low entrances — are used mainly as a stage for the tea ceremony, though some use the space to meditate or read. And after reading this visually stunning book, you may yearn to have your own such place designed. — Lori Stacy
| While on the subject, Knight points out that I should keep the milk out of white, green, and fragranced teas. “And when you do use milk,” she says, “don’t add it to the tea. Add the tea to the milk. Milk is an emulsion and tea is a solvent.” As she explains this (none of which is an issue for me, since I like tea the way I like coffee: black), I look down at my pot and realize that the tea leaves (not bagged but strained) have been steeping for quite a while. How strong, I ask, is too strong? After five minutes in hot water, explains Knight, it starts to get there. “Your waiter should come by and ask if you want to dilute what remains in the pot.”
One of the tastiest delectables here — and, indeed, a hallmark of English tea — is the mound of clotted cream served alongside a glistening mound of fresh strawberry jam. It goes on the scones, and, Knight advises, “Put the jam on first, then the cream. It will keep everything from sliding off.” And when it’s time for a refill of tea, the host should do the pouring.
I top off Knight’s cup, await dilution from our ever-attentive waiter, and reach for a small crab sandwich. It’s delightful, as is everything about this English custom that is long overdue for us Yanks — whether it’s a business tea with colleagues or a social tea with friends.
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