SIP ON UK’S MOST EXPENSIVE CUP OF TEA

Being the most expensive anything isn’t always a selling point—unless you are talking about English tea! Brit tea-lovers are the first to brag about this time-honored experience, afternoon tea. The Rubens at The Palace 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 the UK’s most expensive cup of tea. This cup of tea may not make the list of the most expensive things in the world, but this is one you might be able to splurge on!

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—that’s about $624.

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 skillfully hand pick the tips of the small, succulent shoots of a special tea plant at sunrise. The buds are then sundried 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 flavor profile changing each time for the drinker to enjoy a new depth of flavor.

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 savor its delicate flavor.

The Royal Afternoon Tea is served in The Rubens’ Palace Lounge daily from midday – 5 p.m. (and until 6 p.m. on Saturday). The Afternoon Tea is priced from £45 per person, and The Rubens Golden Tips Tea is priced at an additional £500 per pot.

For more information about The Rubens Golden Tips Tea blend and the hotel’s Royal Afternoon Tea, please visit the hotel’s website here.

Photos courtesy of The Rubens/ TravMedia