Where: West Palm Beach, Florida Style: Vintage “old Florida” and luxury modern Tea Selection: 6 loose leaf teas by Jenwey Tea Co. Teatimes: Saturday to Sunday, 12 to 5 Reservations: 48-hour notice Contact:Reserve here, 561-655-4001 Cost: $75 Add Glass of Perrier Jouet; $55 Proper Weekend Tea Destination Tea Tip: Request a printed menu to see all the tea blend descriptions and tea cocktail choices.
Destination Tea Notes: Five years ago, luxury hotel The Ben West Palm opened in Florida, inspired by the Victorian home of President Zachary Taylor’s grandniece, Byrd Spilman Dewey. One of Palm Beach County’s original great homes, Dewey’s Ben Trovato Estate was built in 1892, when only 200 people lived in the area. Today, The Ben’s modern facade gives way to an eclectic blend of textures and design elements meant to honor Dewey’s conservationist and animal-loving pursuits. They even make a nod to her writing career by clipping the check to her most famous book, “Bruno.” We enjoyed the stylish space and tableside tea service at Proper Grit, the hotel’s main floor restaurant and bar. The freshly prepared afternoon tea menu featured perfectly-sized bites, saving the best for last. One of the highlights here was our server Shannon, who patiently invited us to take an aroma tour of our tea choices, and taught us a new way to enjoy the edible flowers decorating the tiered tray – he was the perfect host!
Walk through the lobby to enter Proper Grit.
Floor-to-ceiling windows invite natural light to brighten our tea table.
Tea Selection
We should have asked to see the menus on the tea cart, to better understand the ingredients of each tea blend. We would like to see more caffeinated, true teas offered.
We very much appreciated Shannon taking the time to invite us to smell the fragrance of each blend to help us make our choices.
One of us went with the Proper Grit Boutique Blend (holiday spices, hibiscus and sweet cinnamon), appreciating the generous amount of tea leaves used for these four-cup pots.
We like that tea infusers are provided with matching receptacles to hold them once steeping is complete, but would like each tea to be brewed at its proper temperature. Instead, hot water from an insulated carafe is used for all teas.
The Smoked Bourbon Caramel tea blended a Lapsang Souchong with a Caramel Rooibos that was richly delicious.
Ms. Dewey would approve! The Ben West Palm offers Florida Crystals sugar, locally sourced from the largest Regenerative Organic Certified® farm in the U.S.
Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets
Proper Grit bills their savories as “two-bite sandwiches,” which we agree makes for the perfectly sized tea sandwich.
Breads were a bit thick, but wonderfully soft.
Tea sandwiches were tasty: Brie & Blackberry, Cucumber and Arugula, Smoked Salmon and Whipped Herb Cream, Tuna Confit Salad with Lemon Aioli, Cubano Sandwich…
and Mini Maine Lobster Rolls.
The scones were good not great, almond and plain, not as soft as we’d like.
These were served with a whipped cream, delicious jam and orange marmalade, which Shannon advised us to spread on our marigolds as well. The perfect balance to the slightly bitter flower.
Four desserts included a madeleine, lemon macaron, freshly made mini fruit tartlet and our favorite: a creamy dreamy mini dark chocolate hazelnut tartlet.
The Ben West Palm sells special editions of “Bruno,” which Ms. Dewey wrote in 1899, from her Ben Trovato estate in West Palm Beach.
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