Where: Stonecrest, Georgia Style: Traditional Tea Selection: 14 loose leaf teas by Tea Amour Teatimes: Parties of 6 or more, Saturday to Sunday, 12 pm or 3 pm Reservations: Pre-paid reservations required Contact: Reserve here Cost: $55 Afternoon Tea; $45 Daily Tea Destination Tea Tip: When you first walk into New Black Wall Street Market, a greeter will direct you to Mattie’s Tea Room. Leave time to shop the 100+ black-owned businesses throughout NBWS.
Destination Tea Notes: When several lovely ladies of the Atlanta Afternoon Tea Society met for afternoon tea at Mattie’s Tea Room last month, we felt as if we were attending a hosted tea party, complete with group mimosa toast, welcome presentations, games and prizes. To formally begin the afternoon, General Manager Onethia Flowers introduced us to the history of New Black Wall Street Market and Mattie’s Tea Room (named for the wife of NBWS founder Bill Allen). We learned that exactly 100 years after Tulsa, Oklahoma’s “Black Wall Street” was destroyed in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, New Black Wall Street opened in Georgia to carry forward the legacy of Black Wall Street by encouraging patronage in a growing number of minority and women-owned businesses. In that spirit, Flowers turned over the mic to NBWS vendor Jaye Mosley to describe her Tea Amour teas served here, and Chef Tonisha Jackson to present her homemade afternoon tea menu. We were impressed by the beautifully appointed tearoom and doting waitstaff, and fully supported Flowers’ request that we silence our phones, because as she says, “This is the time to enjoy the person that’s in front of you.” We’d recommend some tweaks mentioned below to make this an afternoon tea that delights from start to finish.
Opened in 2021 in a former Target, New Black Wall Street Market is home to Mattie’s Tea Room.
Wainscoting and chandelier add elegance to the tearoom, which can easily seat a large party. Note the tearoom only opens as an event space for pre-paid parties of six or more.
A mix of comfortable and stylish dining chairs
Our group sat at this spacious dining table overlooked by a gorgeous antique.
Tea Selection
Our server was also in the spirit, dressed beautifully for afternoon tea, welcoming us with mimosas.
We appreciate a tea menu with a little bit of each variety tea, as well as herbals. Guests are invited to choose a tea, and then try another later in the meal. Champagne Raspberry White Tea and Amaretto Amour Rooibos were the popular orders at our table.
General Manager Onethia Flowers explained that because service is paramount to her staff, the loose leaf teas (which we expect are delicious when properly brewed) are offered in personal sachets, over which hot water is poured. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen at several other Atlanta afternoon teas this year, this method often results in a weak brew, as the water is not the proper temperature. Secondly, it creates a small mess at afternoon tea, as the removed tea bag dribbles tea into the saucer, such that the cup drips tea when you lift it to sip. We suggested steeping the teas in back and bringing teapots out to the table or having brewed pots of tea over warmers on a side table, if pouring for the guests is part of the experience they want to provide.
Sleek golden tiered trays arrive, garnished with fresh flowers.
Some may want for a finger sandwich rather than these petit squares, but we appreciate the small bite of Classic Cucumber Dill, Chicken Salad and Classic Egg Salad sandwiches. We agreed the Smoked Salmon was a bit leathery, tough to bite through.
Mini crustless quiches were our favorite savory, the perfect creamy morsel. Scones however seemed underdone, and had a dense, compact interior.
The dessert course is where this menu shined, including Lemon Brownies, Tres Leches Macaroons, Sweet Potato Praline Cheesecake and Peach Cobbler Bread Pudding, all again the perfect small bite for an afternoon tea.
Our first tea rebus! We pause our afternoon tea table talk for a round of “Teapot Pictionary” which had everyone laughing…
…and a trivia competition to see what we remembered of the talk about New Black Wall Street Market, and here is our winner!
We love comments! Destination Tea's comment policy shares a guiding principle with afternoon tea etiquette: please be gracious. We welcome honest comments that are not rude or scathing.
