Where: Tampa, Florida Style: Modern Tea Selection: 12+ loose leaf teas by TeBella Tea Company Teatimes: Saturday to Sunday, 11:30 to 2:30 Reservations: Reservations required Contact: 813-353-0930 Cost: $30 Afternoon Tea Destination Tea Tips: William Dean Chocolates is situated on the central community green in Midtown Tampa, a new 22-acre mixed-use district. Free parking is available in a large lot, parking garage and on-street (limited). Note this afternoon tea is also offered at their Belleair Bluffs location.
Destination Tea Notes: Tea friends anywhere near Tampa or Clearwater, make sure you experience afternoon tea at William Dean Chocolates. The menu is outstanding. We encourage you to make your reservations pronto, because we expect this exquisite afternoon tea service will not remain this unbelievably affordable for very long. The sleek design of William Dean’s new chocolate shop in Tampa spins a modern presentation and ambiance for afternoon tea. If at first it feels less fancy here without delicate bone china and historic Victorian grandeur, you have only to wait for the three-tiered tray to arrive before you are suitably impressed. The seasonal menu is a masterful collaboration between the store’s French pastry chef and owner Bill Dean — who was trained by renowned Swiss confectionary chef Ewald Notter’s Notter School of Pastry Arts in Orlando. We already know the teas here (blended by local TeBella Tea Company) are delightfully yummy, from our afternoon tea at nearby Oxford Exchange. The servers are doting but not disruptive, happy to bring out tea canisters for you to explore a new favorite. We say everyone will love afternoon tea here, simply for the sensational menu, but gentlemen may also favor this venue for being less frilly in its design. And before you settle the check at the counter, you just may need to peruse the designer chocolates and French pastries to see if any want to go home with you.
Look fast and you may think chocolate is dripping from the ceiling.
Glossy stormy blue tiled walls surround the clean lines of this black and white interior, with pops of gold to echo the blue and gold of the William Dean logo.
Tea Selection
Each guest is invited to choose a pot of tea. We didn’t get all the flavor we hoped out of the Orange Amaretto (though doesn’t it sound so delicious?), but the Charleston Chai with its lemongrass, coconut and candied pineapple was a table favorite.
We were recommended to try the Mango Melange, served cold, which was refreshing. Note the insulated cups and teapots that help keep all the teas to temperature, hot or cold. Yes, with hot tea, these cups can be held without burning your fingers.
We are always impressed to find actual dried fruits used to flavor a tea blend (well, in this case, a tisane).
Scones & Spreads, Savories and Sweets
Hello lovely ladies, being so patient for this tempting tray to be photographed, when all we want to do is start tasting!
Afternoon tea includes 4 or 5 savories, 2 scones with cream and jam, and 6 or 7 sweets per person
Delectable savories include Cucumber and Lemon Dill Cream Cheese Sandwich, Curried Chicken with Apricots and Almonds Sandwich, Salmon and Lemon Dill Cream Cheese Sandwich, Halibut Croquette with Herb Mayonnaise and Caramelized Leek and Bacon Quiche.
Glazed Vanilla and buttery Cheddar, Bacon & Scallion Scones are perfectly baked in a just-right size, served with cream and jam.
William Dean Chocolates went above and beyond our hopes for expertly made dreamy confections. We also admire the beauty of this dessert course, which includes Salted Caramel Macaron, Earl Grey with lemon Vanilla Jelly Bon Bon, Chocolate Glacé Apricot, Date & Mandarin/Yuzu Square, Vanilla & Raspberry Petit Four, Orange & Almond Florentine, Mango & Passion Fruit Pâte de Fruit and Poached Pear Rustic Tart with Cream.
As if we could eat one more thing (okay, we did), we sample some bonbons and decide we love the Dulce de Leche flavor.
For twenty years, give or take, we’ve had each other. Afternoon tea only makes the friendship sweeter. Tea friends are the best friends, because they’re willing to slow down with you, sip, listen and share.
Outside William Dean Chocolates, in Midtown Commons, this turtle presides over families and friends relaxing in the sunshine. Okuda San Miguel created this sculpture depicting the birth of a sea turtle among civilization “represented by a building surrounded by colorful characters, known as ‘soulkeepers’ who in the artist’s imagination represent the protection we all need to live and develop in freedom.”
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