The story and enjoyment of tea is steeped in both history and ceremony. And while traditional Afternoon Tea is served at Ritz-Carlton locations across the globe, hotels in areas heavily influenced by tea culture and cultivation are in an enviable position to offer unique and more sophisticated opportunities that heighten a guest’s experience.

At many hotels dedicated tea sommeliers will recommend selections to pair with dinner dishes and delicacies. At Tin Lung Heen at The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, for example, guests can choose from 20 premium teas that can be paired alongside the restaurant’s Michelin two-starred dishes. Chef Paul Lau also advocates the beverage’s potential health benefits, from aiding digestion to preventing heart disease. “Chinese tea will leave the body and mind refreshed and energized,” says Chef Lau. (Tea was first used medicinally, and became the de facto national beverage during, the Tang dynasty, an era known as the “golden age of tea.”)

When the tea masters at Lai Heen at The Ritz-Carlton, Macau recommend pairings, their goal is to help guests discover how tea creates additional depths and tones during the culinary journey. To help achieve a perfect trinity of flavor — aromatic tea leaves, fresh ingredients and classic Cantonese cooking techniques — many menu offerings have been curated to complement the gourmet teas offered, from a dark-roast oolong to a subtle white peony tea that uses the fresh, raw buds of the plant. These top shoots are the most delicate and mild, which lends a more refreshing taste to the steeped beverage. 

A traditional Afternoon Tea, meanwhile, is a lighter affair, with emphasis on delicacies and desserts. The Ritz-Carlton, Bali includes traditional sweets such as lapis legit — a multilayer butter treat redolent with warm spices such as cardamom, cinnamon and clove — that’s best paired with the sweet, malty flavor of local Goalpara black tea. The floral, green notes of Teh Cap Botol tea, meanwhile, best complement bites of wajik, a diamond-shaped cake made with sticky rice, coconut milk and palm sugar.