Tea Chest Hawaii and Halekulani Revamp Tea Program to Offer a Sense of Place

Over the past year, Tea Chest Hawaii and Halekulani have been working together to revamp the hotel's tea program to offer guests a sense of place, and in doing so, the hotel has incorporated Maui Tea Farm's Haleakala tea, along with other teas that perpetuate the islands' heritage.

The Haleakala tea is currently offered exclusively at Halekulani properties.  Its limited supply and the painstaking procedures to grow and hand-process the tea make it coveted and highly-prized.

At a recent event, we learned about the efforts it takes to cultivate the quality Haleakala tea.  We also sampled the lovely tea, which has notes of dried banana and honey.

In addition to Haleakala, we sampled the Kiawe, which had a prevalent smokiness; the Orchid, which had accents of vanilla; the Mamaki, which is known as the "forest fixer" in local culture, and has a number of health benefits.

At the event we had the opportunity to try a variety of other teas in Halekulani's collection as part of the Afternoon Tea Service at Orchids.

 I chose the Hau`oli, a mild, slightly sweet tea, which I found very pleasant.

The Afternoon Tea itself was lovely, with bites including: 

Lemon Poppy Seed Financiers and Currant Scones

Coconut Bavarian with Kaffir Lime Pearls, Jasmine Praline Eclair, Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee Bar
Chicken with Horseradish, Ham & Watercress with Grain Mustard, Cucumber with Cream Cheese & Chives, Smoked Salmon with Lemon Cream

On December 7, Orchids will debut a brand new Afternoon Tea menu!

I enjoyed the thoughtfulness behind the new tea program, and really appreciated the effort in providing guests with a more authentic, meaningful selection of teas.

Halekulani
2199 Kalia Road
Honolulu, HI  96815