Teaism, Penn Quarter, Washington DC

My book club planned to meet at Teaism, a casual self-seating restaurant that has an Asian flare, in DC’s Penn Quarter one Sunday afternoon, which made me very excited about the prospect of having afternoon tea (we all know how much I love those!!!).

Everyday from 2:30-5:30pm, Teaism has the option of ordering the following afternoon teas:

Traditional Menu 20.00
Tea sandwiches, ginger scone, cookies, lime curd tartlets, chocolate truffles, and a pot of tea

Asian Menu 20.00
Rice balls with pickle & sesame, tea cured salmon & nori, tofu with ginger, green tea ice cream, mochi, chocolate truffles, and a pot of tea

Because I am a sucker for tea sandwiches and scones, I had to go with the traditional menu.  In fact, I ended up splitting it with a friend of mine, and we just ordered another pot of tea (I ordered a Keemun black tea, since I know I love that) since the menu only comes with one pot. Sharing was such a great idea since I felt very satiated from my half.

The best part of the menu was their ginger scone, hands down (get the recipe here). If you like ginger, you will love these sweet scones, especially with a little bit of the marmalade. 

I really enjoyed their cucumber sandwiches that were made with rice vinegar.  Their cookies (on the bottom tier) were OK, but I LOVED the mini tart.  

 The truffle tasted like a matcha white chocolate truffle that I was NOT a fan of.  I didn't like the fudgy consistency and I didn't like the super sweet taste either.  The fact that it was green didn't help :)

Some mores notes:

- This is not a traditional tea room, so don't expect unlimited tea or table service like normal.  In fact, don't expect many other people ordering the afternoon tea....
- They don't have descriptions of teas on their menu!  This always bothers me!  I don't know what "Now and Zen" is or "World Peace," for example.
- If you are ordering tea from the small selection on the menu, don't forget to look at the chalkboard around the register - there are more listed there.

Overall, though I enjoyed everything I ate, it really is just the wrong atmosphere for a two-tiered afternoon tea.  I am glad I tried it, but I think next time I would order a pot of tea, some ginger scones and something savory since all the other items that my friends chose looked really good.