One of the highlights of the Washington, DC spring season is, of course, the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Many area bars and restaurants celebrate the annual event, adding special cocktails and dishes to their menus. The best of the bunch is the Willard Hotel cherry blossom tea. This exquisite high tea is served in the hotel’s beautiful Peacock Alley during March and April.
To embrace the cherry blossom theme, I selected one of the two special blends available: the Japan Kirsch, a delicate green tea with hints of cherry and blackberry flavor. A small timer was helpfully placed on the table so I knew when my pot of tea was perfectly brewed.
The tea treats were served on a classic three-tier tray, on china custom-made for the Willard Hotel. Cherries or Japanese flavors were playfully incorporated into each bite. Having learned from past mistakes, I started with the sweets on the top tray figuring I would like them least. While technically this turned out to be true, this tray was still a tasty arrangement. My favorite of the bunch was the red bean éclair, surprising since I don’t normally like that flavor. Here it was very subtle, letting the chocolate and flaky pastry shine through. I also enjoyed the crispy green tea shortbread and cherry cake seasoned with brandy. I only wish the latter had been bigger! The least popular flower in the bouquet was the cherry and cream parfait, which seemed to stand in for the Japanese moon cake listed on the menu but was missing in action.
From there I moved onto the scones, one made with dried cherries and the other with ginger. Both were buttery, crumbly and supremely soft. There was an assortment of spreads to go with them, including a delightful cherry jam.
Of the savory treats, I was most enamored of the smoked salmon with dill cream cheese on pumpernickel. The creamy tarragon chicken salad with dried cherries was packed with flavor and a close second. I also thoroughly enjoyed the robustness of the goat cheese roulade, complemented by tart cherries and peppery arugula. The egg salad tasted good, but I found it a bit starchy. I had to check the menu to see if it was actually egg or potato. While a few of these buds didn’t reach peak bloom, this cherry blossom tea is a worthy extravagance.
Opened in 1847 and located one block from the White House, the Willard InterContinental Hotel is as luxurious as it is historic. The hotel hosted the first-ever Japanese delegation to the United States in 1860 and has been visited by nearly every U.S. president since the 1850s. According to local lore, Ulysses S. Grant held court in the lobby, giving birth to the political concept of “lobbying”.
Would you like to indulge in the Willard Hotel Cherry Blossom tea? Visit the hotel’s official website for current dates and pricing. Reservations are essential.
For details on the National Cherry Blossom Festival, check out my guide here.
Wow! That looks so good, I’ve never had a Cherry Blossom themed tea, but I’d love to if I get to eat these delicious cheery jam and cakes 🙂
That jam was so good, I wish they’d sold jars to take home!
Wow, the hotel looks amazing and the food sounds delicious! I love scones, but can be very fussy about what makes a good one, though these look to be hitting all the buttons!
My biggest complaint is when scones are dry and these most definitely were not! And though they weren’t warm, they still tasted freshly made. I could have eaten another!
The hotel looks beautiful! And I always love an afternoon tea.
It was fun to sit there sipping my tea and think about all the former U.S. presidents holding court in the lobby 🙂
Heather, you made me so hungry right now! This place is so beautiful and posh. I would probably not know how to dress for this place and how to behave properly like a lady :). I’m jealous to see all of these cakes and muffins on your table. Which one was your favourite one?
The salmon with dill and cream cheese on pumpernickel bread was my favorite. The salmon had been smoked with cherry wood and it tasted so good! After that I liked the ginger scone with cherry jam. I could have eaten an entire basket of them!
A fancy afternoon tea is one of my favorite guilty pleasures! This looks divine, and I love the twist on the “cherry blossoms”, too! We ran the Cherry Blossom race in DC a few years ago, and were delighted by the weather and pretty pink flowers!
I’m glad you had nice weather for the race! The season can be so unpredictable. It was 70 a few days ago and now I’m looking out my window at a snow storm.
Lovely description of the delights available at this afternoon tea with a flowery twist, Heather! I love the little extra info on the etymology of the word ‘lobbying’ – I find this stuff so interesting! We will miss cherry blossom season in Japan this year, but glad to see you can get a taste of it in other places around the world!
Thanks, Jessica! Growing up near DC, I always took the cherry blossoms for granted so I’m trying to appreciate them fully during our short time back. I still haven’t experienced them in Japan, but it’s on my list! 🙂
Ah yes please, I would probably eat everyone on each tier, the tea you ordered sounded delicious. Wow, this is really a beautiful tea service – would love to attend when I visit DC sometime again in the future.
Every plate was empty by the time we left 🙂
What a beautiful lobby! And afternoon tea looked especially yummy! My favourite part about afternoon tea are the savoury bites 🙂 thus is making think of going to one myself!
I’m with you, Rosemarie, I almost always prefer the savory bites. That’s why I’ve decided to start saving them for last and not end on a sugar overload. I hope you find a nice one to go to! 🙂
What a gorgeous hotel and food! I would love to relax one afternoon in a place like this
I know, the lobby was so nice I can only imagine what the rest of the hotel must look like! I regret not wandering around a little more 🙂
That green tea sounds great! And I love red beans, I mean I really love red beans, delicious things.
I like red beans too, in dishes like chili. 🙂 The Asian inclination to use them in desserts in place of perfectly good chocolate always confuses me. Thankfully the flavor was very subtle here. And the tea was great, very smooth. I wish they’d sold take-away containers!
Haha! I meant I love red beans used in sweet foods! It’s definitely the thing I miss most about Asia. I love sweet red bean cakes, breads, milks teas etc. and sweet red bean soup is my favourite (from Taiwan). Most Westerners apparently don’t like sweet red beans though I hear.
I know some Westerners who like sweet red beans, I’m just not one of them 🙂
What a great way to spend an afternoon. I love scones.
Am going to try making them one of these days. What
a beautiful hotel. To be so old and still be so lovely!!!
I’ve been impressed with the bar at the Willard but never tried the tea–looks like a wonderful experience!
And I’ve never been to the Willard’s bar! We’ll have to switch places and compare notes 🙂
Wow! Very impressive, gorgeous and luxuriant hotel. I love the muffins very much, so cute 🙂
The muffin was adorable and delicious – I could have eaten a dozen of them!
Going to Washington for cherry blossom season is on my bucket list…I’m thinking maybe next year we’ll have to finally do this!!! Any other tips that you have for us would be wonderful!
You should, it’s beautiful! Once they bloom, I’ll do a post about the festival so stay tuned. My advice would be not to plan the trip to far in advance because they bloom at different times every year. Sometimes it’s at the end of March, but if it’s been a bad winter like this year, peak bloom can be as late as mid April. The Washington Post website usually has the prediction, along with the schedule of events.
What a gorgeous room, made even more gorgeous with the addition of cherry blossoms. Visiting Washington DC at cherry blossom time is definitely on my bucket list.
This was such a lovely experience, Lesley, and I just saw on social media that the Willard will offering it again this year. I highly recommend it if you find yourself in DC for cherry blossom season!