My expectations were high for fancy tea party at KC shop. It didn’t disappoint
The notes of French melodies “C’est Magnifique” and “La Vie En Rose” wafted through the air as we walked into the room. Croissants and sweet pastries lined the tables, with empty teacups waiting to be filled. It was an aesthetic and tasty start to the tea party.
With a name like Yvette, it’s no wonder I am drawn to the French. Yes, I am a bit of a Francophile, with a love for singer Jacques Brel and TinTin, the teenage amateur detective in a series of beloved children’s books. (And yes, I do know they both are Belgian.)
So when I had an opportunity to sip tea at a real French tea room, I said oui. You might recall that I wrote about visiting a Kansas City tea room when a friend and I honored our moms there by remembering them on Mother’s Day.
Back then, we sat in the front of Emilie’s French Teas and selected our teas and pastries. But I noticed a room in the back where they held tea parties — how fun! — and knew I’d be back.
Proprietor Emilie Jackson, along with her husband, Alex, own Emilie’s, which is housed inside the couple’s Centered Spirit Cultural and Holistic Center at 8131 Wornall Road in Waldo. You can get a massage and even have an infrared sauna with tea. But I was obsessed with the tea party.
Thoughts of buttery croissants, macarons and tea filled my head. The day didn’t disappoint.
This is an adult tea party, mind you, with beautiful china, teapots and tasting cups from French porcelain makers. While I do believe this could be a wonderful experience for mothers and their little girls, tiny hands must be careful around the delicate cups and saucers.
But don’t think of this as a childish experience. Five mature friends and I — four women and two men — visited on a Saturday afternoon and were delighted by the varieties of teas, along with the selection of both savory and sweet offerings.
First course: Savory
When you arrive the table is dressed with all the sweet pastries: caneles, croissants and pastries of the day (we had pecan braids), but Emilie Jackson encouraged us to start with the savory and brought out four warmed petite quiches and puffs.
Each diner gets their own assortment. Of the mini-quiches, we had artichoke and sun-dried tomatoes; peppers, olives and feta; spinach and cheese; and a raspberry and brie phyllo puff. I ate heartily and they were gone quickly. But don’t worry about leaving hungry, there were a lot of pasties still to come.
While snacking on the savory, the first of the teas came out. There were six of us, so we each could choose a different flavor of tea, from black to green, matcha, oolong, white, rooibos and honeybush, and tisanes varieties. We shared using the tasting cups.
Jackson brought out the first three: Gout Russe (a version of Earl Grey), Jasmine and AniChai (flavored with Indian spices of ginger, cloves, red peppercorn and cardamom).
The Gout Russe was lovely, adding orange essence to the traditional bergamot oil. I was also drawn to the AniChai. I’m not a big fan of chai tea normally, but this was served without milk, and I appreciated its rich aroma and clarity without the dairy clouding the tea.
Second course: Sweet
After the four savory bites were gone, we didn’t wait to move on to the selections that had been staring us in the face. Each of us got a pecan braid, a canale, one large butter croissant and one large chocolate croissant to share.
The final sweet offerings that weren’t already on the table were the macarons and canales, a small French pastry containing a mix of vanilla, rum, egg, butter, sugar, and flour that is apparently challenging to make. I’d never tasted a canale and I appreciated the chewy caramel exterior and the pillowy interior.
If you rate a pastry shop by its macarons, give Emilie’s a 10. We each picked a different flavor: chocolate, coffee, lemon, pistachio, raspberry and vanilla. They were sweet and slightly cakey, slightly chewy, just like a macaron should be. The tops were not cracked, so bravo, Emilie’s!
Jackson brought out the remaining three teas we selected: Sticky Rice, Nuit A Versailles (a night in Versailles) and Smokey Lapsang. All were bold and complex, perfect pairings with the sweet pastries.
The Smokey Lapsang was so complex you could add it as a rub to brisket. It smelled like a smokehouse. The Sticky Rice smelled like, well, sticky rice.
Did you know that tea can be as fascinating as wine? In fact, Jackson told me she is on her way to certification as a tea sommeiller. Emilie’s also offers tea education classes.
I thought I’d be ready for dinner in a few hours, but after eating so many little bites and drinking so much tea, dinner came much later that evening. In fact, I couldn’t finish my canale. I ate it the next day.
How to book your tea party
You can have at least six guests and up to 12 for the tea party, which costs $41 per person, plus tax and 25% service charge. For six partiers, it came to $330.81 — not an inexpensive endeavor. But I can see many ways to enjoy this special day: out with girlfriends, moms and older daughters, bridal party fun, even a co-ed group like ours.
Tea parties are held weekends only, with two seating options: mornings at 10 or 11, or afternoons at 1 or 2. Expect to spend two hours..
After you book your party with 50% down, Jackson is a perfect hostess even before the event. She lets you know your choices and will answer any questions you may have, especially if this is your first tea party.
