High Tea at Harvey Nichols

            Lewis Carroll’s children story, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has one of the most famous scenes in literature: the Mad Tea Party. Now, how on Earth does a tea party that never ends with a crazy man, a dormouse, and a rabbit, have to deal with Hawaiians and London? There is an obvious connection to London and tea, however, Hawaiʻi  on the other hand has absolutely zero connections to tea parties. The island vibe follows even the poshest of people (you can take the person from the island but not the island from the person).

        We Hawaiians stepped off of the tube at Knightsbridge. Here, we entered the world of Harvey Nichols. What was the purpose of sending ten international studnets from Hawai’I who will most likely have a budget that is completely beneath the prices of Harvey Nichols to such a department store like this? The fifth floor can answer this: high tea. Being given the privilege of having high tea in such a posh place while coming from somewhere that is so casual was an amazing experience.

New question, just how casual is Hawai’i? Anything that has been read on a tourist website about Hawaiian print shirts (we call the Aloha print) and slacks being worn to work is true. I have attended weddings and funerals where guests arrived in slippahs (flip flops) and shorts without thinking twice. So, going to Harvey Nichols was an official test on how well my parents and elementary school trained me formal situations.

        The multitude of tea choices was overwhelming and ranged from English Black Tea to Red Berry. Thankfully, everyone decided to order something different so that we could try a bit of everything. Our confusion with the tea strainer (I will presumably call it that, since I honestly have no clue what it was), and the desire to immediately pour milk into our tae became overbearing. As the finger sandwiches and pretty little desserts arrived on the table, along with individual baskets of scones, immediately smart phones were pulled out of bags and into sight. Pictures were snapped, and the tea was left to cool.

         It was the first that I had personally tried clotted cream, and in all honesty, the stuff tasted like its name. When I had went in for a bite of my scone covered in clotted cream and presumably cranberry jam (we had no idea what kind), I made the mistake of spilling the bright red colored spread onto the pure white table clothe. It is safe to say that I felt that I no longer belonged in such a high-end place. I had an insatiable desire to cover the stain with my plate to save myself embarrassment, but I sucked it up and took a picture of my failure instead. By the end of our high tea session, it is presumed everyone enjoyed their time and tea. There were no desserts left and especially no sandwiches, which countered the overly sweet treats perfectly. It can be said that we Hawaiians were on our best behavior. All except for me and that embarrassing little red stain.