Celebrating the true essence of tea at HTC

By Cassandra Mascarenhas

Celebrating and embracing the true essence of tea, the Heladiv Tea Club (HTC) located at the trendy new Dutch Hospital Shopping Precinct, is the ideal place to kick back after a long day with an aromatic cup of tea and a sandwich or for those feeling more decadent, a choice from HTC’s extensive range of divine desserts.

A three-fold concept, HTC is first and foremost a tea salon and also doubles as a dessert bar and boutique. In recent times, coffee has taken over as the front-runner for being a more commercial beverage especially in Colombo and HTC aims to reintroduce the beauty of certain age-old tea drinking rituals and share the experience of its consumption and the feelings that it incites, with the public.

This can clearly be seen as you step into the plush interior of the Tea Club, a fusion of eras gone by and a more modern contemporary style. A blue crystal chandelier casts a dim glow over the lounge, complimented by candlelit low stools and leather sofas artfully positioned around a long bar running through the space. Gilt-edged mirrors and portraits depicting scenes from tea plantations adorn the walls, further adding to the ambience.

HTC offers a range of hot and cold beverages, commencing with a selection of traditional teas, singe estate teas, premium white teas, flavoured teas, herbal infusions and tea lattes. Each of the teas offered on the menu are also available packaged for purchase and customers are given the opportunity to inhale the aroma of the various teas before deciding on what to have. HTC Manager Shane Anthony Cramer explained that HTC’s range of iced teas too have proved to be popular with customers, especially the ‘sunset soother’ and ‘blue fire’ iced teas, stating that the unusual names alone are enough to attract the customers’ attention to the extent that they are enticed to try out the beverages for themselves. Also available are a variety of hot and cold coffees, from espressos to iced cappuccinos.  

The sandwiches include tandoori chicken, smoked beef, smoked salmon, cheese and tomato and egg mayonnaise with one’s choice of bread and are accompanied by a side of salad.

“We only offer a small range of sandwiches because most customers either come to HTC for a quick bite or head out to dinner at one of the other restaurants and then arrive here to wrap up their evening with some tea or coffee and dessert – hence why we have many desserts to choose from,” said Cramer.

HTC certainly does itself proud with its range of desserts and up for grabs are strawberry meringue cake, the ever-popular death by chocolate, blueberry cheesecake, vanilla meringue cupcakes, chocolate earthquake cupcakes, strawberry tarts, profiteroles, tiramisu amongst several others. Cramer added that the tiramisu and death by chocolate have proved to be favourites with customers, with the latter served piping hot with a scoop of ice cream to top it off.

Having just obtained its liquor license, HTC also plans on offering in the near future a selection of wine and beers. Furthermore they have also just introduced a delivery service exclusively to the World Trade Centre, Bank of Ceylon and Ceylinco House. Also in the works is a discount card for those working at the WTC and BOC.

“We have been receiving more and more customers each day, especially a lot of repeat customers who bring their friends along with them so HTC is definitely a popular concept. It is also unlike anything else we have seen in Colombo so far,” Cramer elucidated.

In addition to the food and beverages available for purchase, the Tea Club also has on display a vast range of Heladiv’s speciality teas which are packaged and available for purchase as well and also prepares customised gift packs according to the customers’ wishes.

The Heladiv Tea Club is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and depending on customers, is open until midnight over the weekends.

Pix by Upul Abayasekara