Case Study: A Breakfast Tea for Kleinfeld's Nicole + Felicia
This July, Kleinfeld Bridal invited us to serve tea at a press breakfast in their Chelsea salon. The occasion: a new collection of exclusive gowns by Nicole + Felicia, a couture house from Taipei. Fifty guests, a runway show, and Taiwanese tea to go with the Taiwanese designers. Since Té Company also has roots in Taipei, it was an easy yes.
We set up our tea bar across a few tables at the salon and had the kettles going by eight.
A moving breakfast
Guests arrived in waves, greeted one another, stopped for photos, stepped aside for models, and returned to conversations. A seated tasting would not have worked.
We set up an open sampling station instead. Guests picked up a small cup, tasted through the flight at their own pace, and came back for another pour whenever they liked. The hot teas brewed throughout the hour, so there was always a fresh cup ready.
The flight
Three teas: two hot, one cold.
Lemon Ginger - The favorite of the day. Organic lemon verbena, thinly sliced ginger, and maqaw, a Taiwanese mountain pepper. Bright and citrusy, served hot, and caffeine-free.
Oriental Beauty - Our bug-bitten Taiwanese oolong, honeyed with a muscatel sweetness. Served hot. A natural choice for a celebration of two Taipei designers.
Canyon Green, cold-brewed - A Taiwanese green also known as Sanxia Biluochun, steeped overnight in cold water. Cold brewing brings out its juicier side, softly grassy with notes of snap pea and mung bean, and none of the bitterness people expect from a green tea.
(Oriental Beauty also comes in sachets, and our Formosa Green sachet sleeves are an easy way into Taiwanese greens at home.)
The snacks
Three tea snacks, made to order at our Brooklyn kitchen and arranged on Kleinfeld’s own tiered stands, which suited the room better than anything we could have brought.
Pineapple Linzers - Our take on the traditional Taiwanese pineapple cake: two discs of hazelnut shortbread around a pineapple jam filling. Saveur once called it the best cookie in New York.
Red Bean Mooncake with Yolk - Red bean paste and a salted duck egg yolk in a soft, flaky pastry. The richest bite on the table.
Tinybars - Toasted nut-and-seed bars, individually wrapped, easy to pocket for later.
A salon full of wedding dresses
While models walked the new Nicole + Felicia collection past racks of gowns, our cups made their way around the room. Taiwanese tea, Taiwanese snacks, and dresses by designers from Taipei.
And then it was ten o’clock
The show wrapped at ten and we were packed up by eleven. A short morning, but a good one. Congratulations to Kleinfeld and Nicole + Felicia on the new collection. We were glad to be there.
A piece of the morning to take home
Each guest left with a party favor gift of tea. The same wedding favors we make for brides, couples, and bridal showers.
Tea wedding favors
Bring tea to your celebration
Té Company runs on-site tea tastings, staffed tea bars, and private tea experiences for offices, press events, bridal showers, weddings, and cultural celebrations around New York City. If you’ve got an occasion, we’d love to build a tasting around it.
Plan your event