1837 TWG TEA Salon & Boutique: Tea Time Mania in Manila?

TWG TEA is the luxury tea brand of The Wellness Group, established in 2007 in Singapore. It opened its first tea salon and boutique in Republic Plaza, Singapore in 2008, and it recently opened its first store in Greenbelt 5, Makati in the Philippines. They use 1837 as part of their branding because this is a significant year in Singapore when the tea trade was formalized with the creation of the Chamber of Commerce.

TWG Tea has the largest collection of fine tea harvests from various tea-producing regions and exclusively hand-crafted tea blends by their tea masters. They brought the entire collection of tea to Manila — about 450 teas in store at any one time from a collection of 800-1,000 teas.

The “Tea Time” Culture is finally catching up in the metro. Here are some tips on how to have an awesome tea time at TWG TEA Manila:

Tea Time Culture in Manila:

• 1837 TWG TEA Salon & Boutique in Manila!
• da.u.de (da-you-deh) tea lounge and secret menu
• The Making of Green Tea (Nantau Highlands, Taiwan)

TWG TEA Salon

The Tea Salon is the restaurant area, with a capacity of 22 seats only. They don’t accept reservations, and it gets busy during lunchtime (11am to 1pm), tea time (3pm to 5pm) and dinnertime (6pm to 8pm).

Check out their menu: TWG TEA Weekday Menu | TWG TEA Weekend Menu

I love the attention to detail and the classic ambiance conducive to tea time bonding moments with friends and family.

We enjoyed the luxurious quality of the entire experience — from the marble flooring, to the hard wood furniture, to the signature tea cups and flatware, and to the porcelain tea pots with gold-plated tea warmers lined with felt.

One thing though, the tea salon feels cramped (like in a fast food chain) when it gets full. Make sure to get the corner tables to have a more private experience.

(Tip: They say that TWG TEA Resorts World will be their flagship store with 90-seating capacity — we can’t wait!)

 

I. CHOOSING YOUR TEA:

The choice of tea is very personal. It can get overwhelming to choose one out of the 400+ choices. 

(Tip: Here’s the TWG TEA LIST so that you can already see what you can order when you arrive.)

Here are some suggestions for tea newbies like us (take note of the Tea Codes for easy ordering):

T6033 1837 Black Tea (P195 +10% service charge).

This is a good tea to start with: TWG Tea’s 1837 Signature Black Tea. It’s a black tea blend with red berries, caramel and star anise. It has a strong and sweet taste. It is used in the jelly, macaron and most of the tea-infused dishes.

T1 Soom TGFOP1 Darjeeling Tea, India (First Flush Black Tea) (P395 +10% service charge).

Darjeeling Tea is regarded as the “champagne” of the tea world. A good introduction is the first flush (first harvest during spring) Soom with a TGFOP1 rating.

The tea quality rating means:

• S – Special
• F – Finest
• T – Tippy
• G – Golden
• F – Flowery
• O – Orange
• P – Pekoe
• 1 – First Quality

(Note: More characters, better quality.)

★ T3013 Earl Grey Chocolate Tea (P195 +10% service charge).

A lot of foodies are raving about the Earl Grey Chocolate Tea! It’s the TWG TEA blend of Earl Grey, a black tea with bergamot (a small lemon from Sicily), Violet Flowers and Cacao Beans. This tea smells like hot chocolate. 🙂

T6018 Silver Moon Green Tea (P195 +10% service charge).

Some people prefer the Green Tea over the Black Tea because it is not as strong due to lesser fermentation and less quantity of theine, the caffeine-like ingredient in tea.

I like the Silver Moon Green Tea, which is a blend of Sencha Green Tea with fresh and dried Strawberry and Madagascar Vanilla. This has a fruity, refreshing taste.

★ T6134 White Desire Tea (P1,595 +10% service charge).

If you really want a luxury tea, you’ve got to try the White Teas from Fujian, China. The white tea has the lowest theine content, and its previous flurry tips are harvested before it blooms for the first time in spring.

The taste is very delicate and 70^oC water is used to produce this tea instead of the usual 90^oC for the black and green tea. It is very clean, refreshing and feels like a celebration when you drink it. 🙂

 
T2010 Eternal Summer, Red Tea from South Africa (P195 +10% service charge).

The Red Tea is really not from the tea plant but from the Rooibos plant from South Africa. It is best used for iced tea, where you order a hot tea pot of red tea and pour it over cubes of ice.

(Tip: Don’t put sugar because it easily takes over the taste of the tea.)

 

II. TEA DRINKING 101:

Here are some tips when enjoying your tea:

• Order one tea pot per person. It is best if you don’t share it because you want to enjoy the flavor of the tea throughout your tea time. One tea pot is equal to five cups.
• The tea cups are designed so that you can smell the full aroma of the tea before drinking it.
• The tea cups are very thin because the taste of the tea is subtle and could be delicate.
• Best practice is to let the tea touch your lips first and then taste it throughout your mouth before swallowing it. 
• Typically, you order one tea pot to be paired with the main dish and an optional second tea pot for dessert.

Take your time and enjoy your tea moment.

 

III. FOOD PAIRING WITH TEA:

TEA PASTRIES (P150 +10% service charge).
Served with TWG Tea Jelly and whipped cream. Choose from:

• Madeleines with Earl Grey Fortune Tea, 3 pcs.
• Financiers with Matcha Tea, 2 pcs.
• Muffins, 2 pcs.
• Scones, 2 pcs.
• Canele, 2 pcs. 

Tea is good with pastries, and I would recommend the Madeleines over the Muffins.

★ TWG Tea Jelly infused with Black Tea and Whipped Cream.

The Tea Pastries go very well with the Tea Jelly, which is a black tea or earl grey gelatine with sugar and their signature whipped cream. Many foodies rave about the Tea Jelly more than the pastries.

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict (P420 +10% service charge). Homemade toasted English corn flake muffins topped with two poached farmhouse eggs served with creamy hollandaise sauce and a choice of smoked salmon or smoked turkey ham.

For breakfast, most people order the Eggs Benedict. I personally like the Salmon version.

TWG TEA Croque Imperial (P320 +10% service charge). Warm toasted sandwich with Emmental cheese and smoked salmon, served with a delicate green salad and house vinaigrette.

During tea time, you can order this Smoked Salmon club sandwich with fresh green salad. This is a good choice for a light merienda.

★ Roast Apricot Cod (P550 +10% service charge). Roasted cod fillet served with a delicate potato puree sprinkled with Matcha Tea, accompanied by a rich Apricot Tea-infused sauce.

I love the green tea-inflused flavors of the potato puree and the apricot tea-infused sauce. The cod was really tender, soft, and cooked just right. I saved the juicy cherry tomato for the last bite.

The other best seller is the Wagyu Burger, but I prefer the healthier pairing of tea with fish.

Check out  the “Tea” Eppersons food suggestions: Tea Time: TWG Tea, Greenbelt 5 

★ TWG TEA Macarons (P50 each +10% service charge). TWG Tea’s renowned crispy biscuit with a soft centre. Infused with our signature teas, TWG Tea has transformed the macaron into a uniquely memorable confection.

• Napolean Tea & Caramel
• Camelot Tea & Praline
• ★ Earl Grey Fortune & Chocolate
• ★ 1837 Black Tea & Blackcurrant
• Moroccan Mint Tea
• Bain de Roses Tea
• Lemon Bush Tea
• Grand Wedding Tea, Passion Fruit & Coconut 

We love the Black Tea Macaron, which is infused with 1837 Black Tea & Blackcurrant, and the Earl Grey Fortune & Chocolate Macaron. All the rest tasted a bit different and bordered on weird (like the Moroccan Mint Tea, which had a similar taste to toothpaste.)

 

TWG TEA Boutique

The TWG Tea Boutique is the tea shop. You can smell the selection of teas before you purchase anything.

You can buy the 1837 Black Tea (the signature blend of TWG Tea) to enjoy at home.

This Christmas, drinking tea after a meal will be in, and it would be good to have your signature Christmas tea blends ready. 🙂

You can’t go wrong with this Filipino tea blend favorite — the Chocolate Earl Grey (T3013 code).

The tea can be stored for 6 months to 1 year in the tin cans.

If you order, they use a special packaging to preserve the flavor of the tea.

Here are some tips for storing your tea:

• Don’t keep the tea leaves in a glass jar.
• Don’t put it in direct sunlight or in places with high humidity.
• Keep it away from strong spices and coffee (because the tea absorbs the flavor).

TWG Tea Salon is exactly how I imagine a tea wonderland, where you can taste the finest teas in the world and enjoy their exclusive blends. I love the overall affordable, luxurious experience. Its classic ambiance is a good backdrop for tea bonding moments with friends and loved ones.

We can’t wait for the Resorts World Flagship Branch to open!

TWG Tea Salon and Boutique
Level 1, Greenbelt 5, Legaspi Village, Makati
Operating Hours:
Monday to Thursday – 11 am to 9 pm 
Friday to Saturday – 11 am to 10 pm
Sunday – 10 am to 9 pm
Note: Reservations are not accepted. 
Facebook: TWG Tea Official Page
Twitter: @TWGTEA
Official Website: http://www.twgtea.com/

Related Blog Posts:

• 1837 TWG TEA Salon & Boutique in Manila!
• da.u.de (da-you-deh) tea lounge and secret menu
• The Making of Green Tea (Nantau Highlands, Taiwan)

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Full Disclosure: I wrote this blog post myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I have no business relationship with any company mentioned in this post or any organization promoting it. As a policy, I don’t accept advertising from food and travel places we feature in the blog. We paid for our meals.

P.S. Although the teas are superb, the food’s quality is not at par with its pricing. Hopefully, this can be addressed soon.

P.P.S. We were a bit disappointed with the Patisserie options because the cakes were mostly dry and very tough to slice. They are said to be baked fresh everyday but I’m not sure why they’re dry. 

TWG Tea Patisserie Collection. Choose from our trolley of tea-infused patisseries, conceived and crafted daily: Vanilla Bourbon Mille Feuille (P180), Matcha Mille Feuille (P180), Strawberry Tart (P180), Blueberry Tart (P180) and Singapore Surprise (P220).