The Bold & the Beau-tea-ful

Generally we’re not down with being prim and proper. But sometimes it’s fun to pretend we live in the days when ladies lunched, servants doted on every whim, and all you had to worry about was keeping your pinky in place.

Now we can all time travel in style at A Cup of Tea, Kailua’s new Victorian tearoom. The pink wallpapered rooms, adorned with lace, flowers, crystal and china, slow time and make Hawai‘i disappear.

A rolling brass cart allows you to see and smell 30-plus loose teas from around the world—including the hard to find, smoky lapsang souchong and two types of flowering teas. While yours is being professionally steeped, settle in at a doily-topped table and nibble on ala carte items like scones with lemon and ginger curds, or one of the set menu’s tiered trays with finger sandwiches, fresh fruit, and even soup and salad, followed by fragrant rose champagne sorbet.

The food is a mere accompaniment to the  old-world ritual, inspiring you to sit up straight, take small bites, and use hushed tones. In other words, to start acting ladylike.

But with only a hint of proper, and absolutely none of the prim.

A Cup of Tea , 407 Uluniu Street, Suite #101, Kailua, 808.230.8832,  Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m. – 4.30 p.m.