Ever since Tea Around Town made its Washington, DC debut, I have been wanting to experience it myself. To end this year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC, my friend Briana invited me and some of our friends out to celebrate her Birthday in style via Tea Around Town. Today, I am going to be sharing my authentic Tea Around in Washington, DC review. I will note that this post is not sponsored and is fully me and my friends’ opinions from our experience. Nevertheless, we had a FABULOUS time at Tea Around Town in Washington, DC!

Please note that this content is apart of my exploring the Washington, DC area series. For more information on planning your own trip to Washington DC (here), Northern Virginia (here), the Virginia Wine Country (here), Maryland (here), and beyond (here), please use the corresponding links for some recommendations and inspiration.

*Disclaimer: Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of my links, then I will receive a small commission. This commission is at no extra cost to you. Additionally, this post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.*

Tea Around Town in Washington, DC Review

About Tea Around Town:

You’ve probably seen others sharing their own Tea Around Town experiences over on social media and may be wondering … what exactly is it?! Tea Around Town is a 90-minute unique sightseeing and high tea experience where guests get to enjoy a high tea while on a double decker bus sightseeing around town. The double decker bus is decked out in all-things PINK for a lovely high tea. All guests are given complimentary water and high tea treats, from sweets to savory, and samples of four different teas all while listening to lovely music and being given a guided bus tour of the city that they are in. Every guest gets to take home an adorable souvenir tumbler to commemorate the occasion!

Currently, Tea Around Town is offering high teas and tours in the following cities:

• Washington, DC
• New York City
• Houston
• Dallas
• Atlanta
• Philadelphia

Tea Around Town also has two different fares for guests to choose from:

• Petite – offering a private table, high tea, 360 degrees sky deck seating, and a souvenir tumbler
• Luxe – in addition to all of the Petite fare offerings, the Luxe fare offers an enhanced menu including lobster rolls and caviar, a delightful mocktail, and priority boarding

See more about Tea Around Town & book your experience here.

My Experience:

Now that you know a bit more about Tea Around Town, it’s time for my Tea Around Town in Washington, DC review! As previously mentioned, this post is not sponsored and contains my own honest and authentic opinions as well as if I would do this experience again.

It is important to note that all Tea Around Town guests must be approximately 15 minutes early for prompt boarding and tour takeoff. Each of us arrived promptly for boarding and were excitedly greeted by the ultra-kind Tea Around Town staff on-board. In terms of accessibility as we were on the top level of the double decker bus, the staff kindly assisted each of us as we entered and departed to make it a as seamless as possible process. When it comes to seating, there were 6 of us celebrating Briana’s birthday for our lovely high tea experience and tour and we were seated on the same row with a table for four and a table for two with an aisle separating us. The seating arrangements made our experience perfect for interacting with one another and truly getting to celebrate Briana and catch up. Overall, the boarding process was lovely and ultra-accommodating!

Once our bus took off to show off Washington, DC to us, our high tea began! Upon arrival all of our high tea eats (one three tier platter per group of two!), souvenir cup, and complimentary water and mocktails were waiting for us. Our high tea eats were covered in clear wrap, which was honestly a bit of a tedious and annoying process to unwrap. Honestly, it’s something I wished that our staff would have helped us with. Throughout our high tea experience, we were given pours of four unique teas – which honestly I don’t remember what they were – but they were lovely to taste. As for the high tea eats, I wasn’t the biggest fan of how they tasted and neither did those in my party. They felt like pre-packaged airline food and nothing really special and exciting. I honestly didn’t eat a ton and was glad that I had brunch beforehand. When it came to the teas, I felt a bit rushed when the staff came back for more pours of the four teas. I wanted to truly savor the teas that I was given, and I felt a bit rushed. When the staff came around for the next tea, we were sometimes still working on the previous tea. Given the cost of the experience ($100+ with tax and fees) I would have liked to enjoy better food for our high tea experience.

Throughout our tour, we were able to simply chat and enjoy a high tea with those that we came with. We went all around Washington, DC from the Capitol to the Jefferson Memorial to everything in between. Each city has its own unique route and routes can change given city events. One of the things that my group and I struggled with was hearing the guided tour portion of our Tea Around Town experience. There was a lovely guide sharing all of the tea on Washington, DC’s sights to see, however, we continuously struggled amongst the ongoing music and talking to really hear what was being said. Thus, if you’re looking to enjoy a nice sightseeing tour of the city in which you’re doing Tea Around Town in, I would not recommend this vendor for that. Rather, Tea Around Town is more for the high tea experience on a sightseeing bus with a limited guided experience.

One of the highlights that we all experienced on our Tea Around Town experience was the enthusiasm from the lovely staff. The people truly made our experience special and they were so hospitable the entire time and lovely to talk to! While on board, the staff sang “Happy Birthday” to Briana and our fellow Tea Around Town guests celebrating their birthdays which was SOOO special. And, one of the fellow guests on board out of the kindness of her heart used her mega singing talent to beautifully serenade Briana for her birthday. The personal touches and the people we met throughout our experience were LOVELY!

Would I Do Tea Around Town again?!

No.

Overall, Tea Around Town in Washington, DC was a nice one-time experience. It was a great venue for celebrating Briana’s birthday and to truly allow her to feel special on her special day. And while the people and entertainment were great while on board, the lack of a guided tour, the rushed pouring of teas, and the not-so delicious high tea eats make Tea Around Town something that I would do only once. Personally, I feel that this is a great experience to do once if you really want to, especially if it’s for a fun celebratory experience such as a birthday, Bachelorette, etc. It’s fun to dress up and be with those that you love! However, I would not recommend Tea Around Town if you’re looking for a high tea experience or a sightseeing bus tour of a new-to-you city – I would go elsewhere either way especially for the cost. Honestly, at the end of the day, I feel you go on Tea Around Town for the hype of it and for the vibes and less for the food and high tea experience. It’s a great time to connect and celebrate with others once but not twice.

Wrap-Up:

I loved experiencing Tea Around Town in Washington, DC as a special celebration for Briana and those that we all love. I am so grateful that I got to experience Tea Around Town for myself. Overall, if you want to give Tea Around Town a try, I say do so!

XOXO – Katie <3