On the day I discovered I was pregnant with my first child, I went cold turkey and gave up one of the best things in my life – coffee.

That was also when I discovered the wonderful world of tea. I became an avid tea drinker after I gave up coffee, and fell in love with chamomile, rose, and lavender tea. These kept the terribleness of each first trimester at bay, and have helped calm me in many a frenzied moment in motherhood.

So when the kids and I were invited to Lipton’s world-first pop-up High Tea Bar at Plaza Singapura last night, I was especially thrilled. Lipton, the largest tea brand in the world (and the first brand of tea I ever tried as a kid!) is introducing its first ever High Tea Bar to bring the art and science of tea-pairing and quality tea choices closer to consumers and their lifestyles.

I don’t usually think hard if the dessert or food I order goes well with the tea I drink, so I thought I might learn a thing or two from the event. The High Tea Bar features 6 tea sets paired with Canelé’s Pâtisserie Chocolaterie’s sweet and savoury items, three of which have been specially customised by Canelé’s Executive Pastry Chef, Chef Christophe Grilo, and Unilever’s Food Technologist for Lipton, Miss Wong May Chee, for the Lipton High Tea Bar. At the event, these two experts also shared how tea-pairing with food is done.

Unfortunately for me, I got nothing out of their sharing because the two kids I brought along to drink tea with kept bouncing and prancing around me, asking incessantly, “Can we drink tea now? Can we? Are we going to have tea now? Why aren’t we drinking any tea? Why?” and I had to constantly get them to hold their excitement in. I can’t imagine what the rest of the night would be like if we ever tried all 6 sets of tea!

Thankfully, the good folks from Golin Harris prepared a special non-caffeinated herbal infusion of cranberry, raspberry and strawberry for Ben, Becks and the nursing mother that is me. It was paired with the Chicken Mini Burger, which Ben devoured in minutes because “the sauce is just so yummy”. We all loved the herbal infusion for its fruity flavour and very soothing aroma.

We also had Canelé’s lemon macarons and classic cheesecake to go with our herbal infusion. I also tried the Russian Earl Grey Tea made with bergamot and sweet blue flowers, paired with Canelé’s Le Chocolat Croustillant, which was a great combination, in my opinion. I’m a sucker for anything dark chocolate, so the distinct aroma of the Earl Grey with this Vanini Cocoa mousse layered cake with crispy chocolate praline was a sweet end to my very tiring day.

I think Lipton’s pairing with Canelé is such a perfect match because I can definitely appreciate the aroma and flavours of tea much better when it’s taken together with decadent confectionaries. What an indulgent experience this has been. I certainly had a good time having tea (and desserts) with my kids and I’m definitely going to replicate this experience at home. Thank you, Lipton Singapore, for having us at the High Tea Bar!

More details:

• For 6 days only, members of the public can redeem and enjoy a complimentary High Tea set at the Lipton High Tea Bar with a minimum spend of $25 at Plaza Singapura or a purchase of $15 worth of Lipton products at the Bar itself.
• The 6 Lipton High Tea Sets include: 1. Lipton Yellow Label with Lemon Macarons, 2. Lipton Forest Fruit Tea with Chicken Mini Burger, 3. Lipton Citrus Tea with Traditional Salmon and Cucumber Sandwich, 4. Lipton Asian White Tea with Chestnut Cassis Sponge Cake, 5. Lipton Blue Fruit Tea with Classic Cheesecake, 6. Lipton Russian Earl Grey Tea with Le Chocolat Croustillant
• The Lipton High Tea Bar is at Plaza Singapura, Main Atrium. Redemption is available daily from 11 am to 8.30pm from 16 to 21 April 2013.