Another high tea / afternoon tea option in Canberra is at the little tea salon, Blissiimo, in Braddon.
Set inside the Ori building (previously vacated by the beloved Frugii), Blissiimo offers tea brands such as France’s Mariage Frères (established in 1854 and the store’s specialty) and Monista from Melbourne. The counter at the front has an assortment of delicious looking morsels in cake form, as well as macarons and gelato.
My friends and I booked in for the high tea at $55 per person. One friend is vegetarian and we informed Blissiimo of the dietary requirements upon making the reservation.
I arrive a little late, but see my friends already seated on the plush green velvet lounges set up just outside the store in the arcade (which is still undercover in the building). The others tell me to go into the store where I can enjoy the different scents from the range of teas on display, to pick the tea for my individual teapot. There seems to be at least 30 different teas available. I’m not sure in what order they are arranged, but I start at one end to pick each tea sample up and raise to my nose. The nose knows, and I soon have it narrowed down to three teas.
I pick the Mariage Frères The Vert Marco Polo, a mellow green tea that’s both fruity and flowery. It doesn’t take long to arrive at the table in a clear teapot, with a clear tea cup set in front of me. I must say it’s a fancier kind of tea bag, which I’ve read is made out of cotton hessian, with the loose leaf tea inside. A friend picked the Earl Grey French Blue, which would have been my second choice.
We’re also provided with two mini iced teas prior to the high tea stand arriving. Set in mini-glasses, one is the Monista Melba’s oranges and berries, while the other is the Mariage Frères Hawaii Kawaii, a French summer cold brew tea. The oranges and berries were my favourite of the two as I do prefer the fruitier teas.
The single high tea stand arrives for the three of us to share.
On the bottom, there are spinach, feta and parmesan frittatas, pumpkin and cheese frittatas, and hot sausage rolls. The frittatas are very thick and tightly packed wedges (the size of a slice of cake) so after eating these, I’m halfway full already. The dips accompanying the frittatas are a beetroot and hummus, and a spicy capsicum with cashews. These are light and fresh, and the sausage rolls are well-seasoned.
A bit more variety in the savoury would have made this better, but it could also be due to the vegetarian requirement.
On the top tier, sits a single carrot cake, honey cake with raspberry custard, macarons – passionfruit, raspberry, and salted caramel, floral mini cupcakes, and Croatian peach balls. There’s also a small lemon cake with lemon icing served on a plate covered with a glass cloche. This is a bit more awkward to share, but my friend does an excellent job of slicing the individual cakes into thirds. All the cakes are delicious – so incredibly moist, light, with scrumptious flavours. Though I’m not usually one to go for citrus-based desserts, I thoroughly enjoyed the lemon cake and lemon icing. A little bit of bliss in every bite.
The Croatian peach balls are something different. There are two soft cookie-like pieces stuck together with a jam and rum filling and dusted in white sugar. I love that they are made to look like little peaches. Not a favourite for me (due to the rum) but I’m always happy to try something new. I must admit that I am disappointed that there are no scones with jam and cream included.
See my Instagram reel for a quick video of the experience!
Service at Blissiimo tea salon is excellent and very friendly. Our waitress came out to check on us a couple of times to see if we wanted more tea or get us anything else. The set up is beautiful from the plush lounges to the gorgeous tea pots and tea.
I later visited the website, and noticed there are three types of afternoon tea at Blissiimo:
- Afternoon tea ($19) – tea/coffee, your choice of cake, scoop of gelato
- High tea ($55) – this is what we had, a tea pot with our choice of tea, and a tea stand of treats
- Royal tea ($85) – includes a glass of French champagne, an endless cup of tea or coffee, I assume the same sort of tea stand, and the description has mention of scones with lavender jelly and cream, plus a top level of eclairs. I think I’ll try this version next!
Bookings at the tea salon can be made online.
Apart from the tea and sweets, there are so many beautiful looking items available for purchase including those in the French perfumery section. Be sure to check that out too.
Blissiimo
30 Lonsdale St, Braddon ACT
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