Afternoon tea has long been an event to savor and it comes with a tea-rrific history. There is evidence in manuscripts that Benedictine Monks served bread with clotted cream and strawberry preserves to local workers who helped rebuild their Abbey after it was damaged in a Viking raid in 997AD. It was an instant hit among the locals, and when the monks started serving it to passing travelers, the Devonshire cream tea was born.

Afternoon Tea as opposed High Tea (originally a working class end-of-day-meal with things like cold meats, pies, salad, pickles, bread and butter, cakes, and a pot of tea) is derived from the social tradition started by the Duchess of Bedford around 1840 to combat her afternoon “sinking feeling.” Taken at around 4 – 6 pm, it typically comprises Devonshire cream tea and an assortment of delicate crustless sandwiches, sweets, and cakes.

So, in search of the perfect tea experience off we went to El Encanto, A Belmond Hotel, a most gracious Santa Barbara hotel unlike any other. El Encanto has been meticulously restored to capture all the romance and glamour that has endeared it to both the local Santa Barbara community and visitors alike for decades. Ninety quintessential, California-styled suites and bungalows dot the lush, terraced grounds featuring seven-acres of gloriously landscaped gardens with sweeping views of Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean. Original architectural features have been lovingly restored, including the historic, trellis-lined Arbor and Lily Pond. Modern additions to the expansive outdoor zero-edge pool and a new beautifully appointed boutique spa enhance the journey for today’s luxury-seeking guest.

Leave it to the geniuses at El Encanto, A Belmond Hotel to create an unforgettable and innovative tea extravaganza. After a complimentary glass of good, chilled French Champagne, we began with choosing the tea of our choice from a pretty menu of Astro botanical infusions. Seeing as our birthday is in February, we, of course went for the Aquarius Visionary Queen Tea Bold black tea with notes of sweet caramel, creamy vanilla, spice and datres promising to  enhance mood, boosts energy, increases circulation, and heart health. It arrived in a handsome, shiny silver pot along with a three-minute mini hourglass to time the steeping.

Before we knew it, a silver three-tier stand majestically appeared loaded with pretty, colorful and delicious tea sandwiches (no crusts, of course) and we happily downed them all–chicken salad, cucumber with lemon and dill, egg salad, smoked salmon on nicely-baked breads.

The top tier beckoned with desserts—miniature works of art bursting with chocolate, lavender, coconut mango, ganache, carmelized banana, hints of thyme and vanilla bean. Our favorite was a teeny tiny profiterole, an ethereal cream puff the Gods would surely applaud.

But, wait a second…just when we were about to cry “Uncle,” a plate of warm buttermilk scones arrived—begging to be slathered with clotted cream and strawberry basil jam. So, slather we did and we know the Duchess of Bedford was looking down on us with bemused approval.

That was it, a lovely, enchanting afternoon gazing at the ocean with impeccable, polite service and we even took some goodies home with us.  At $95 a person, the Belmond El Encanto Tea is well worth it. A visit to El Encanto, A Belmond Hotel is refreshing and restorative and the pretty people who go there express euphoria about the honest and understated “Santa Barbara-ness” the hotel has maintained–no flashy retail or nouveau riche pretense here. This is a caravansary to be treasured like a loved one’s locket.

We have known dowagers to drink tea—we think of Waugh’s description of Sebastian Flyte “sip sip sipping like a dowager” in Brideshead Revisited but we heartily approve of a hotel owned by the world’s richest man (Bernard Arnault with $211 billion) with such a delicate finesse and eagle-eyed general manager Janis Clapoff who keeps the ship afloat with grace.

Enjoy…and keep your pinkies down: an outstretched little finger has apparently become one of Afternoon Tea’s most common faux pas and is considered rude in most social settings. 

El Encanto, A Belmond Hotel, 800 Alvarado Pl, Santa Barbara, CA 93103, (805) 845-5800; https://www.belmond.com/hotels/north-america/usa/ca/santa-barbara/belmond-el-encanto/