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Chado Tea
79 North Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91103
(626) 431-2832
chadotea.com

Ordered:
Afternoon Tea

Review:
After a long afternoon of meeting with clients in Pasadena, I was pretty tired. Iamme, I could tell, was not going to be able to make it much longer without having something to eat. We drove around looking for a particular place, but came across Chado Tea and opted to have our tea there instead. Despite most of its neighbors being empty or close to empty, Chado was still brimming with people and activity at half past 4.

Chado, like many other tea rooms in Pasadena, looks a lot like the ones in Old Town Orange. Low ceilings, close tables, and part retail. It looks a bit like an old trinket store, and does have a certain charm.

Interior:

The price for afternoon tea at Chado is very reasonable at $18 dollars per person. They don’t have the option of champagne or caviar, but if you are looking for an upscale experience, this is not the place. For $18 dollars, you get: 4 tea sandwiches, 1 scone, 1 slice of cake, and a pot of the loose leaf of your choice. Not bad for the price if you compare it to others!

The variety of loose leaf at Chado is pretty impressive! I found it a bit overwhelming because I still have a lot to learn about tea. After careful reading, I chose the Red Pheonix and Iamme chose a First Blush Darjeeling blend (he’s been reading up on Darjeeling teas, apparently).

Red Pheonix:

The Red Pheonix tea was (I believe) a black tea flavored with caramel, vanilla, and honey. It was really delicious. Topped off with a touch of cream and a sprinkling of brown sugar – swoon.

Iamme’s Darjeeling blend, in his words: “I feel that I wasn’t ready for the slight bitter taste of Darjeeling tea since I come from a background of drinking lots of green tea. I realized later that I should have ordered a green Darjeeling. Instead, what I had was slightly acidic and bitter. But it was pricey per ounce, and I wanted to see what all the hoopla was about.”

First Blush Darjeeling Blend:

Iamme (cont.): “After my first cup with cream and sugar, I drank the rest of the pot without adding anything. My mouth was so sugary from the foodstuffs that I used the plain tea to reduce that taste in my mouth.”

Soon came our tier of tea cakes and sandwiches. The wait was not long at all.

Afternoon Tea:

We started with the scones, since neither of us had eaten much that day and we were hankering for something heavy.

Scones, Jam, Chado Cream:

The scones were very good! It’s not often that they come out hot. Their centers were also more moist than most. We both loved the cream, which was was much lighter and contained more water than your typical clotted sort. Not only was the cream topped with fresh strawberries, but it also had hints of strawberry flavor running throughout. Their jam, on the other hand, didn’t taste like it was made in house. It tasted kind of like Smucker’s or Knott’s.

One thing I did wonder was why the tea room did not smell like fresh scones. The scones were hot and the kitchen was pretty much open to the dining area, so that was interesting.

Next thing we tackled were the tea sandwiches. From what I can tell, all sandwiches – other than the Smoked Salmon – come on white bread.

Tea Sandwiches:

We ordered a variety which included the:
Balzac (Black Forest Ham, Swiss Cheese, Buttered Bread)
Limerick (English Cucumbers, Cream Cheese, Green Onions, Buttered Bread)
Punjab (Lapsang Souchong Smoked Tea marinated Eggs, Mayonnaise, Green Onions)
Mediterranean (Goat Cheese, Watercress, Oliveade Spread)
Smoked Salmon (Cream Cheese, Baby Dill, Lemon Slice, Dark Rye)
Souchong Chicken (Shredded Smoked Chicken Breast, Mayonnaise, Cranberry Lingonberry Sauce)

First thing we noted was that the sandwiches were large compared to other places we’d been, though this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

None of the sandwiches were particularly good. None of them particularly bad. For the most part, they lacked interest (The Punjab, for example, just tasted like really bland egg salad. The Souchong Chicken tasted like turkey and strawberry jam.).

We looked forward to the Smoked Salmon the most. It was OK, though they used the poorer quality smoked salmon that you find pre-packaged at Albertson’s. It had no natural markings on it, and had been dyed a bright reddish-pink color. The lemon slices were too big to eat whole, so we just juiced them on the fish.

Finally, came dessert. Instead of a variety of miniature tarts and petit fours, Chado gives you the option of choosing one slice of cake. Iamme chose Banana Walnut and I chose Double Chocolate.

Banana Walnut & Double Chocolate:

The cakes were pre-packaged from somewhere else. They were fine. The filling was a type of sticky, sweet cream… actually very similar to the chocolate pudding in those portable pies you buy at the gas station.  Not to rip on Chado or gas station pies, but that’s the closest comparison – texture-wise – that I can make.

Along with your cake, they also put in a couple jam filled butter cookies (like the Knott’s brand ones you get in vending machines). We didn’t eat our cherry garnishes because they had mold on them.  Sorry for the blurry picture.

Moldy Cherries:

In conclusion, Chado is a dandy place if you are hankering for tea, but want something inexpensive and without a reservation. I don’t like eating in a retail space, but it really doesn’t damage anything other than the ambiance.

Their scones, cream, and tea selections are great, but the rest is what you pay for. Service is friendly, but not terribly efficient (our water cups were never filled, and we had to finally go up and pay our own bill). Their kitchen, which is something you have to literally walk through to get to the bathroom, is really dingy. I can’t tell if food is cooked there, or if they just heat and plate. In any case, everything tasted OK and we didn’t get sick, which is always a plus. Truly, though, the food and portions here are in American style.

I don’t know if we’ll be back. I think it’s eh, but Iamme doesn’t like it at all. Tea should be a relaxing, delicious experience with great service and lots of space. For us, that’s kind of the whole point. Shell out another $10 bucks, and make a reservation at the Montage or Peninsula.  Sink into a comfy couch, and have a harpest play for you. Not sure if it’s worth the savings to sit in a loud room with people squeezing their butts past you to get into their seats.  I’m sure with the right company, this can be fun.  But it’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself!

Rating:
6 out of 10 spoonfuls

Value:
$$