While we may not be able to travel yet, this new high tea from Jackalberry and Mr Black will allow you to travel with your tastebuds.
Jackalberry’s Traveller’s High Tea ($79pp), is a new immersive experience that delightfully and deliciously combines all three of Australia’s favourite past times: eating, drinking, and traveling. Tucked inside a heritage building in the heart of the CBD, Jackalberry is a sun-drenched, sandstone hideaway that has always espoused the wonders of traveling through food.
Jackalberry has teamed up with Mr Black to offer a modern take on the traditional English high tea with a beautifully boozy twist. Rather than a stuffy array of sandwiches this menu will take you on a culinary journey around the world. In lieu of Earl Grey, you’ll have the pleasure of knocking back three specialty cocktails crafted with Mr Black’s coffee liqueur. The cocktails, which are exclusively available with the Traveller’s High Tea, were created by Martin Hudak ( the co-founder of the award-winning bar, Maybe Sammy) and the delicate balance of the flavours and spirits are a tribute to Hudak’s experience as a bartender and his love of coffee.
The first tier of your high tea tower touches on the origins of coffee itself. Begin your voyage with the Kaldi Fizz, a cocktail named in honour of the Ethiopian goat herder who discovered coffee in 850AD. The drink (served in a delicate crystal champagne glass) is a refreshing spritz featuring a cascara tea made from the pulp of coffee cherries and an African aperitif flavoured with Cape ingredients. While you drink your cocktail you can begin to get to work on the first course of your meal, a tribute to the traditional English high tea, four sweet scones served with generous helpings of jam and cream.
As for tier two, expect a succession of sweet treats from all over the world. Dig into Australian lamingtons, kiwi fruit tartlets, classic French opera cake, crema Catalana, and a macadamia nut lollipop. Paired with this tier is the Lost in Translation cocktail which was our personal favourite of the day. Theatrically presented in a flask hidden inside a book and then poured into a brandy glass, this drink is all about drama. The full-bodied cocktail is inspired by the sweet and nutty flavours of a lamington and is made by blending a dry Spanish sherry with Mr Black’s Columbian Single Origin liqueur.
You’ll finish your meal with a trio of savory snacks. Sample German-inspired smoked salmon on pretzel bread, Greek pita pockets, and a Lebanese wrap before logically ending the meal with a digestif. Your final cocktail, Hortis, is a cooling botanical digestif with a herbal aftertaste and a coffee aroma. Served in a port sipper and garnished with mint, this cocktail is strong but sweet and manages to provide the perfect bookend to your journey.
You can find Jackalberry inside the Hyatt Regency at 161 Sussex St, Sydney. The Traveller’s High Tea is served every Saturday from 2pm- 5pm. Jackalberry is open on Monday– Friday from 7am–10pm, on Saturdays from 2pm – 11pm and on Sundays between 3pm – 10pm. Check them out here.