Text and Photography by Bruce Richardson
The Hawaiian island of Oahu is one of the few places in the world where afternoon-tea diners are serenaded by the sound of crashing ocean waves as they dab clotted cream and jam on their scones. While, on the opposite side of the globe, guests of The Ritz in London are nibbling egg and watercress sandwiches and drinking Earl Grey tea as a harp plays in the background, here, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, tea lovers enjoy coconut cream rolls and papaya-laced tea to the accompaniment of the pounding surf and a far-off ukulele. And, when the afternoon temperature begins to rise, folding fans—a holdover from colonial days—magically appear to stir the breeze around your tea table so you can enjoy your second, or third, pot of tea. Welcome to paradise.
