TEA, as those of you who have been paying attention will already have observed, is the new hot invitation. Well, all those floaty chiffons and delicious little tea dresses had to be going somewhere, and where better than to tea? I can’t quite put my finger on where it all began, though clearly fashion’s temporary obsession with the ladylike look must have played a part (yes, I know we’re on to boho now but domestic rituals, not to mention the appurtenances that their observance requires, take rather more time to catch up with fashion’s winsome ways).

If you don’t believe that tea has made a great comeback, just trying wandering into Claridge’s, the Ritz or the Berkeley round about teatime without a booking and you’ll get the sort of superior raised eyebrow once reserved exclusively for those hoping for an impromptu table at The Ivy.

Then note that tea sets, teapots and cake stands — a second ago thought so very blue-rinse and middle-aged — are being reinvented by some of our most exciting young designers (Wedgwood has done a particularly brilliant job).

Since tea is such a fashionable ritual, it stands to reason that we should be giving more attention to the tea itself. Those of us whose tea repertoire doesn’t extend much farther than Earl Grey, Darjeeling and PG Tips would be amazed at the wonders we are missing. My own tastes in that area — sad but true — tend towards the sturdy builders’ school of tea, but I was awoken to the coarseness of my palate by the delicacy of the leaves and the elegance of the rituals that surround the matter in Japan, not to mention by Lady Bamford’s divine jasmine and lotus teas (a visual as well as a gustatory experience — the flower buds open up in the boiling water).

It seems that I am not alone in my rather pedestrian approach to tea. According to Tara Calcraft, whose stylish Tea Palace opens this month, the British taste tends towards “bargain basement tannic blends”.

She is opening her Tea Palace to change all that. Of course, rarified teas are not new — hosts of friends are addicted to green teas (largely because they are rumoured to be an amazing slimming aid) — but the Tea Palace aims to offer a little education and a great new experience to those who don’t know as much as they would like. There will be the tea equivalent of a sommelier, called for these purposes tea masters, who will help to guide customers to the tea or infusion most likely to please them.

Confirmed tea aficionados in search of niche brands will find such rarities as white peony tea from China and fragrant oolongs. In case you’re wondering (as was I) what an “oolong” is, it’s a semi-fermented tea, halfway between green teas (unfermented) and black teas (fermented). A new vocabulary clearly awaits us. Iron Goddess of Mercy, Black Pearls and Jasmine Chung Hao are just a few of the names that tea fans will have to grapple with. There will be Ayurvedic teas made from ancient Keralan recipes, and Australia’s lemon myrtle from the outback. Punters can drop in for just a small pack of tea or for a full-scale meal.

For another great tea experience try the Berkeley hotel, where the daily Prêt-à-Portea (£31; 020-7235 6000) is the brilliant notion of serving little cakes in the styles and shapes of fashion’s hottest designs — Manolo Blahnik shoes, Missoni striped éclairs, a Fendi chocolate baguette and an Alice Temperley shot glass mousse, not to mention an Anya Hindmarch handbag. Not that it’s at all easy to do.

“Oh, the hissy fits in the kitchen,” says Paula Fitzherbert, the hotel’s director of public relations, “when they can’t get the precise shade of Matthew Williamson’s pink.”

They are taking the concept to the House & Garden Fair, where interior designers will be applying their talents to cakes — there will be Kelly Hoppen beige cakes, Designers Guild shot glasses in stripes, William Yeoward’s swirly patterns and Swarovski choux buns.

Sketch (0870 7774488) in Conduit Street and Yauatcha (020-7494 8888) in Berwick Street, Central London (which also offers dim sum at lunchtime and in the evening), are two other great places for delicate teas.

At Yauatcha there is dark, smoky Yunnanese tea which comes in dome-like bricks, and a sweet and fragrant oolong from Fujian province. But besides the teas, go for the whole aesthetic experience — for the elegant celadon teapots and the divine small cakes. If I were PG Tips, I think I’d be looking at my leaves.

• Tea Palace, 175 Westbourne Grove, W11 (020-7727 2600); www.teapalace.co.uk

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