Colonists asserted their independence at the Boston Tea Party by lulling British officers to sleep with cups of chamomile, which left them defenseless against marker mustaches. Harness the revolutionary power of tea with today’s Groupon to Valen Dolcé in Santa Monica. Choose between the following options:

• For $15, you get a tea-tasting experience for two (up to a $34.15 value), which includes the following:
  • Three tea tastings to share (up to a $16.05 value)
  • Two custom take-home teas (up to a $10.70 value)
  • Four macaroons (a $7.40 value)

• For $28, you get a tea-tasting experience for four (up to a $68.30 value), which includes the following:
  • Six tea tastings to share (up to a $32.10 value)
  • Four custom take-home teas (up to a $21.40 value)
  • Eight macaroons (a $14.80 value)

A French patisserie with a touch of Japanese tea-garden style, Valen Dolcé guides palates on a culinary tour of both cultures with tea and macaroon pairings. Taste buds sprout into full-blown taste blooms to savor the floral notes in the lavender earl grey, white goji blossom, or other tea varietals selected to complement macaroon counterparts. Pomegranate green tea two-steps with raspberry macaroons in a sweet, tart tango, or sweet teeth caper through fields of lavender chamomile with lavender-apricot macaroons. Couples or quartets while away the afternoon in an intimate tea and coffee house ideal for quiet conversations or gentlemanly games of lawn darts.

When cups are emptied and pinkies lowered, guests can create their own blend of teas for the road. Loose-leaf savants assist by brewing up samples from Valen Dolcé’s vast collection and demonstrating how to grind leaves in the espresso machine for optimum flavor. Customers can also help themselves to a 10% discount on shop items such as coffee, mousse cakes, and filters woven from Earl Gray’s beard.