Afternoon Tea News - Wimbledon themed ARTea, Lancaster London

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - today we're sharing some afternoon tea news with you. With the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament just around the corner Lancaster London has come up with a tea-riffic tennis themed afternoon tea!

Game, Set and Match! Lancaster London has once again ‘smashed’ another ARTea Afternoon Tea, this time in honour of the 131st Wimbledon Tennis Championships, which take place from 3 – 16 July 2017. The iconic hotel is renowned for its innovative afternoon teas, and for the Wimbledon ARTea, available from Wednesday 28 June until Sunday 16 July 2017, the pastry team have gone all ‘OUT’!

As the professionals take to the court to warm up their first and second serves, chefs at Lancaster London will be doing the same! The first round commences with savoury bites of Lancaster London Smoked Salmon and Citrus Cream Cheese Granary Pinwheels; a Warm Tartlet of Goat’s Cheese and Red Onion; and a Sesame Seed Choux Bun filled with Confit Duck, Sun Blushed Tomato and Hoisin Sauce. 

The second round promises to be an exciting one with a tie-break between the Summer Berry and Traditional Scones, served with Homemade Strawberry Jam and Clotted Cornish Cream. 

For the grand final, a tangy Lemon Tennis Ball Tart will be landing on the grass next to a Mini ‘Murray’ Mess and a Centre Court Strawberry Macaron. Wimbledon wouldn’t be Wimbledon without a glass of Pimms, so the Tipsy Pimms Cupcake and Pink Champagne Teacake are the sure favourites to win the crowd’s favour. 

Served in the classic Park Room, which boasts beautiful views of Hyde Park, the Wimbledon ARTea Afternoon Tea is priced at £35 per person, or can be enjoyed with Champagne for £45, and Rose Champagne for £50

I don't know about you, but I think Chef Ben Purton and his team have created an amazing looking afternoon tea feast to celebrate Wimbledon. The Tipsy Pimms cupcake and Pink Champagne teacake sound very tempting!

If you try this afternoon tea during July we'd love to hear all about it!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for a Guest Post ......Kavanagh’s Tea Room, Oakham

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends, we hope you're having a lovely day.

Today we have another lovely guest post from Victoria, who has enjoyed an afternoon tea adventure at the newly opened Kavanagh's Tea Room in Oakham. The tea room only opened in May and we love to hear about new places to enjoy a spot of tea and cake. Let's see what Victoria thought.....

Kavanagh’s Tea Room has opened within Oakham in Rutland (England’s smallest county!) over the last month. Having popped in for a coffee during its first couple of weeks of opening, I felt that it was my duty to book their Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea for a Fathers’ Day treat for my father. Just for research purposes, you understand!

We were welcomed warmly by the owners, Clare and Martyn. It was Martyn who explained the menu to us and there is a separate tea menu of loose leaf tea. We all ordered English Breakfast tea, which was beautifully smoky and perfect to accompany our food. The staff also brought us bottles of chilled water as it was such a hot day.

Each one of us decided to try the full selection and it arrived on a tiered stand. No finger sandwiches, but beautiful bread. Clare did tell me later that she is a coeliac so everything available on the menu is also available in a gluten free form, without any prior knowledge. The fillings on the sandwiches were plentiful, the pulled pork was divine but my favourite was the goats cheese with roasted vegetables and pesto. 

The scones are freshly baked each day and are all gluten free. Strawberry jam and clotted cream was served in accompaniment. I’m afraid that the sweet treats on the top nearly defeated us, but oh my word, the brownie was divine.

Definitely a place to return to time and time again! A quirky treat was a tiny Polaroid picture that Martyn took of us all enjoying our tea.

That all looks and sounds tea-riffic! Those scones look amazing!

A huge thank you to Victoria for sharing her afternoon tea adventure with us. If you've been somewhere new (or an old favourite) we'd love to hear all about it - drop us a line!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for....some cold brew tea from Ahmad Tea

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends!

Phew! If you're in the UK at the moment you're probably feeling the heat! Not that I'm going to complain....the sunshine is much better than our usual UK weather! But we do need something to help us cool down in this heat.....and so I was so pleased with my recent post from Ahmad Teas which included a selection of cold brew teas.

Cold Brew Tea - Ahmad Tea

Each of the teas are brewed using just a teabag and cold water and are ready in approximately 5 minutes. There are three different varieties to try - English tea, peach & passion fruit and lemon & lime.

So far I have tried the two fruity options...

Cold Brew Tea - Ahmad Tea

The peach & passion fruit did indeed brew in about five minutes giving the tea a lovely rich colour. The flavour is peachy, but I would try and brew it a bit longer next time to intensify the flavour.

Cold Brew Tea - Ahmad Tea

The lemon & lime tea brewed in under five minutes and the flavour was very refreshing. The instructions suggest you might like to sweeten the tea, but I found the flavour of this one to be great on it's own. This is definitely my favourite of the two fruit teas.

The best thing about these teas are how quick and convenient they are to make - no need for boiling water or any fancy contraptions. Just make with cold water in your favourite glass and add ice!

Ahmad Tea sells these in boxes of 20 teabags for £2.20, for more information pop by the Ahmad Tea website.

I'd like to thank Ahmad Tea for sending me their cold brew teas to try - such perfect timing!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

When You Wish Upon A Brunch - Disney Brunch Special

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're well today.

So, we have something a little different for you today.....there's no tea or cake (shock horror I know) but there is lots of fun, some Disney singing and lots of bubbles! Recently we took our lovely friend Becca for a Birthday treat - a Disney inspired brunch hosted by the team at Impossible Things Entertainment.

Now this is a brunch for big kids and anyone who loves Disney, or anyone who wants to experience something really different .....it's a brunch full of your favourite Disney songs, quizzes, dressing up!

The event was held at The Birds in Leytonstone, it was the first time they had held the event at this particular venue. When we first arrived we were seated on a long table, our breakfast order was taken and bubbles were poured. We were supposed to be joined by four other guests....but they didn't show up! But unfazed by the smaller than usual group, the team made us feel really welcome and thus began the most amazing couple of hours of fun!

The food was good (we all opted for a full English), the bubbles flowed throughout brunch and the team from Impossible Things Entertainment were friendly and super talented. We were really lucky to experience this brunch with no other guests.....but we're definitely going back to get the full experience!

The three of us spent three hours taking part in Disney quizzes, hunting for Nemo in the pub, enjoying a colouring competition and singing to Disney songs. The Impossible Things Entertainment team put on a great show for us - their singing is fantastic, they had us up on our feet dancing!

If you love Disney, this is definitely the brunch for you. If you're looking for a fun Saturday out.....then this is definitely the brunch for you! To find out more about the When You Wish Upon A Brunch and where it's taking place next pop by the Design My Night website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel and Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - High Chai Afternoon Tea

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're feeling tea-riffic today!

Wow - it's been a while since we last posted anything - sorry! Never fear though.....we've been busy sampling tea and cakes and have lots more blog posts up our sleeves!

Today we wanted to share some afternoon tea news with you, highlighting a special event that is taking place this coming weekend at Chit Chaat Chai, an Indian street-eats restaurant in Wandsworth, London. As part of London Evening Standard’s Food Month, Chit Chaat Chai are hosting a High Chai: Afternoon Tea with an Indian Street-Food Twist - how exciting!

Taking place on 17th and 18th June, the High Chai menu brings you the best of Indian street eats. The High Chai includes signature favourites alongside new surprises, such as the Bombay bhel, the iconic beach treat of puffed rice, potatoes, onions and chickpeas married in house-made chaatneys; samosa chaat, a party of tangy tamarind, crunchy samosa and crispy sev; sloppy keema joes served with soft, buttery brioche buns; tandoor-fired spiced chicken bites wrapped in delicious flatbread; and vada pau burgers, spiced potato patties, loaded up with house made chaatneys, to name a few.

Finish off the meal with coconut samosas drizzled in Himalayan salted chocolate, and chai-spiced chocolate brownies served alongside a revitalising vanilla pod ice cream.

Plus you can opt to wash down your feast with bottomless Indian Masala Chai or bottomless Badmaash Bellinis! How good does that all sound?

This is a special event, taking place only on Saturday 17th June and Sunday 18th June between 1-5pm. High Chai is £25 per person and includes bottomless masala chai. If you’d like to indulge in Bottomless Mango Bellinis as well, enjoy the High Chai at £35 per person. Advanced booking on hello@chitchaatchai.com is required. For more information pop by the Chit Chaat Chai website.

If you take part in this afternoon tea event with a difference we'd love to hear all about your adventure! Send us your photos on Twitter!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna