Afternoon Tea News - CUTcakes & Tea at CUT at 45 Park Lane

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we have some exciting news for you today. A brand new American style afternoon tea is coming to London from Wolfgang Puck's debut restaurant in Europe - CUT!

CUT is an American steak restaurant which is situated on Park Lane and this is an afternoon tea which differs from the norm as there is not a traditional finger sandwich in sight! Instead executive chef, David McIntyre, invites guests to enjoy delights such as Wagyu beef sliders and black truffle grilled cheese toasties. Just take a look at the savoury and sweet bites you can enjoy....

CUTcakes and Tea afternoon tea - CUT at 45 Park Lane

The savoury bites include...

Black Truffle Grilled Cheese
Fried Chicken & Buttermilk Bisquet, Honey-Jalapeño Jam
Tuna Tartare ‘Sandwich’, Avocado, Ginger
Lobster Po’Boy, Homemade Brioche, Herb Remoulade
Wagyu Beef Slider, Garlic Aioli, Sweet Pickle

Lobster Po Boy and mini Wagyu beef sliders at CUT

While those with a sweet tooth can enjoy....

Strawberry Milkshake
Graham Cracker S’mores
Peanut Butter & Jelly Twinkie
Cola Cake & Caramel Corn
‘Cheeseburger’ Macaron
Scones, Clotted Cream, Strawberry & Huckleberry Compote
Pink Lemonade Cake Pop
Cookies & Cream Cake Pop
New York Cheesecake Pop 

Look at those cake pops and milkshake! CUT at 45 Park Lane

I think it looks and sounds so scrummy! I'm not even sure where I would start with either the savoury bites or the sweet bites! I think this is definitely one I am adding to my wish list!

You can find out more about this afternoon tea on the CUT at 45 Park Lane website. If you enjoy this afternoon tea we'd love to hear all about it!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

What a Tea-riffic Year!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - sorry it's been such a long time since we last posted! We lost all concept of time in the last couple of months of 2017....but never fear....we're back feeling tea-riffic and looking forward to lots of afternoon tea adventures in 2018!

Looking back over 2017 we enjoyed some wonderful teas - we visited Lancaster London for their clever black and white themed Halloween afternoon tea, where every item was either black or white. It made for such an elegant afternoon tea....

We also enjoyed rather controversial triple-decker, triangular sandwiches at The Balcon at Sofitel St James....which Lorna didn't approve of....

In the summer we visited the rather beautiful Coworth Park to celebrate Alex's Birthday. We enjoyed walking around the grounds of the house and eating the cutest sweet treats (almost too cute to eat!)....

We enjoyed German and Austrian themed afternoon teas at the German Gymnasium in April, which included a rather magnificent Opera cake...

Sheree visited Cannizaro House Hotel in Wimbledon and shared her afternoon tea adventure with us, this tea included a variety of different savoury elements...

We began the year by visiting Jumeirah Carlton Tower, where we enjoyed a champagne afternoon tea which included some beautiful tarts and pastries...

And this is just some of the afternoon teas we've enjoyed! We also drank rather a lot of tea and discovered lots of new tea companies and blends.

Now we're looking forward to 2018 and all the sweet treats that are in store for us. We're looking forward to visiting some of the places we've already discovered and trying some new ones too! If you enjoy an afternoon tea or have a favourite tea blend please get in touch - we'd love to hear all about your afternoon tea adventures too!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Halloween 2017 part 2

Hello there,

Welcome back to part 2 of the Tea With Me and Friends Halloween themed afternoon tea round up! Yes, today we have more spooky afternoon teas to share with you!

Let's begin with Tewin Bury Farm Hotel in Hertfordshire.....

This afternoon tea is available between 21st- 31st October and guests can enjoy the following sweet treats:

Cauldron mallow pop
Ghoulish white chocolate macaroon
'Dracula's Tomb' raspberry opera
Eerie sorbet filled 'chocolate eye'
Blackcurrant & 'Slime' pannacotta

Yes, you read that correctly.....you could be feasting on a chocolate eye!

The Milestone Hotel in London if offering a very limited Halloween afternoon tea, available on the 30th-31st October 2017.....and beware....it includes more eyeballs!

Sweet treats at this afternoon tea include:

Spooky coconut meringue
Bat praline millefeuille
Eye ball chocolate truffles
Poisonous pistachio cheesecake
R.I.P velvet cupcake

This menu made me giggle, calling the pistachio cheesecake "poisonous" - if I'm honest I'm not the greatest pistachio fan and so this name is very fitting!

Finally we found this super cute Halloween tea on offer at Lottie's Coffee Lounge at the Butterfly House in Sheffield:

And yes....there is another eyeball in this one too - clearly a theme in 2017! This afternoon tea is more rustic than the other teas, but I love the styling! This tea is available all of October from 1st October 2017 to 31st October 2017 between 12PM - 3:30PM.

We hope you've enjoyed part 2 of our Halloween round up. If you've enjoyed a Halloween themed afternoon tea this year we'd love to hear all about it!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Wizarding Afternoon Tea, Colwick Hall

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea news blog post from Tea With Me and Friends. We love discovering and sharing new afternoon tea experiences with our readers and we're very excited to share our latest find with you.....a Wizard themed afternoon tea!

This afternoon tea has been created by Colwick Hall Hotel in Nottingham and it looks amazing!

The tea includes savoury items like cheese wands and pumpkin pastries. Whilst those who love the sweet treats can enjoy Buttery beer Caramel, Chocolate Frog Cupcakes and Bleeding Victoria Sponge. 

Guests can also enjoy more traditional items such as savoury finger sandwiches and fruit scones topped with cream and raspberry jam.

But those sweet treats really steal the show....

I think this afternoon tea looks perfect for any Wizard fans and it's not the first themed afternoon tea from Colwick Hall. Previous teas have included an "at the movies" afternoon tea which featured popcorn and doughnut and a Beauty and the Beast themed afternoon tea.

For more information pop by the Colwick Hall Hotel website. 

All images in this blog post are taken from the Colwick Hall Facebook page.

If you sample this afternoon tea (or any other Colwic Park afternoon tea) we'd love to hear more about it - leave us a comment!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Halloween 2017 part 1

Hello there,

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

With Halloween just around the corner we thought we'd share with you some of the Halloween themed afternoon teas that are on offer this October - be warned....they're tea-riffying!

Let's start with Amba Hotel Marble Arch....

The spooky tea being serve at Amba includes:

Witches fingers cookies
Brownie with walnuts
Mini muffin with Ghost meringue
Chocolate milk shake with raspberry couli

Guests can also enjoy sandwiches, scones and a glass of Bloody Mary!

This afternoon tea can be enjoyed between 23rd - 31st October.

Or maybe you fancy enjoying your Halloween themed afternoon tea whilst travelling around London....

Yes, between 28th October - 5th November you can enjoy this colourful afternoon tea feast with a spooky twist on the B Afternoon Tea Bus Tour.

As well as scrummy savouries, there are cupcakes, macaroons and a pumpkin pie!

Finally we have the creepy afternoon tea on offer at BlueBird Chelsea....

Available between 26th-29th October, guests will enjoy sandwiches and scones, along with:

Ghoul cupcakes, liquorice icing
Brownie coffins
Blood orange tart
Pumpkin sponge roll

I don't know about you, but my mouth is watering just looking at these afternoon teas! Don't forget to pop back later this week to see more spooky afternoon teas!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel 

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

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

Afternoon Tea News - Flower Afternoon Tea, Lancaster London

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - today we have some afternoon tea news to share with you as Lancaster London is launching their new floral afternoon tea!

As London starts to bloom with summer flowers and the annual Chelsea Flower Show amazes guests, the chefs of Lancaster London will be switching bags of flour for flowers and the butter for buttercups as they present the ‘blooming marvellous’ Flower Afternoon Tea. 

Lancaster London Blooming Afternoon Tea

A beautifully botanical arrangement of sweet delights includes:

a creamy Lavender chocolate mousse cake;

White chocolate macaroons topped with crystallised violets;

a tangy Lime and elderflower trifle with edible flowers.

The Flower Afternoon Tea features both traditional and raisin scones with classic toppings of strawberry jam and clotted cream, plus a delectably nectar-sweet orange blossom jam.

The savoury treats also have a wild theme with:
Lancaster London home-smoked salmon roses on rye bread,

Coronation chicken served on sweet cranberry bread,

a warm tartlet of English asparagus, with saffron and sun-blushed tomatoes

Sunflower seeded choux buns with wild mushroom, truffle oil and cream cheese are full of wild British woodland flavours. 

Lancaster London Blooming Afternoon Tea

The blossoming tea is served in the hotel’s Lounge Bar from 2pm until 5.30pm, Wednesday 3 May until Wednesday 31 May 2017. The tea is priced at £30 per person and £45 with a glass of Pommery Champagne included. The Flower Afternoon Tea is also available as a Flower ARTea, priced from £35 per person. For more information pop by the Lancaster London website.

This certainly looks like a beautiful afternoon tea experience - if you give it a try during May we would love to know what you think!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Back to the Classics Afternoon Tea at The Langham

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - this week we were lucky enough to be invited to the launch of the new afternoon tea created by newly appointed Executive Pastry Chef at The Langham, London, Andrew Gravett, and his team. Reverting ‘Back to the Classics’, the new tea showcases classical recipes made with fresh ingredients, skilfully produced by a team of passionate patissiers with a contemporary twist. Just look how beautiful the tea stand looks.....

Langham London Afternoon Tea

With reduced sugar and lighter textures, the tea reflects tastes that are easily recognisable but lighter to enjoy...... so when you have finished your afternoon tea feast you are not left feeling too stuffed. Its not a "healthy" afternoon tea, but the treats are lighter.

The Paris Brest is made with Crunchy Choux pastry, lightened pecan cream and caramelised pecans. Babalicious features blackcurrant and star anise soaked baba, Jivara whipped ganache and crunchy pearls. The Decidedly Madeleine offers the classic Madeleine sponge, passion fruit jelly wrapped in a coat of Itakuja. Spherically Challenged comprises of creamy coconut, liquid raspberry and Manjari mousse. Last but not least, the One in a Million showcases a caramelised puff pastry with vanilla infused mascarpone.

Langham London Afternoon Tea

I think my favourite sweet was the "One in a Million" which features the lightest, puff pastry - crisp and buttery! Although the "Spherically Challenged" was also amazing - full of the lightest coconut mousse which dances about on your tongue before disappearing. Lorna was rather partial to the Paris Breast - crisp and crunchy with a light pecan filling.

Accompanying sandwiches devised by Executive Chef of The Langham, London, Chris King include:

Burford Brown egg, marinated artichoke, rosemary bread
Classic English cucumber, cream cheese, chives,
Beef Pastrami, sauce ‘Albert’, watercress, caramelised onion bread
Scottish smoked salmon, Sarawak pepper and preserved lemon cream
Classic ‘prawn cocktail’, iceberg, potato bun, tomato powder

Langham London Afternoon Tea

A classical plate of well balanced savouries. My favourite was definitely the prawn cocktail - the dusting of tomato powder on the top of the roll is pure genius! I wasn't a fan of the artichoke in the egg sandwich, but that was purely down to personal taste rather than anything else.

At the launch we also met various members of the team and saw some of the sweets being put together. Everyone we met was passionate about the afternoon tea, explaining the various items.

The Langham Afternoon Tea with Wedgwood is served in Palm Court with a selection of scones and a choice of blended teas. The tea is priced at £49 per person, £59 with a glass of N.V Laurent-Perrier Brut champagne, £64 with a glass of Laurent-Perrier Rose champagne.

Seatings are available daily between 12.15pm to 5.30pm.

We can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of this new classical afternoon tea experience!

Thank you to everyone at The Langham for inviting us to sample this new afternoon tea. Please note that all opinions expressed in this article are our own.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Chocoholic's delight!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - today we are sharing with you a brand new afternoon tea which will be sure to delight chocolate lovers everywhere!

Launching today (14th April) is the all new The Montagu’s Green & Black’s Chocola – TEA

The Montagu’s Green & Black’s Chocola – TEA

The Montagu at the Hyatt Regency London have teamed up with Green & Black's to craft London's only entirely Chocolate Afternoon Tea! Treat yourself to this wonderfully indulgent Chocola-TEA.

Launched to celebrate Easter and the 25th anniversary of the iconic British brand Green & Black's, this afternoon tea features chocolate throughout all the cake stand.....yes even in the savouries!

Take a look at the menu here...

SAVOURY

Smoked Salmon Sushi Sandwich Cucumber, Dill Cream Cheese-Garnished with Green & Black's White Chocolate Flakes
Churchill Mini Burger with Chilli Chocolate-infused BBQ Sauce BBQ- Sauce infused with Green & Black's Dark 70% Chocolate
Venison and Milk Chocolate Pate with Fresh Raspberry-Braised with Green & Black's Milk Chocolate
Aubergine Mousse Éclair-Dusted with Green & Black's Organic Cocoa Powder
Coronation Chicken Sandwich-Homemade Green & Black's Chocolate Bread

SWEETS

Refreshing Lime Sorbet in Ginger Chocolate Cone
Passion Fruit & White Chocolate Macaroon Stack
Dark Chocolate Cupcake with Salted Chocolate DIY Garnish
Butterscotch Chocolate Tea Cake with Gold Leaf Garnish
Raspberry & Dark Chocolate Layered Mousse with Fresh Raspberries

EXCLUSIVE TEA

Maya Gold Cocoa Nib Tea- infused with orange, cinnamon & nutmeg a tribute to the UK's first ever Fairtrade product

The Montagu’s Green & Black’s Chocola – TEA

Apparently Sir Winston Churchill, the hotel's namesake, was rather partial to a bit of chocolate.....if so I think he'd approve of this indulgent chocolate focused treat!

For more information about this afternoon tea pop by The Montagu at the Hyatt Regency London website.

If you experience this afternoon tea we'd love to know what you thought...did the chocolate bread float your boat?

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Valentine' Special 2017

Hello there,

We are just days from Valentine's day 2017 and we thought it was perfect time to take a peek at some of the sweet treats being served in hotels this year....prepare to drool!

The Love Knot's Valentine's afternoon tea from Conrad St James....

The sweet treats include a Chocolate & red velvet cake, a Frosted rose & vanilla viennese, a Strawberry & yoghurt marble mousse and Sweet vegetable cake with a "love letter", meringue kisses & petals.

Valentine's at The Langham....

Diners can indulge their sweet tooth with:

White chocolate mousse, mango and passion fruit jelly and dark chocolate sable

Strawberry and white balsamic

Victoria sponge

Heart shape cinnamon shortbread cookie

English rose and lychee log

64% dark chocolate, raspberry and almond

How about the Valentine's Wyld Tea at the Mondrain....

This feast includes a glass of Perrier Jouet Rose on arrival and a Gin and raspberry macaroon to take away with a Valentines note.

Valentine's at the Hilton Bath City....

This sweet afternoon tea adventure is accompanied by a glass of Sparkling Rose.

I love the afternoon tea stand!

Fancy something a little bit different, how about afternoon tea at the Daawat Indian Restaurant...

The savouries here include: 

Beetroot gravlax in malted bloomer

Tomato wrap filled with chicken tikka and mint chutney

Paneer pakora on potato-stuffed flatbread

Cucumber and cream cheese on white bloomer

I love how colourful this afternoon tea is!

Finally we have the Valentine's afternoon tea at Amba Hotel, Marble Arch...

The sweet treats here include heart-shaped chocolate sponge, raspberry mousse cake, strawberry shortbread and macaroons.

We hope you've enjoyed our round up of some of the Valentine afternoon teas on offer this February. If you enjoy a Valentine's afternoon tea anywhere this year we'd love to hear all about it!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Valentines Afternoon Tea at Lancaster London

Hello there,

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

With February just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about all things heart shaped....yes Valentine's Day is nearly upon us. It's a time when pastry chef's across the country can get creative with shades of pink and red heart shaped cakes and scones and romantic sandwich fillings! Over the coming week's we'll be sharing with you some of the Valentine themed afternoon teas you could be enjoying this year.

Let's start with a Tea With Me and Friends favourite......Lancaster London, who have created the HeART Afternoon Tea:

The hotel has reinvented its much-loved ARTea Afternoon Tea to offer an exclusive Valentines edition of the tasty treats. 

Settle into the comfortable armchairs of the hotel’s Lounge Bar and enjoy a romantic afternoon. The afternoon tea will be delivered to tables sealed in a charming case with an array of sweet and savoury treats including oysters with salmon caviar, adorable heart-shaped white chocolate and strawberry macaroons, and Love You honey éclairs. 

What’s more, the hotel will be offering a surprise gift for diners to take home. 

We think this afternoon tea looks and sounds scrummy! Another tea-riffic creation from Chef Ben and his tea.

The HeART Afternoon Tea will be available from 8-14 February 2017, from £40 per person. To read more about this afternoon tea, pop by the Lancaster London website.

Pop back over the next couple of weeks to see what other Valentine themed afternoon teas we can find for you.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel and Lorna