It's Cocktail Time - featuring Rutland Tea Co

Hello there,

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

Regular visitors to the blog will know that we love a good cup of tea with our afternoon tea or maybe a glass or two of bubbles....but we also love a great cocktail! We think there is nothing better than a well made cocktail to tickle the taste buds!

Recently I've been experimenting with some tea in my homemade cocktails and I wanted to share this one as I am so pleased with how it turned out! 

This is a sweet and fruity cocktail, probably slightly better suited to the summer months....but I can't see the problem with being prepared for the warmer weather! I can just see myself in the garden with a glass of this on a summer's evening. The flavours are tropical - think oranges and pineapple and you're on the right lines!

For this cocktail I have used the wonderful Earl Grey Blue Rose tea from Nottingham based Rutland Tea Co. This is a scrummy tea whether you enjoy it hot or cold. Its a traditional Earl Grey with citrus flavours which has been super charged with pineapple-peach flavours. The flavours are tropical, but remain light and refreshing. 

I discovered this tea as part of a Tea Tourist monthly subscription box, but you can also buy this tea directly from the Rutland Tea Co.

For this cocktail you'll need to brew the tea in advance and then leave it to go cold.

I have used Orange Marmalade vodka from Chase Distillery, as this is my preferred citrus vodka. You can substitute this for another brand if you have a favourite. I also used a sugar syrup - I was lazy and used a shop bought version. If you're feeling in the mood or don't have any pre-made you can easily whip up a batch of sugar syrup at home...

Homemade sugar syrup

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring cold water and sugar to a boil.

Turn the heat low and constantly stir the mixture until all the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear, this will take approximately 3 to 5 minutes.

Leave to cool

Finally I have topped my cocktail off with a little Prosecco - I can't remember which brand I used....you can use whatever you happen to have at home or your favourite brand. 

Now the important bit....

To make the cocktail

This is really simple....no shakers or mixologist skills required!

In a glass (I used a wine glass) with ice combine:

100ml of the cold tea

25-50ml of sugar syrup - I recommend putting a little in and tasting it for sweetness

50ml of citrus vodka

then top it off with a little Prosecco

Et Voila....you've got a glass of sunshine to enjoy! 

I topped mine off with a slice of orange (it was a clementine to be precise) but I was just trying to be fancy! If you have no fruit to hand, don't worry!

Have you used tea in your cocktails at home? Do you have a favourite recipe? I'd love to hear about it and maybe give it a try myself - get in touch and let m know!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel 

It's London Fashion Week - lets celebrate with a cocktail!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends! Today we have a cocktail post....well sometimes a girl just needs a good cocktail!

The ultimate fashion parade comes to London this September.  With events, shows and the perfect backdrop for people-watching, London Fashion Week showcases the very best of established and emerging design talent.

To celebrate the occasion, Corinthia Hotel London welcomes guests to sashay down the catwalk to the Bassoon and enjoy a special cocktail or two!

The barmen at Bassoon have created a special selection of limited-edition cocktails to enjoy during London Fashion Week, featuring a choice of rum, vodka, gin and whisky-based tipples, each aptly named for discerning fashionistas to savour.

THE BASSOON CATWALK COCKTAIL COLLECTION

Carmen Miranda

Bacardi Gold Rum, Angostura Bitters, Pineapple Juice, Lime Juice, Pimento, Grenadine and a drop of Lavender

Power Dressing

Grey Goose Vodka, St Germain Liqueur, Lemon Juice, Sugar Syrup and Pomegranate Seeds

In the Frow

Sloe Gin, St Germain Liqueur and Lemon Juice topped with Champagne

Smoking Jacket

Woodford Reserve Whiskey, Galliano and Old Fashioned Syrup

Glad Rags

Tanqueray Gin, St Germain Liqueur, Elderflower Cordial, Lime Juice and Jasmine Tea

The cocktails cost £16 each​ and look pretty special!

If you try one of these fab cocktails be sure to send us a photo!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Chocolate time! Recipes from Paul A Young

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - if you popped by over the weekend you'll know that this week is officially Chocolate Week!

We've already brought you a round up of some of chocolate experiences that you can indulge in this week....but today we thought we'd share some fab chocolate recipes from Paul A Young that you can try at home. So, if you haven't heard of Paul before he really knows his stuff when it comes to chocolate! Paul’s passion and creativity have won him numerous awards and led to him being ranked amongst the world’s best chocolatiers.

Paul A Young

Paul has several shops in London, where he and his team make all their creations completely by hand in the kitchens at each shop, in small batches and at every stage using fresh ingredients. If you haven't visited one of his shops and love chocolate you should definitely make a trip!

Now, in our eagerness to bring you these recipes we haven't actually tried them out at home yet...but they looked so good we wanted to share them with you straight away. Take a look...you'll see what we mean...

Chocolate bramble cocktail

From Paul A Young - I came up with this version of the classic bramble cocktail one evening when the air in the city changed from warm and balmy to the first cool breeze of autumn.

Chocolate bramble cocktail - Paul A Young

makes 2 cocktails

FOR THE CHOCOLATE LIQUOR

300g unrefined golden caster sugar

150g 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces

FOR THE REST

Juice of 1⁄2 lemon

100ml gin (I prefer Tanqueray or Plymouth Dry)

25ml Crème de Mûres (blackberry liqueur)

8 blackberries

Lots of crushed ice

2 squares of your favourite dark chocolate

First, make the chocolate liquor. Put 150ml water in a saucepan along with the sugar and bring to a simmer. Allow to rest for 2 minutes, then pour over the chocolate pieces in a bowl. Whisk well and leave to cool thoroughly.

Meanwhile, place 2 martini glasses in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to get the frosted effect.

In a cocktail shaker or jug, place the lemon juice, gin, Crème de Mûres and 6 of the blackberries. Muddle and mix well until the blackberries burst slightly.

Place a pyramid of crushed ice into each glass and pour over the blackberry mixture. Now top up each glass with the chocolate liquor, then place a blackberry and a piece of dark chocolate on top of each ice pyramid.

Venezuelan chocolate pancakes with chocolate maple syrup 

From Paul A Young - This recipe is my homage to Sunday-morning brunch, which is one of those occasions when anything goes; in other words, be as indulgent and naughty as you like because it is certainly not the time to count calories or grams of fat. 

Feel free to add blueberries, nuts and sultanas if the fancy takes you. The syrup can be made days or even weeks in advance and stored in the fridge. 

Venezuelan chocolate pancakes  - Paul A Young

Makes enough pancakes for 4 people 

FOR THE PANCAKES 

25g Venezuelan 100% dark chocolate, grated 

200g buckwheat flour, or spelt 

1 free-range egg 

45g light muscovado sugar 

350ml milk 

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

25g unsalted butter, for frying 

FOR THE SYRUP 

Pinch of sea salt

250ml dark maple syrup 

100g 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces 

Place all the pancake ingredients (except the butter) in a blender or food processor and whizz until a smooth, thick batter is formed. Leave the batter to rest while you make the syrup. 

To make the syrup, dissolve the salt in 50ml water in a saucepan over a gentle heat, then add the maple syrup and bring to a simmer. Pour on to the chocolate in a bowl and whisk well until smooth. 

Heat a crêpe pan or non-stick frying pan until quite hot and melt a generous wedge of butter until it sizzles. Spoon a small or large amount of the batter into the pan, depending on whether you want to make American pancakes or crêpes. Leave to cook on a medium heat until you see bubbles on the surface of the pancake, then carefully turn over and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Place the pancakes on a plate and cover with foil until you have cooked the entire batch. 

Serve the pancakes laced with the warm syrup – be generous as the pancakes soak up a lot! 

How wonderful do they both look?

If you try these recipes at home we'd love to hear how you get on....send us a Tweet or leave a message on Facebook!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea....in Cuba??

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends! As some of you may know, Lorna and I took a little break last month, disappearing off to Cuba for a week of sunshine and beautiful beaches.....

Beautiful Cuba

 Now as you, wherever we travel we always try and find a new afternoon tea adventure to try and share....but this proved rather challenging in Cuba, where coffee is the preferred hot beverage (it is rather good coffee!).

We did find some food in our hotel which reminded us a little of afternoon tea, there were some savoury items which looked a bit like afternoon tea sandwiches....

Not a crust in sight on these cucumber open sandwiches....

.....We also found tomato open sandwiches!

We were delighted to find these crustless wonders.....but when we tried these tomato and cucumber delights, unfortunately they were a little dry on the edges and a little soggy in the middle! 

The sweet treats we found looked a lot more promising....

Sweet treats for Tea With Me and Friends.....

....not quite afternoon tea though!

There was plenty of choice when it came to sweet treats at our hotel buffet, all perfectly sized and very tasty! The raspberry cake and the chocolate and vanilla slice in the bottom photo were particularly good, with great flavours and textures. However, they were all more pudding than afternoon tea. 

So with no afternoon tea adventures to share with you, we have decided to give you a slightly different post which looks at something else that Cuba is very famous for.....a spot of rum!

Our Cuban holiday had a rum theme!

While in Cuba we might have tried a little bit of rum....in fact we might have enjoyed various rum based cocktails during our holiday! 

We drank rum in minty mojitos, which consisted of white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, sparkling water, and mint. We enjoyed it in refreshing daiquiris made of white rum, lime and simple syrup. And we drank it in creamy pina coladas, made with white rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice....

Pina Colada by the pool....

I think I enjoyed the lime daiquiris most as I found them rather refreshing in the Cuban heat. Lorna was rather partial to a Cuba Libre - white rum, lime and cola.

While in Havana we were taught how to drink dark rum correctly, swilling it around our mouths (this was an interesting experience that I'm not sure our mouths thanked us for) ....

Rum tasting in Cuba

We also visited the Havana Club museum in Havana, where we enjoyed a guided tour....

Havana Club Museum

As well as the history of Havana Club in Cuba and the rum making process, we also visited their rather impressive bar....

Havana Club Museum Bar

There was also a trip to the Floridita bar in Havana, which was once the regular haunt of Ernest Hemming and in 2012 was home to the world's largest Daiquiri..... 

World's largest daiquiri 

This giant cocktail was whipped up by Cuban mixologists at the club, and weighs in at an impressive 71 gallons! The cocktail was created as part of the celebrations honouring the 195th anniversary of El Floridita, and it took two waiters half an hour to fill the glass.

After a week in the sunshine I think it's safe to say that we left Cuba with a greater appreciation for all things rum! We hope you have enjoyed this slightly different post....pop back soon for more afternoon tea posts!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna 

Afternoon Tea News....The Ampersand Hotel

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea news post from Tea With Me and Friends.

I wanted to share with you a creation that will be featuring at the Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington to celebrate London Cocktail Week. Pastry Chef Ji Sun Shin has created a wonderfully cute afternoon tea, complete with cocktail umbrellas....

Cocktail afternoon tea - Ampersand Hotel

Doesn't it look wonderful? The colours are so inviting!

Currently on offer at the hotel is the London Fashion Week afternoon tea, which features lots of legs and handbags......

London Fashion Week Afternoon Tea - Ampersand Hotel
Photo from Website

London Fashion Week Afternoon Tea - Ampersand Hotel
Photo from Website

The London Fashion Week afternoon tea is available from the 6th - 21st September and includes savoury gougeres and a selection of plain and white chocolate scones as well as the pastry selection.

Ji Sun is an extremely creative pastry chef, who thinks that flavour is just as important as the look when it comes to her themed afternoon teas. I had the pleasure of meeting Ji Sun at the beginning of  this year, read all about it here.

For more information about all the afternoon teas on offer at the Ampersand please visit their website.

Have you enjoyed one of the themed afternoon teas at the Ampersand Hotel, if you have we'd love to hear about your experience!

Thank you  for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea.....Volupte Lounge

Hello there....

Well yesterday Lorna and I took our friend Becca for a very special Birthday treat (a little late considering Becca's Birthday is in June, but definitely worth the wait!!). We spent the afternoon at the Volupte Lounge in London, experiencing their amazing Burlesque tea "Voluptea".

Now you'll have to forgive me for the slightly dodgy photos here...its a bit dark in the lounge! We arrived at Volupte nice and early to sample a cocktail in the bar upstairs (well it would be rude not to) ......

 

there is a wonderful selection to pick from - you'll be spoilt for choice. Ours were all very delicious!

 

Once seated by our host in the lounge downstairs, we enjoyed a glass of champagne and a selection of sandwiches...

 

 

including salmon bagels, hummus and tomato, pastrami, egg mayonnaise and the most amazing cheese and pickle I have ever tasted (yes I did just say that!). It was an interesting selection, and all very fresh and tasty.

 

As we nibbled on the sandwiches the first act of the show began and we were treated to wonderful performances from Tempest Rose, Jolie Papillon, Delores Deluxe and Felixy Splits. What a talented bunch of performers - all with amazing outfits and brilliant routines....you will definitely leave wanting to be a burlesque entertainer or least own some feathers! The brilliant thing about Voluptea is that the performers change regularly, and so if you go more than once (like we have) you will probably see different performers.

 

During the interval our sweet treats were served....

 

 

We had scones with clotted cream and jams, amazing mini cupcakes, fruit cake and a lemon syllabub. Again, it was all very fresh and tasty....I could have eaten those little cupcakes all afternoon! As you'll notice we all have gorgeous vintage teacups to drink from...these are filled with your choice of teas or for a supplement you can pick from a selection of tea-cocktails, which of course are served in teapots!

 

The second half begins and we are treated to more from the beautiful ladies, with fab routines, songs, magic and of course more nipple tassels! The team at Volupte made a lovely fuss of Becca, as the sweet course was brought out they sang Happy Birthday to her. She was also involved in one of the acts - dressing in a giant banana costume and being a backing dancer (sadly I haven't got any photographic evidence of this as I was laughing too much at the time to work my camera!).

 

The finale of the show was a brilliant performance from Madame Galina - I won't ruin it by telling you too much about the performance....but its not to be missed!

 

The lounge itself is beautifully designed, and suits a vintage-feel afternoon tea very well. Ladies - you must visit the toilets while you are there, they are so cute! I don't normally include photos of us....but you are encouraged to dress up for this afternoon tea, taking inspiration from the 1920s-1950s. Lorna and I rose to the occasion in our 1950s dresses, complete with petticoats.....

 

 

After the show you can retire back to the bar upstairs for another cocktail or two, you can also meet all the lovely performers...you should say hello, they don't bite!

 

This is a treat at £49 per person, however you get a champagne afternoon tea and brilliant afternoon of entertainment, so I would say its definitely worth it. Maybe this is not the right tea for the traditionalists out there....but if you love a bit of cheeky entertainment, some good cocktails and food (and of course tea)...and don't mind the odd nipple tassel or two then you should definitely give this tea a try! It's a brilliant afternoon out with the girls....we'll be booking our next one very soon!

 

Thanks for popping by today - please leave us a comment so we know you've visited!

 

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea.....Reform Social & Grill (Vintage Tea)

Hello there - Happy Monday!

Well this weekend I had a rather lovely afternoon tea experience at The Reform Social & Grill which is at the Mandeville Hotel, London. I took my friend Alex there for a Birthday treat as I know she enjoys afternoon tea. I called ahead and mentioned it was Alex's Birthday and I have to say that they really did spoil us - on arrival we were each given a complimentary cocktail to celebrate and when tea was served they sang Happy Birthday to Alex! A lovely surprise - thank you!

I have experienced the Vintage Tea before and was looking forward to experiencing it again, one of the attractions (as well as the sweet treats) is the wonderful free flowing champagne that is served alongside tea. If you fancy something a little bit different you can also try the Gentleman's Tea which offers a slightly more masculine selection of savoury items.

Last time I had the Vintage tea the sandwiches weren't really the highlight for me as they were a little dry, and I have read negative comments from other people who have tried the tea. However this time I was pleasantly surprised....the traditional selection of salmon, cucumber and egg came on lovely soft bread and were perfectly cut into fingers!

After the sandwiches we naturally turned to the scones, although there were only two served to start with, more warm scones were delivered to us as soon as we asked. The cream was clotted and the jam came in cute little jars.

Finally we reached the top tier....the sweet treats....and what a lovely selection we had (although they weren't all to Alex's taste!). The meringue kisses were light and airy and the cherry cake was yummy, complete with a cherry hidden in the middle. My favourite though was the slice of mini Battenberg cake!

 

All in all I was really pleased with this afternoon tea experience - at just over £30 each we were well fed and the champagne was indeed free flowing. All the staff were extremely friendly and made this experience extra special!

 

There are lots more tea experiences happening this month.....so we hope to see you again soon! After reading this post we'd love to know your thoughts - please leave us a comment and say hi!

 

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea......Hyatt Regency The Churchll

Hey there,

As the smoke is still clearing after the 4th of July fireworks to the west, it seems a good idea to let you know about the recent visit our fab friends, Becca & Becky, made to the Sex & the City par-tea at Hyatt Regency The Churchill.  As you can imagine there is a strong American twist on the typical afternoon tea here so maybe this one is not for the traditionalists among you.  However if you fancy something a little bit different then this is it!  

Fancy something a little bit different?

 

 Delectable mini burgers and hotdogs take the place of finger sandwiches and there is, of course, a cool cocktail to wash everything down.  The cocktail in question was the Flirtini, a delicious champagne based, fruity drink.  The cakes and pastries were fabulous, even tempting the savoury lover at the table to finish every single one.
If you are a fan of the TV series or movie Sex in the City you will enjoy the nods to the main characters including a pink stiletto for Carrie and an appletini jelly for Samantha. There is definitely a hint of Manhattan glamour to this afternoon tea!

The fabulous Flirtini cocktail!

At £38 for a standard tea and £47 if you fancy the cocktail too, this is a little bit of a treat....but the food does keep coming, you just have to ask for it! Overall a wonderful afternoon was had.  The service may have been a teensy bit slow at times but the friendly and apologetic staff (not to mention the cocktail!) made up for this. Maybe us Brits aren't the only ones who can pull off the perfect afternoon tea..!

Thanks for popping by today, if you've enjoyed this review please leave us a comment to let us know!

 

 

Rachel & Lorna

xxx

Time for tea?

Hello there and welcome to our new blog!

Our names are Rachel and Lorna and we love nothing better than having afternoon tea with friends and family. Its something about the pretty china, the yummy cakes, a cup of tea and the natter of good friendship that just makes us smile!

Vintage themed tea

Over the last couple of years we have experienced rather a lot of different afternoon teas...from the Savoy and the Ritz to Browns or the Berkeley .....sometimes it was just us, other times we'd drag our friends along and we always take mum somewhere fancy for her annual Mother's Day afternoon tea. We've enjoyed our experiences so much that we've also started hosting afternoon teas at home for our friends - using our collections of vintage china to serve our friends yummy cakes and treats!

Halloween themed tea

On this blog we'd like to share our experiences with you.....sharing our favourite places for tea....our favourite recipes for cakes and a little gossip.

Our most recent afternoon tea experience was one with a little twist...Lorna treated me to a burlesque afternoon tea as a Birthday treat. She wanted to find an afternoon tea with a difference...and she met that challenge rather well! We recently visited Volupte in London on a Saturday afternoon for their Voluptea - a wonderful afternoon of burlesque entertainment and a tasty afternoon tea, complete with a glass of fizz.

Enjoy a Voluptea!

We enjoyed wonderful cocktails served in large teapots (additional charge), a selection of finger sandwiches (pictured above), tasty cakes and delicious scones served with cream and jam.....and of course a good selection of tea. The service was attentive and friendly, and we were entertained by burlesque beauties. The cost for this afternoon is £49 per person and I think its exceedingly good value as we left nicely full and well entertained!

That teapot is full of a fruity cocktail!

 



As well as all this yummy goodness and the brilliant burlesque entertainment, all guests are encouraged to dress for the occassion...taking inspiration from the 1920s-1950s. Lorna and I need no encouragment and both dressed for the part....Lorna is beautiful 1920s and me in my 1950s full circle skirted dress. Nearly everyone there had some kind of vintage dress on - whether it be in their clothes or the red lipstick they were sporting! It really added to the fun of the afternoon.

We'd highly recommend this tea...brilliant for celebrating a Birthday or for a hen party. And if you are worried about any nudity...don't be....the ladies are amazing and although clothes do come off, its all very respectable! We enjoyed this tea so much that we're actually going back in a couple of months with another friend!

We hope that you've enjoyed our first post and hope that you pop back for more reviews, photos and recipes...we've got lots to share!

Thank you for popping by,
Rachel & Lorna