Time for Tea....Coworth Park

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.....we hope you're ready to drool today! We have a rather wonderful afternoon tea adventure to share with you today, as recently the lovely Alexandra treated Rachel to a spot of tea at Coworth Park as a Birthday treat.

Coworth Park is a luxurious country house hotel on the borders of Windsor Great Park. Situated in picturesque parkland, Coworth Park is part of the Dorchester Collection, a beautiful country retreat that we'd wanted to visit for a while. Afternoon tea is served in the Drawing Room, which is located in the main Mansion House and enjoys stunning views over the hotel’s terraces and the Berkshire countryside. Words that I would use to describe Coworth Park are elegant, beautiful and peaceful....somewhere to escape to and enjoy time with friends.

Afternoon tea is a quintessentially English affair, with sandwiches, scones and sweet served on an elegant tea stand. Guests also have over 20 teas to choose from and can enjoy their afternoon tea with a glass of bubbles.

The afternoon tea sandwiches included:

Poached salmon with bronze fennel on caraway bread

Smoked chicken and basil on basil bread

Cucumber with cream cheese and mint on onion bread (v)

Montgomery Cheddar cheese savoury on wholemeal bread (v)

The sandwiches were freshly prepared, served on soft bread which was well filled. We all really enjoyed the smoked chicken sandwich, but all the fillings were tasty! The finger sandwiches were a tiny bit rustic, and not quite even...

But that added to the charm! 

We were offered a second round of sandwiches, which we happily accepted ...... well it would be rude not to when they were so nice!

Next came the scones, which were served with clotted cream and a choice of strawberry preserve and cherry compote. 

The scones were still warm when we enjoyed them. They were small enough to enjoy more than one and were light and fluffy in the middle. 

Finally we made it to the top of the cake stand and those beautiful pastries....

Each item looked beautiful and was the perfect size. The flavours were quite traditional and nothing was too fancy:

Lemon verbena éclair

Kentish strawberry and elderflower trifle

Raspberry and meadow sweet frangipane tart

Chocolate and hazelnut sponge cake

The frangipane tart was so cute, with a little bee on the top

Each pastry was well made and the flavours well balanced....it's quite hard to pick a favourite really. If you like Bakewell Tarts you will really enjoy the little frangipane tarts - the pastry is perfectly light and the almond and raspberry well balanced. But I think the chocolate and hazelnut stole it for me - chocolately without being too rich. 

As this was a birthday treat, Coworth Park helped me celebrate with a little Birthday cake:

I took the cake home with me as I was rather full from afternoon tea, but it kept really well and I enjoyed it later that week with a cup of tea! 

After tea we were encouraged to explore the beautiful grounds, including a walk through the meadow. It was a lovely sunny evening and so off we went....

From the moment we arrived at Coworth Park, every member of staff we encountered was friendly and professional and keen to help us. This coupled with the beautiful surroundings and well put together afternoon tea made for a wonderful afternoon.

I'd like to thank Alexandra for treating me to this afternoon tea - I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a treat. For more information about this afternoon tea please visit the Coworth Park website.

https://www.dorchestercollection.com/en/ascot/coworth-park/restaurants-bars/the-drawing-room/

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel and Lorna

Time for Tea.....Rosewood London

Hello there,

This weekend Lorna and I were lucky enough to be invited to sample the afternoon tea at the newly opened Rosewood London hotel in Holborn (a two minute stroll from the tube station). I know of the hotel because I have viewed their event space previously and I knew that the hotel itself is very elegant and oozed opulence, so we were very keen to experience their afternoon tea offering.

The Rosewood London opened in October 2013 following a refurbishment of the previous hotel on the site. The hotel celebrates the local area and allows guests to enjoy luxurious surroundings. As Lorna and I arrived at the hotel quite early, we headed into Scarfes Bar for a cocktail first....well it would be rude not too!

The bar is beautiful...full of comfy seating, a roaring fire and a large collection of antique books. They have a good cocktail list, offering an unusual selection of cocktails.

Cocktails at Scarfes Bar, Rosewood London

We managed to spend an hour in the bar very easily, and before we knew it, it was time to head to The Mirror Room to enjoy a spot of tea. The Mirror Room is truly elegant, with lots of seating for both couples and larger groups. At one end there is yet another fire and also the cake table. The room is kept quite dark, with the atmosphere being driven by candles on the tables, soft lighting and slightly controversially piped music.

The elegant Mirror Room
Rosewood London

 Now, usually I take photos of the menu to remind myself post tea of the selection we indulged in....but this time I did not so we will have to rely on my memory!

After being seated we had the choice of a champagne afternoon tea at £49.00 each or the traditional afternoon tea at £39.00 each. Having already indulged in a cocktail we opted for the traditional tea. 

We also needed to select tea from the selection on the menu, there were several black teas, a white tea, green teas, a yellow tea and herbal infusions to pick from. I opted for the delicate white tea and Lorna went with their yellow tea. Teas were served in individual glass teapots, which suited the modern surroundings of the Mirror Room.

Once tea was served we were brought our sandwich selection on a rather cute stand.....

Afternoon tea sandwiches
Rosewood London

Now, I have to say that these were the most dainty looking creations that I have seen in a while. Perfect rectangles and not a crust in sight - they were nearly perfect, except the bread was a tiny bit dry on the top. We enjoyed a cream cheese, radish and black pepper sandwich (sounds a tad bit weird, but tasted wonderful), a cheese, ham and smoked butter sandwich and the most amazing egg mayonnaise sandwich I have ever eaten! I think it may have also had some onion in either the egg mixture or the bread....it was delicious! 

In fact all three fillings were lovely, and the softer fillings were actually pipped into the sandwich - adding to their beauty! Take a look at this egg sandwich.....

Afternoon tea sandwich - Rosewood London

Now, here lies a little disappointment for me....as I would have loved another one (or two) of those sandwiches. However, while I was away from the table the waiter whisked our empty sandwich stand away and returned with the scones without asking Lorna if we would like more sandwiches. I did question this after our tea with another waitress and she assured me that we should have been offered more sandwiches....so if you do indulge in tea at the Rosewood London and fancy more sandwiches, don't be shy to ask for them if they are not offered!

The scones were served warm.....really warm....as if they were fresh out of the oven. They were served with clotted cream, lemon curd and strawberry jam....all served in silver pots or containers.....

Warm scones - Rosewood London

Now, my disappointment at not having a second helping of those tasty sandwiches was eased by the fact that there scones were amazing! We had two, very good sized scones - one plain and one fruity. The scones looked lovely, with a good glaze on the top. They had a lovely crunchy exterior, but were light and fluffy inside. The lemon curd was tart and zingy, a taste explosion! The strawberry jam was equally as good, really fresh and sweet. 

Once we had finished our scones, the sweet treats were brought out on another beautiful cake stand.....

Sweet treats
Rosewood London

Now this is where tea got a little controversial again, if you look closely there is an amazing selection of sweet treats on that stand. There were six different items, plus petite fours.....but they were all different! Now I don't know about you, but I hate that conversation about who is going to eat each sweet treat at tea when there is a selection like this! However, all the sweets were a good size and so Lorna and I decided to split each one, making sure we could both try them all!

Afternoon tea sweets - Rosewood London

The selection of sweets was divided into distinct flavours, with a top fruity tier which included an amazing raspberry macaroon. A zingy citrus tier which featured a passion fruit eclair. And finally a chocolate selection featuring a rather scrummy piece of Opera cake.

Afternoon tea sweets - Rosewood London

The sweet treats all tasted divine, the textures were great and everything was so fresh. Once we'd demolished all the sweets we were offered more cakes, we could either enjoy something from the selection we had already enjoyed, or we could have something different! Yes, it turns out that there were even more sweets to try!

Now being ever so slightly greedy, I decided that I did want to squeeze one more thing in (I have no idea how!) and I took a recommendation from the waitress. 

She brought me a rather large piece of passion fruit cake.....

Afternoon tea - Rosewood London

This was also amazing, very zingy and light....but I couldn't finish the whole piece!

All in all this was a wonderful afternoon tea, everything tasted wonderful and there was a great variety. I was a little bit disappointed that we weren't offered more sandwiches and it took a while for the waiter to notice that our teapots were empty, but all the waiters and waitresses in the Mirror Room were extremely friendly and professional.

At £39.00 for the traditional tea, this is a treat, but I think its worth it. The surroundings are wonderful and the afternoon tea is very tasty, we definitely enjoyed our glamorous afternoon!

I'd like to thank the Rosewood London for their kind hospitality.

Thank you for popping by today,
Rachel

Time for something sweet....

Hello there!

I hope you are having a lovely week. So, we are already into the month of February....that month which my boyfriend dreads, which is tinged with pink and red. There are hearts and flowers everywhere! Yes, Valentines Day is just around the corner and there is all manner of Valentines themed feasts that you can indulge in.....including a lovely selection of afternoon teas!

Here at Tea With Me and Friends we're off to The Royal Horseguards hotel in Whitehall, London to enjoy their Naughtea....take a look at what lies ahead of us.....

Naughtea Afternoon Tea at Royal Horseguards
Photo from Website

Among other treats I will be enjoying a dark chocolate lipstick, corset cookies, beautiful lace cupcakes and strawberry lips macaroons all created by resident Pastry Chef Joanne Todd.

So, I thought we should take a peek at some of the other Valentine afternoon teas that are on offer this February.

You may remember my interview last month with Pastry Chef Ji Sun Shin, from the Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington. As well as learning all about this amazingly creative pastry chef we also had a sneak peek at her Valentines afternoon tea....

Valentines Afternoon Tea at The Ampersand
Photo from website

At the Ampersand you will enjoy red berry and vanilla cream eclairs, heart shaped macaroons and dark chocolate coated raspberry marshmallows.

Flemings in Mayfair is also featuring a Valentines themed afternoon tea, complete with pink champagne....

Afternoon tea at Flemings, Mayfair
Photo from website

Their tea includes champagne jellies, vanilla cupcakes, rosewater and white chocolate macaroons and coconut chocolate truffles.

Finally there is the super cute afternoon tea being served at the Palm Court at The Langham Hotel...

Afternoon tea served at Palm Court at The Langham Hotel
Photo from website

This creative tea features a Red Cupid Heart, Diamond Dust Pink Candyfloss, a Puppy Love Sable and a mini red Velvet cupcake. It all looks so cute!

I don't know about you, but I am drooling ever so slightly after looking at all those sweet treats! Don't forget to pop back after Valentines to see our photos of the Royal Horseguards afternoon tea. 

If you are inspired to indulge this Valentines, you will need to make sure you have booked a table, these teas are all limited editions and most are only available for a week around Valentines Day. Take a peek at the hotel websites for more information about dates and prices.

If you do indulge in a spot of Valentines inspired afternoon tea we'd love to hear all about it!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea....Royal Garden Hotel

Hello there,

One of my friends messaged me on Twitter last week to say they were celebrating their wedding anniversary at the Park Terrace Lounge in the Royal Garden Hotel, London. They had never enjoyed afternoon tea before and were looking forward to the experience.

I celebrated my birthday with a group of friends at the Royal Garden Hotel a couple of years ago and we really enjoyed the experience, so I was keen to know what it was like now.

Kate and her husband were impressed with their experience and sent me the following photos.....

Afternoon tea at the Royal Garden Hotel

Lets take a closer peek at that afternoon tea stand.......

Great service at the Royal Garden Hotel

 The Royal Garden Hotel offers guests two different afternoon teas, there is the Kensington Tea and the Royal Tea. 

The Kensington Tea includes tea of your choice from the extensive tea menu and a selection of sandwiches. This is followed by scones served with clotted cream and jam, and a selection of cakes and pastries. This tea costs £24.00 per person.

If you fancy some bubbles and strawberries with your tea, indulge in the Royal Tea which costs £34.00 per person. This tea includes all the above and also strawberries with a balsamic drizzle and a glass of champagne.

Afternoon tea at the Royal Garden Hotel,
photo from website

In addition to the green, black, white and fruity teas on offer at this tea, for a supplement guests can also try a selection of Asian-inspired Ceremonial Teas.

Tea is served daily between 2:00pm - 5:30pm in the lounge and guests enjoy live piano music as they dine.

I am pleased to discover that this tea is just as wonderful as when I enjoyed it with my friends a couple of years ago. 

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea.....BB Bakery County Hall

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends....today we have a wonderful guest post for you written by my Twitter friend Alex who indulged in a spot of tea at BB Bakery County Hall.

Take a peek at her experience......

"I fancied afternoon tea with somewhere close by where we could walk off the calories afterwards. After much Internet perusing I found the website for BB Bakery County Hall. Situated right on the Southbank and just £26 for an afternoon tea, it seemed too good to be true.

Let me tell you, it was everything and more.

Such delights await you inside these doors!

When booking our reservation we requested a vegetarian tea and one normal tea, we also told them that we would have a baby with us.

The bakery was big and quirky chic with pictures and vintage tea decorations everywhere. There were lots of sweets in jars, and cakes on display that had you ready to dive in! Upon arrival they were friendly and welcoming and had reserved us an area with a sofa so the baby could lie on it if needed (we thought this was very thoughtful).

Such pretty displays!

Wouldn't you love this in your living room??

When asking us what we would like to drink, both of us said we were not huge tea drinkers to which we were informed we could have as many soft drinks we liked. The savoury part of tea was served on two different plates, so the vegetarian bits were separate. Then a plate of sweet treats was on top.

Afternoon tea at BB Bakery County Hall

The waitress informed us to ask when we were ready for scones as they serve fresh from the oven! You can imagine at this point I was thankful for the stretchy dress I had worn!

The sandwiches were fresh, tasty and with a mixture of fillings such as pesto and mozzarella and ham and Edam. We also had a miniature quiche which was light and well seasoned.

Then came the sweets..... 

Cake anyone??

Well they were good, a little too good! We had macaroons, chocolate brownies, cupcakes, lemon meringues and raspberry tartlets. Each one was so beautifully made and perfectly sized.

But the scones, the scones were the icing on the huge giant iced afternoon tea cake. Hot and fresh, the jam was home made and the clotted cream was light and delicious. All together we oohed and ahhed.

After Alex's description I think I need to try one of these scones!

Every mouthful of this tea was just wonderful and we felt so relaxed and welcomed. We even got goody boxes to take our leftovers home in. Yes we had leftovers!!!"

Well, I don't know about you....but I might be drooling just a little bit after reading that! It sounds like Alex had such a lovely tea, I had heard good things about this afternoon tea so I am glad it lived up to other people's experiences. At £26.00 each (or £33.00 each with a glass of bubbles) I think this is a great value tea, offering lovely service and a fab selection of goodies - definitely one for my wish list!

BB Bakery County Hall offers so many different sweet and savoury treats, take a peek at their menu here. If you fancy trying afternoon tea for yourself you need to give them at least 24 hours notice.

Thank you Alex for sharing your experience with us....and for taking so many lovely photos! 

If you've enjoyed afternoon tea anywhere recently, why not drop us a line and let us know about it. We'd love to see your photos too!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....St Martins Lane

Hello there!

I hope you're having a tea-riffic day!

Yesterday Lorna and I indulged in an afternoon tea with a difference at St Martins Lane hotel, London. We were there to try the Cafecito afternoon tea at Asia de Cuba, a sweet and savoury feast with both Asian and Cuban influences.

In the modern surroundings of Asia de Cuba, with Cuban music playing in the background, our tea was served on wonderfully quirky bespoke china. 

Quirky china at Asia di Cuba's afternoon tea

 As you arrive each diner is presented with a cigar box full of the utensils required for your tea, and you are told that you will need to make just four choices during your whole experience....and all of these are drink related!

Inside the box is your knife and fork, a beautiful tea strainer and your menu.....

Inside the cigar box......

Afternoon tea is served in two parts, with the savoury items being served first and the sweet only served when you are finished with the savoury. Each "course" comes with a different tea.

Our first decision of the afternoon was whether or not we wanted a cocktail to begin our experience. There were three different cocktails on offer, and our waiter gave a recommendation of which one he liked best. 

Of course we decided it would be rude not to try a beautifully crafted cocktail to compliment our afternoon tea! I opted for the fruity "Passionate About Tea" (a rum based cocktail) and Lorna went with the recommendation of the waiter and enjoyed an "Old Cuban Martini". Both were very tasty!

We also had to decide which of three teas to enjoy with our savoury course. There was an Iron Buddha, a Dragon Well and a smokey Lapsang. Lorna went with the Dragon Well and I tried the Lapsang. The teas were served in modern, glass teapots.

A fruity cocktail and a pot of smokey tea!

The first course was then served....a fruity smoothie to begin and then a wonderful selection of savoury items all served on a very quirky stand.......

The first course at Asia de Cuba
- the savoury selection!

As regular readers will know, both Lorna and I have quite sweet teeth and so you might be surprised to know how much we enjoyed this first course. Among the delicious items were a BBQ pulled pork and Swiss cheese pressed sandwich, a chicken and avocado spring roll and savoury scones served with Mojito butter.

A closer look at some of those savoury afternoon tea items!

The flavours were all rather delicious, and there was a great selection of items. It was also rather nice to enjoy the smokey tea with these savoury items.

The scones that we were served may have looked small, but they were light inside and full of flavour. One was flavoured with onion and the other with herbs. Both went very well with the Mojito butter.

Once we had finished the savoury items, the china was cleared and we were asked to pick the next tea to go with our sweet treats. This time the teas were lighter and included a caramel Oolong, a Lychee Red and a Vanilla Black tea.

The sweet selection was then brought out on a cute little platter......

The sweet treats!

The platter included the most amazing Mexican doughnuts which were filled with a butterscotch sauce. They were served warm, and melted in your mouth - completely scrummy! We also enjoyed a mini key lime pie topped with a light meringue, warm banana spring rolls and a delicious chili chocolate cream (the waiter recommended dipping the banana into the chocolate cream and I can confirm that this was a wonderful combination!).

Although there was only a small selection of sweet treats, everything was perfectly proportioned and you weren't left feeling hungry.

I had originally made this reservation for myself, Lorna and a friend as we were celebrating our friend's Birthday. The Birthday girl had to cancel, but rather embarrassingly I forgot to tell the restaurant and we were presented with two more scrummy doughnuts and a Birthday message! 

Wonderful service at Asia de Cuba
afternoon tea

We owned up straight away, and luckily the waiter found it quite funny! Secretly we were quite pleased to be able to indulge in another one of those doughnuts each!

You finally end your afternoon tea experience with one last decision as you are offered either a sweet espresso shot or one of two fruity palate cleaners.

This afternoon tea experience costs £25.00 per person, or if like us you fancy a cocktail too, it will cost you £35.00 each. I think this is great value for the selection of food and drink on offer.

The waiting staff were all very friendly, and knowledgeable - offering advice where appropriate. The surroundings were modern, but comfortable. 

All in all this was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, and we really enjoyed this afternoon tea.

Have you tried an afternoon tea with a difference? If so we'd love to hear about!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea......Intercontinental Westminster

Hello there,

Our lovely friend Becca has been indulging in a spot of afternoon tea....without us (yes, we were very sad)....but luckily she took some photos for us to drool over and told us all about her lovely afternoon.

Becca went to the Intercontinental Westminster, which Lorna and I first discovered last summer, to enjoy their unlimited champagne afternoon tea. Take a look at the scrummy treats that Becca and her friend enjoyed.....

Afternoon tea at
Intercontinental Westminster

The tea selection at the Intercontinental Westminster is rather good, and includes black, white and green teas. As well as scented, flowering, Oolong and herbal teas. In fact there are 14 different teas to choose from on the standard menu, plus three premium teas that you can try for an additional charge.

Becca has a bit of a savoury tooth, and she nearly always prefers the sandwiches and savoury treats to the sweet cakes and pastries. She was pleased to report back that the sandwiches were all very tasty and as you can see from her photo above they were appropriately cut without any crusts!

Intercontinental Westminster Afternoon Tea Sandwiches
Photo from hotel website

Becca also commented that the scones were very tasty! They were served warm with jam and rather scrummy lemon curd.

There was one sweet treat in particular that Becca really enjoyed from the cake stand.....

Sweet treats at the Intercontinental Westminster!

This cake was described by Becca as "peanut butter deliciousness"! High praise indeed from our savoury toothed friend!

Becca and her friend cleared their plates, and were asked whether they wanted anymore food. The champagne also flowed freely during their time at the hotel. The waiters were very friendly and helpful, confirming whether there were any dietary requirements before ordering the tea. 

Always a good sign at the end of a tea - empty plates!

Becca commented that it was so relaxed and enjoyable that they wanted to stay there all day!

During afternoon tea a harp is played to entertain the guests, he plays a mix of modern and classic songs. Becca and her friend enjoyed playing "guess the song" as they enjoyed their tea.

This afternoon tea experience is £30.00 per person, which is brilliant value as the food is replenished and the champagne flutes are never left empty. However, this is a special offer in January 2014...take a peek at their website to see what tea the hotel is currently offering.

Thank you Becca for sharing your lovely experience with us. If you've enjoyed a spot of afternoon tea recently and would like to share your photos with us please get in touch! 

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel and Lorna

What's your favourite sandwich filling?

Hello there and welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends!

We have recently started looking at the humble sandwich, and what part it plays in the afternoon tea feast. In our last article we looked at all the different types of sandwich you can now find within an afternoon tea....they have definitely evolved from the dainty finger sandwich traditionally served with tea.

Afternoon tea sandwiches

We currently have a poll running on our side bar...we're interested in knowing what your favourite sandwich filling is. If you have voted yet we'd love to hear from you!

Egg mayonnaise sandwiches are always extremely popular at the afternoon teas that Lorna and I create for our friends. We have one friend in particular who is a really big fan....I'm not sure what she'd do if we served tea without them!

Are there any egg sandwiches in there?

I'm quite partial to coronation chicken sandwiches at tea....a filling that I do not usually have in my sandwiches, so its a lovely treat.

Today's sandwich menu at tea can be so diverse, with venues moving away from the more traditional fillings like egg mayonnaise, cucumber or salmon. Whats the most unusual sandwich filling you've come across? Leave us a comment and let us know!

And don't forget to vote!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel