Time for Tea....Conrad St James

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends. Recently a group of four of us visited Conrad St James (previously the Intercontinental Westminster) to celebrate Alex's Birthday. We have always loved Pastry Chef Zoe's creations and were looking forward to sampling her latest.

This time we enjoyed another of her edible gardens which we first tried in the summer of last year....this time there was no greenhouse to delve into....but instead a stretch of grass and edible soil! This afternoon tea adventure is called the St. James's Glorious Garden....

St James's Glorious Garden afternoon tea
Conrad St James

Tea is still served in Emmeline's Lounge and we were pleased to see we still had musical accompaniment for our afternoon tea adventure...

The harpist was wonderful, playing a selection of traditional and modern music - something for everything.

But back to the more important thing....that wonderful tea...let's begin with the savoury selection....

Afternoon tea salad - Conrad St James

Afternoon tea savouries - Conrad St James

To begin we were served a light and summery salad, full of fresh ingredients. This was served alongside the more traditional finger sandwiches and mini brioche rolls. The fillings included coronation chicken, egg mayonnaise (in the roll), salmon and cucumber. They were all fresh, tasty and there was not a crust in sight. If I am honest I enjoyed the sandwiches more than the salad, but that is just personal preference.

Once we were finished with the savouries the warm scones and mini Chelsea buns were served....

We had one decent sized scone and one mini Chelsea bun eat. They were warm and were served with clotted cream, raspberry preserve and a tangy lemon curd....of course I had to try both....

Scones dressed the "tea with me and friends" way!

The scones were wonderful - perfect in texture and size. I loved the lemon curd too, which went well with the cream. I enjoyed the Chelsea bun, but I thought it might have been a little bit too small as it was a little dry.

After we had finished these the garden itself was served....let's take a closer look at the sweet treats....

Afternoon tea sweets - Conrad St James

The sweets included....

 Raspberry & orange macarons

Honey and earl grey chocolate bee cake pops

Carrot cake with candied carrot plant pot

 Lavender shortbread sandwich

 Mini rhubarb and spelt cake

There wasn't anything that I didn't like here....what a great selection of sweets! I particularly enjoyed the rhubarb cake and also these....

This was the Honey and earl grey chocolate bee cake pops complete with a cute little ladybird! The cakepop was lovely, full of flavour and not at all dry. I saved this to last and wasn't disappointed by my decision!

As it was a Birthday celebration the hotel also gave the Birthday girl a special treat....she was not impressed that I shared her age with the hotel....so I imagine I will not be very popular when she sees I've shared it with everyone else...but I couldn't not show you this....

Afternoon tea - Conrad St James

This treat was smooth, chocolately and sweet - a lovely treat!

We had the unlimited bubbles afternoon tea which meant that as well as unlimited tea we also had our champagne flutes filled for the 90 minutes we were there. Afternoon teas are available at £49 per person with free flowing G.H. Mumm Cordon Rouge Champagne or £35 per person without champagne.

All in all it was lovely afternoon tea adventure and lovely to be back at the Conrad St James. Zoe continues to please and amaze with her sweet creations and this version did not disappoint! This tea is only available until the 12th July however, but fear not there are plenty more creations to try...

Emmeline's Lawn Club

July 11th – July 12th 2015

 

Summer in the City

July 13th – August 30th 2015

Autumn Bramble Afternoon Tea

August 31st – November 22nd 2015

I'd like to thank the Conrad St James for their hospitality. Please note that although we did receive two complimentary teas on this occasion this has not affected my taste buds and all opinions expressed here are our own.

For more information about the afternoon teas on offer at Conrad St James please visit their website.

If you try any of the other teas during the year we'd love to hear from you...I'm especially keen to hear about the bramble tea!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....Edible Garden at the Intercontinental Westminster

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends. Last weekend Lorna and I were lucky enough to be invited back to the Intercontinental Westminster to sample their latest themed afternoon tea - the edible garden. The hotel has partnered with Laurent-Perrier, offering a unique afternoon tea experience which is inspired by the beautiful Laurent-Perrier garden at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

This particular afternoon tea experience includes free flowing Laurent-Perrier champagne during the service plus a wonderful selection of teas which included both traditional varieties plus garden inspired teas such as Lemon Verbena Herbal Tea, Blackcurrant and Hibiscus Herbal Tea, Whole Rose Buds, Flowering Osmanthus. I opted for the Blackcurrant and Hibiscus tea which had a lovely fruity flavour without being too overpowering.

We were particularly impressed by the visual impact that the savoury selection made once served - it was brought out on two plates and included an impressive selection of savouries....

Edible Garden afternoon tea - Intercontinental Westminster

 Among other items the plates included baby vegetable shots, garden pea and basil tarts, a miniature eggs Benedict and the only traditional sandwich - roast beef and horseradish on beetroot bread. The range of textures and flavours was quite amazing - definitely not your usual savoury selection!

Edible Garden afternoon tea - Intercontinental Westminster

When the plates are presented at the table, the waiter describes each item and suggests the preferred order to sample the delights. The beginning point for the savouries was the baby vegetable shots, which I have to say that both Lorna and I didn't like very much. But this was a personal aversion to avocado mousse rather than anything else (our waiter commented that the shots had received very mixed comments from diners so far)!

As you'll notice from the photos above there were a couple of items were there was only one piece (e.g the salmon on rye) but they were all large enough to share easily.

Once we had finished the savoury items we moved onto the traditional scone plate. We were served one lavender infused scone (served warm) and one mini Chelsea bun - these were served with both lemon and raspberry curd, clotted cream and also strawberry rose jam.

Scones and mini Chelsea buns -
afternoon tea treats Intercontinental Westminster

I thoroughly enjoyed the mini Chelsea bun...especially when I dolloped lemon curd on it! As you can probably tell from the photo there was no shortage of fruit in the buns!

Finally we were served the sweet treats....these were served on a beautiful slate encased in a glass greenhouse. Unfortunately our greenhouse was removed before I managed to take a photo, but I have this photo from the hotel's website as it was a rather impressive sight!

Edible Garden afternoon tea
Intercontinental Westminster

Amazing isn't it?

The sweet treats that are included in this tea include a Lemon box hedge, a Raspberry meringue pie and a Laurent-Perrier strawberry champagne bubble among other items. Again, there were lots of singular items, but all were large enough to share.

Let's take a closer look....

Sweet treats - Intercontinental Westminster

As well as the cakes and pastries, the slate also includes the most delicious chocolate "dirt" and pebbles! 

Lorna was particularly partial to the dirt.....

Edible Garden afternoon tea - even the dirt is edible!

The sweet selection included a wonderful variety of flavours and textures, all the items were very enjoyable. In fact it's quite hard to put my finger on my favourite part, but I think it might be the raspberry meringue pie which tasted amazing and those chocolate pebbles!

All in all this is a lovely afternoon tea experience - really quite unique in its look and flavours. Perfect for garden lovers, but also enjoyable for anyone wanting an unusual afternoon tea. As usual the service at the hotel was good, with our tea being refilled regularly.

The Edible Garden afternoon tea is available until the 26th May and costs £44 per person, for more information visit the Intercontinental Westminster website. We would like to thank the hotel for inviting us to sample their latest afternoon tea and for their hospitality.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea.....Fanny's Farm

Hello there,

This weekend I experienced a wonderful tea with a lovely group of ladies. About a month ago I found and joined The Secret Tea Society....a wonderful group of tea drinking ladies who enjoy nothing better than a spot of conversation over a good cup of tea (or glass of bubbles given the opportunity!).

The Secret Tea Society meet approximately once month to have a wonderful natter, and each time a different afternoon tea venue is frequented. I think you can understand already why I joined!

My first afternoon tea with the ladies couldn't have been more different to any of the other teas I have experienced so far! This time the ladies went to Fanny's Farm in Reigate and we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon tea in their tree house! Yes, you read that right....I had afternoon tea in a tree house!

Me and the Secret Tea Society Ladies!

Everything about Fanny's Farm is truly delightful, including its decor.....it is decorated to fit the season...we were greeted by this display when we first arrived....

 

Yes, I think they're ready for Halloween!

 

As you wander around the grounds you come across many different sites....

 

 

Until finally, among the quiet garden, you discover the tree house.....

 

Isn't that amazing?

 

The tree house was first built in 2001 and seats 10 people inside. There are several different time slots available during the day, and there are seven different menu choices to tempt your taste buds. Everything must be booked in advance, including your menu selection.....but you can make slight changes when you arrive.

 

The various menus include a cream tea, a morning coffee, a mixed tea and a ploughman's lunch. They range in price from £7.50 - £16.50, but the average menu is £9.50. I opted for the Farmhouse Tea which included a pot of tea, a scone with cream and jam and a piece of cake.

 

As you can see from the photo above as well as sweet scones, there are also savoury cheese scones on offer. All are incredibly tasty and very fresh, and rather large in size. The cheese scones came with cream cheese and a selection of fresh vegetables.

 

Lorna will be pleased to note my scone assembly!

 

The sweet scones came with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Everything was served on wonderful china....and we had huge pots of tea to share.

 

 

There was a variety of different cakes on offer to those of us who opted for cake with our tea....the portions were huge and the cakes were served with fresh fruit. We could pick from carrot cake, lemon cake and an apricot and amaretti cake.

 

I opted for the apricot and amaretti cake....which was incredibly moist and tasty. My tea cost £9.50, which considering the portion size and quality of the food was very good value.

 

All in all this was a wonderful and truly unique experience. The Farm and the tree house are beautifully maintained and decorated, the food is tasty and everyone we encountered was very friendly and helpful....even offering to take our photo when we first arrived.....

 

Inside the Tree House with The Secret Tea Society

If you are looking for a tea with a different then this is a brilliant experience.

 

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel