Welcome to our Christmas Cheer Blog Series!

Hello there,

I don't know about you....but we just LOVE Christmas here at Tea With Me and Friends towers. It might be November as I am writing this.....but I can confirm that I am sitting here in a Christmas jumper and I might have watched a Christmas movie or two earlier today!

For us Christmas is more than just a couple of days, its the whole season.....the build up is just as much fun as the actual day itself. As it gets darker and colder there is something wonderful about the sparkle and joy of Christmas. Don't worry though....my decorations won't be going up until December....I just enjoy dabbling in Christmas in November! Dabbling includes jumpers and movies, a new Christmas music playlist.......plus all the sweet treats and drinks you can enjoy. Which brings me onto this new blog series.....all about Christmas drinks!

As you can imagine we drink a lot of different Christmas drinks during November and December and this year we thought we'd share our discoveries with you.....the good, the bad and the ugly!

Whether it be Christmas drinks we enjoy on our afternoon tea adventures or drinks we enjoy in the comfort of our own homes!

In this first post we thought we'd ask you for your recommendations too....do you have a favourite Christmas drink we should try? Whether it be tea, coffee, hot chocolate....or something more cheerful maybe (I'm thinking Christmas cocktails!)....we'd love to hear about it. Leave a comment here or drop us a line.

Keep your eyes peeled over the coming weeks - Christmas cheer is all around you!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for.....Hot Chocolate!

Hello there!

We hope you're well today. Here at Tea With Me and Friends Towers we love a great cup of tea with our afternoon tea and are partial to a cup of coffee in the morning....but we also love a really good hot chocolate! There is something so comforting about hot chocolate, like a lovely warm hug in a mug!

So when Natasha at Pretty Patisserie told me that they were launching a new hot chocolate menu I just had to check it out! Then when I saw the menu.....yes they have a hot chocolate menu....I knew I had to pop back to Pretty Patisserie really soon to try  of the hot chocolates!

Each hot chocolate is made to order, using real chocolate. There is also a dairy free option.

In total there are nine different hot chocolates to sample....I think I'm going to be visiting rather a lot in the near future! From a classic hot chocolate to a chocolate orange, a chocolate mint and a wonderful creation called The Unicorn (which is white chocolate and raspberry, complete with lots of marshmallows and a unicorn horn!).

I popped by Pretty Patisserie to try my first hot chocolate last week, opting for the chocolate orange variety (I love Terrys Chocolate Oranges!) and of course I had to sample another cake while I was there. This time I picked a rather wonderful looking lemon cupcake (the lemon drizzle that I love so much had already sold out). I took my seat in Squires and waited for my treats to be brought over.....

I decided to have a lemon cupcake because surely that's two of my five a day right there! 

To start with just feast your eyes on that hot chocolate...it truly is magnificent! Classic hot chocolate, spiked with orange oil and topped with whipped cream! Now cast your eyes on the cake...just look at that perfect icing!

The hot chocolate was scrummy - served at the perfect temperature and the balance of the chocolate and orange flavours is great. Not too sweet, not too bitter. I really enjoyed it and probably consumed it far too quickly!

The cake was also delicious - the sponge was light and flavoursome and there was a great lemon filling in the middle. The icing on the top also has a great flavour and the texture is lovely too. All in all a lovely cake!

If you live near Farnham in Surrey or happen to be visiting the area and fancy a lovely hot chocolate and a great piece of cake you can't beat Pretty Patisserie! While you're there you can also take a look at the wonderful cakes and biscuits on display in Squires.

On this occasion I'd like to thank Pretty Patisserie for their hospitality as they treated me to my hot chocolate. Don't worry though - the sweet treat didn't go to my head and all opinions expressed in this blog post are my own.

I'll definitely be popping back to work my way through the rest of the hot chocolate menu! If you visit Pretty Patisserie we'd love to know what you enjoyed! Leave us a comment and let us know!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for a Little Christmas Tradition

Hello there,

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

It's Christmas Eve and we hope that you are all ready for Christmas. Last weekend to get in the festive mood I held a Christmas Movie day at my house and invited all my girlfriends over to join me. I have a rather large Christmas movie collection......and I'm generally rather passionate about the festive season...so any opportunity to get my friends together and watch lots of Christmas films and eat scrummy food is not to be missed!

Christmas Movie Day with Tea With Me and Friends

I made rather a lot of treats, and some of the girls also brought over some snacks to keep us fortified....

Among other things we had stollen, mince pies, millionaire shortbread dusted with gold and homemade mini quiches.

Some of us got really creative.....

A chocolate Christmas pudding made by Melissa

To begin with we tucked into the food, accompanied with lots of tea and coffee and started watching the movies. Then as the afternoon progressed we decided we needed something more sweet and we set up a hot chocolate bar....

As well as the scrummy hot chocolate we had cream, chocolate chips, marshmallows, honeycomb and chocolate flakes! It really was an indulgent treat, which went well with the festive movies!

In the end we managed to watch three full length movies (Arthur Christmas, Home Alone 2 and The Grinch) and one shorter cartoon and everyone left feeling very relaxed and very festive!

This is the first year that we have done this, but I think it will become a tradition repeated each year as we all really enjoyed ourselves!

Do you have any sweet Christmas traditions that you share with family and friends? We'd love to hear about them....

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Tea for Tea.....in the 1950s!

Hello there!

I hope you are keeping well today. Firstly I am sorry for all the photos in this post....I couldn't help myself!

This weekend Lorna, Becca and I did a little time travelling as we joined Rhythm Riot in Pontins Camber Sands for their action packed 1950s weekend! There was plenty of 1950s fashion, music, dancing and cars....all in the wonderful settings of Pontins. Lorna and I got into the swing of things with our new 1950s clothes....

1950s day wear!

But we also found time for a spot of tea and cakes. If you know the area, you'll know that the little town of Camber sits about 15 minutes away from the beautiful town of Rye....and it was to Rye we headed to (on a 1950s bus!) find some sweet treats!

On Saturday we visited Simon the Piemans....

 

 

We found this fab tearoom behind the main high street and were enticed in by the amazing window full of sweet treats and the inviting fire.....

 

Who wouldn't want to stop here for some tea and cake??

 

We were pleased to get a nice spot by the fire!

 Simon the Piemans didn't offer a full afternoon tea, I could have enjoyed scones and tea...but on this occasion I fancied something a little more substantial and so we all opted for savoury items followed by some cake. To start I ordered the egg sandwiches (good old fashioned sliced, boiled eggs with mayonnaise if requested) on brown bread, with a pot of tea.

Tea and egg sandwiches

The sandwiches were freshly made to order, the bread was fresh and filling plentiful. I'm glad they asked me about the mayonnaise though...it would have been a little dry without it! Meanwhile Lorna had opted for something a little different....

A large pork pie and salad. Lorna reported that the pork pie was very tasty, with the right amount of jelly!

 

We then moved onto the sweet items....and the menu keep us occupied for some time as there was a lot to pick from! In the end I decided to sample my first mince pie of 2013......

Warm mince pie and whipped cream - scrummy!

I was not disappointed with my choice....the pie was warm and served with whipped cream. The mincemeat was tasty and the pastry just the right thickness. All in all this was a rather scrummy mince pie!

 

Becca went for a piece of the scrummy looking chocolate and walnut brownie....

 

Becca let me try a piece of her brownie and I am pleased she did....it was rich, chocolately and full of walnuts. A very nice end to our lunchtime!

 

Unfortunately the service isn't the fastest, but the food was good and the tearoom itself is lovely - the open fire really makes the space. If you're in the area and fancy a piece of cake, its definitely worth a visit!

 

 The next day we headed back to Rye to sample the delights of The Cobbles Tea Room...again this is tucked off the main high street in Rye....but once you've found it you'll definitely visit again! Lorna and I had actually visited this tea room last year and so we knew some of the treats that lay behind the cute signage....


Afternoon Tea at The Cobbles Tearoom

First off we needed to order some drinks.....and Becca took our advice, ordering the Cobbles Special hot chocolate.....

 

Hot chocolate anyone?

Served in a teacup, this hot chocolate is rich and creamy, topped with marshmallows and then piled high with cream! Its a meal in itself and a must for all hot chocolate lovers. Lorna and I opted for a pot of tea.....

 

Time for tea?

 There was a good selection of black and green teas to pick from, and if you liked a particular tea you could also buy leaves to take home with you. This tea however, was to accompany the afternoon tea for one that I decided I needed to sample....

Afternoon tea for one....

 The tea consists of a pot of the house tea, sandwiches (picked from a list of fillings), a warm scone with cream and jam and a generous slice of cake (again picked from the selection on offer that day).

 

I was a little disappointed that I couldn't have the egg mayonnaise that I had ordered(there was only enough for one person and so I let Lorna enjoy the egg), instead I opted for tuna mayonnaise. However, the sandwiches were fresh and tasty. 

 

The scone was the highlight of this tea...not only was it served warmed....it was also homemade and extremely tasty. We enjoyed having a pot of cream and jam to ourselves, and piled our scones high!

 

There was several different cakes on offer...I opted for a lemon drizzle cake and Lorna went for the coffee and walnut. Both slices were large and tasty (although mine had a little too much drizzle on the top for my taste).

 

 We really enjoyed our experience at The Cobbles Tearoom, which is over 50 years old. The service was friendly and quick and the food was homemade. If you are visiting Rye, you should pop by!

Lorna and I enjoying our tea!

All in all we had a lovely tea-fuelled 1950s weekend.

Matching car and outfit...what more could a girl want?

I even picked out my next car!!

 

If you have an interest in the 1950s, then the Rhythm Riot weekend might be just the thing for you...take a peek at their website for more information!

 

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna