Time for tea...where ever we happen to be!

Hello there,

Its lovely to see you! As you might know Lorna and I have recently taken a short break from the Tea With Me And Friends afternoon tea blog.....we escaped to sunny Spain for a week of relaxation!

 

Here we are posing on the beach!

 

Now we may have been away from the country...but afternoon tea was never far from our minds! Spain might not be known for their afternoon teas and our hotel didn't serve an afternoon tea as such. But as it was an all inclusive holiday we managed to find enough snacks to put together our own afternoon tea!

 

Now there might be crusts on our sandwiches....and there wasn't a scone in sight.....but I did enjoy my sandwiches and Danish!

 

We also managed to miss out on another afternoon tea...on our flight! Yes, Thompsons offers afternoon tea on their airplanes!

 

 

Doesn't that look cute??

 

Have you ever sampled afternoon tea in the air.....or on another mode of transport? If so we'd love to hear about it....please leave us a comment!

 

Thanks for popping by today,

its lovely to see you.

 

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea.....Intercontinental Westminster

Hello folks,

This weekend Lorna and I were lucky enough to be invited to sample the Blue Boar afternoon tea at the Intercontinental Westminster, we dined as their guests and I have to say we had a really wonderful time. Tucked away behind Parliament Square, we probably wouldn't have found this hotel by ourselves and so we were very pleased to be introduced to this hidden gem.

We spent the afternoon in The Lounge, which was a contemporary space full of pretty flower arrangements - a very elegant place to enjoy tea. We were looked after by Michael, who incidentally agreed with Lorna when it comes to the great scone debate! Not only did Michael have good taste when it came to scone dressing, he also knew his teas pretty well and made some very good recommendations from the tea menu. During the afternoon we were entertained by a harpist, playing an assortment of different songs.

We began the afternoon with chilled champagne - which is always a wonderful start to afternoon tea, and as we enjoyed we were presented with the three tiers that would make up our afternoon of treats. Michael explained each plate, telling us each filling or flavour. Then the feast began with the bottom tier - the freshly made sandwiches. Our choice included cream cheese and cucumber, salmon, beef and horseradish and ham and mustard - all on super soft bread. We were offered seconds, but for once we remembered not to over indulge in the savouries and agreed it was time for scones.

The sandwich plate was cleared and out came another plate containing our scones which I'm pleased to report were served warm, wrapped in white linen. The scones were perfectly proportioned, we had one plain and one fruit each. We were given clotted cream, traditional strawberry jam and wonderfully tart lemon curd to dress our scones in. 

After the scones we started on the next tier up and enjoyed a small slice of fruit cake and an eccles cake. Like the scones, these were perfectly sized which allowed us to sample more delights than if they had been bigger. Flavour wise the fruit cake was delicious, but unfortunately it was a little dry.....however this was our only criticism of the whole experience. I really enjoyed the eccles cake, which had a butter rich pastry shell.

Finally we'd made our way to the top tier....in some people's opinion the best tier....yes folks it was the sweet plate - full of miniature sweet delights! This plate contained a wonderful jelly flavoured with pimms, a chocolate and cherry slice, a peach and thyme cake, a white chocolate teacake and Lorna's favourite bit - the tastiest raspberry macaroon!

Again we were offered seconds of the wonderful sweet treats, we opted for a couple of extras....well it would be rude not to! All of this was served on the prettiest china, plain white with a doily-like pattern. If the hotel ever wanted to sell this off I would be first in line to purchase some for my collection!

All in all this was a really good tea, everything was fresh and very tasty and all the staff were friendly and helpful. We'd like to thank both the Blue Boar and the Intercontinental Westminster for inviting us to sample their afternoon tea and for their hospitality.

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Tme for Tea.....Bea's Vintage Tea Rooms

Hello there!

If you're in the UK I hope you are enjoying this fab weather - summer is finally here! Last weekend I was lucky enough to spend some time in Bath with my friend Becca. We stayed in a fab boutique hotel called Henrietta House which is about a ten minute stroll from the centre of Bath. The hotel is gorgeous, filled to the rafters with vintage furniture....and they serve an amazing breakfast! On top of everything else every member of staff we met was so incredibly friendly - I'd definitely stay there again!

While in Bath we did some of the fab tourist things like exploring the Roman Baths, but we also made sure that we made time for some afternoon tea! Well, it would be rude not too! Now, we were spoilt for choice in Bath, but we opted for a trip to Beas Vintage Tea Rooms which is located near the Fashion Museum (also worth a visit!).

When you step through the door at Beas its as if you've stepped back to the 1930s/1940s....with a lovely interior stuff full of vintage items and wonderful music playing in the background. One of the first thing I notice was their amazing patisserie cabinet full of scrummy looking cakes...... 

 

The menu has a good selection of breakfast and lunch items.....but of course we were there for a spot of afternoon tea! The tea was served on a three tier cake stand and included a lovely selection of freshly made finger sandwiches, a scone each and a large slice of cake - we were given two different slices which we then cut in half again so we could share the flavours!

 

The sandwiches were very traditional with both egg and salmon featuring, along with cucumber. The scones were a good size....not too big and not too small, I wasn't disappointed that there was only one each. One piece of cake was traditional Victoria sponge which was generously filled with fresh whipped cream and summer berries. The second piece of cake was lemon, filled with a delicious lemon curd and topped with meringue.

 

All in all this was a rather lovely tea, served on pretty china and coupled with the elegant surroundings it was a wonderful way to spend an hour or so! The price was just under £20 for two people, which is good value (as we left rather full) however you then need to add the cost of your drink onto your bill as tea is not included - we found this a little strange, but we'd still visit again.

 

 

So if you happen to be in Bath, Beas Vintage Tea Rooms is definitely worth a visit!

 

Thanks for popping by today,

I wonder where we'll be going for tea next?

 

Rachel & Lorna