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...something a bit lighter

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends!

Today we are featuring something a little bit sweet, but perfect for those midweek sugar cravings when you don't want to over indulge too much (well they work for us!).

Have you tried...chocolate covered corn cakes? Yes, we know what you are thinking....has all that sugar and caffeine finally gone to our heads....but bear with us on this one!

Milk chocolate corn cakes - Kallo

Now these are from Kallo and come in at just 78 calories per cake making them a sensible treat (yes I know there are two on my plate!). If you haven't heard of Kallo before, they are a company who focus on food products for "sensible happy eating" - hence chocolate covered corn cakes! 

For Kallo a sensible diet should be about what you can eat rather than focusing on what you can't eat (sounds very sensible to me).

Let's take a closer look at the corn cakes....

Chocolate covered corn cakes from Kallo

These corn cakes have a thin coating of milk chocolate on one side, making them sweet enough to conquer a mild chocolate craving, but with less than 80 calories per cake they won't ruin your waistline (unless maybe you eat them all in one go!).

We were sent these corn cakes to try and if I am honest I was a little dubious at first - after all....we are all about cakes, tea and scones here at Tea With Me and Friends! I was concerned that they would be a bit like munching on cardboard. However, I am very pleased to report that there is just enough chocolate on the corn cakes to make them a very enjoyable treat.

Milk chocolate corn cakes - Kallo

For more information about these corn cakes and to see the other products in the Kallo range visit their website. 

We'd like to thank Kallo for sending us these corn cakes to try - but please remember this hasn't affected our taste buds and all opinions expressed here are our own.

Do you have a favourite Kallo product? Have you tried these chocolate covered corn cakes before? What did you think about them?

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

The Friday Review....Peppermint infusion by Sainsbury's

Hello there,

It's time for another Friday review and this week I thought I'd show you that we're not all fancy-pants all of the time!  You know that we love nothing more than a luxurious brew with loose leaves and precision timers but let's be honest, sometimes we don't have time for all of that.  Sometimes we just need something simple, warm, comforting and quick.

So with no further ado I would like to introduce you to my trusty Sainsbury's peppermint infusion.  Ok, I'll give you a moment..  have you all picked your jaws up from the floor?  I know that it is not "proper" tea and that it comes in a bag but I don't care - in fact, that's one of its charms.

You boil the kettle, poor the water over your teabag, brew it for three minutes and Bobs-your-Uncle, you have a delicious hot beverage!

It is light and refreshing, not full of caffeine so can be enjoyed at all times of the day and at the grand price of £2 for 80 teabags, you don't feel guilty if you leave half a cup because you saw something on Pinterest, got distracted and wandered off!

So now I've let you in on my secret everyday brew, how about you?  What's your favourite everyday brew?  We'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for popping by today,

Lorna & Rachel

Time for Tea.....Washingbourough Hall, Lincoln

Hello there,

Welcome back to another guest post from Tea With Me and Friends, we always love to hear about the afternoon teas that have been enjoyed by other people and this week we are joined again by Ele Crossland. Ele is sharing her afternoon tea adventures in Lincoln at Washingborough Hall......

Just a few miles out of the buzzing Cathedral city of Lincoln is Washingborough Hall. Nestled comfortably into its surroundings, this beautiful Georgian rectory is now a fantastic hotel, restaurant and wedding venue. Luckily for me, they serve an outstanding afternoon tea which I just had to try. On a sunny day with a brisk wind, we decided against the stately dining room, cosy library and comfortable bar area to sit in the garden and appreciate the views towards Lincoln. It’s hard to believe that this peaceful green space, where the birds singing is pretty much the only sound you here, is mere minutes from a thriving City.

I’d booked the afternoon tea ahead and was pleasantly surprised to be welcomed in the spacious hall with such enthusiasm. The staff here are clearly briefed on the day’s reservations as we were immediately shown to the sitting room and offered a seat. They were happy for us to sit outside, despite it meaning they had to negotiate some steep stone steps whilst laden with food. I loved their cheerful approach and felt able to relax immediately.

Afternoon tea at Washingborough is a traditional affair, served on the ubiquitous tiered stand, yet with some modern twists from chef. As well as an interesting range of sandwiches (hummus and salad, roasted vegetable and goats cheese) we enjoyed a new one for me – savoury cheese scones with local Lincolnshire Poacher cheese and punchy pickled red cabbage. These were so unusual and scrumptious – I would definitely consider choosing more of those over the usual finger sandwich. 

The afternoon tea stand was adorned with a selection of delicate and very pretty confections. Although the mini chocolate éclair was melt in the mouth, my favourite was the cherry Bakewell slice. With very clearly defined layers, masses of punchy flavour and exquisite presentation, it was so enjoyable. The third sweet was a tiny finger of carrot cake. The cream cheese frosting was divine. I’d clocked an entire carrot cake on the reception desk so made a note to return for coffee and a full-size slice soon. 

As the level had been set so high by the preceding courses, I fully expected the scones (one plain, one fruit) to pass the ‘scone test’. Hurrah! They did, breaking perfectly down the middle when twisted. Although we were both rather full from the savoury and sweet courses, as well as the never-ending pot of English Breakfast tea which was regularly replenished by the staff, I managed to sample one with fresh jam and thick clotted cream. Delicious, although the second scone had to go in a doggy bag along with a piece of carrot cake and the leftover Bakewell slice.

Sitting in an English country garden on a sunny day is a sure way to relax, and the staff seem every happy for their guests to while away a few hours with them. It’s true that the English weather might not always be kind enough to allow for alfresco afternoon tea, but both the bar/sitting room and the library make for cosy hideaways to sit, chat and eat. I can’t wait for December when their Festive afternoon tea menu comes out. I’ll be first in line for their afternoon tea mince pies and mulled wine. Cheers!

Well, don't those scones look amazing? Afternoon tea at Washingborough Hall costs £14.50 per person and is served is served every day between 2pm (3pm on Sundays) and 6pm. To find out more about those homemade cakes pop by their website.

A big thank you to Ele for sharing her scrummy afternoon tea adventure with us, we can't wait to see where she visits next! If you have an afternoon tea that you'd like to share with us please drop us a line!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea.....Cassandras Cup, Hampshire

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends. Now as some of our readers know, although Lorna and I enjoy a lot of afternoon teas in hotel lounges across London, we also like to support local tearooms.

Recently I visited one such tearoom with Sheree - Cassandras Cup in Chawton, near Alton in Hampshire. I had heard about Cassandras on the Internet and really wanted to try this tearoom as it's about a twenty minute drive from my home in Farnham.

Cassandra’s Cup is a traditional English tea room, which offers a good range of traditional and speciality teas and coffees as well as scones, home-made cakes, light snacks, home-cooked meals and afternoon tea. The signs looked very promising as we entered this cute looking tearoom.....

An impressive teacup collection at Cassandra's Cup

Yes, that's a vast collection of vintage teacups hanging from the ceiling!

Now, I know this might be very surprising given the nature of this blog.....but we opted not to sample afternoon tea on this visit! Both Sheree and I decided to opt for sandwiches followed by a slice of homemade cake - all washed down with a pot of tea!

Cassandra's Cup pride's itself on using local produce where ever possible, and also offers gluten free items on the menu.

I opted for the prawn sandwich and Sheree went with egg mayonnaise.....

Sandwiches at Cassandra's Cup

Can you see Sheree waiting patiently in the background of the photo - she was quite hungry by this point and wanted her sandwich!

As you'll see from the photo our tea was served in plain white china teacups which were very modern. Considering the feel of the tearoom and all those vintage teacups hanging above my head, I was a little disappointed. However, the tea was of good quality and we were given extra hot water.

The sandwiches themselves were tasty and fresh, and I enjoyed the side salad (although it was a little oily for me). 

Once we had eaten our sandwiches we decided to pick our cake from the selection on the dresser.....

There was a good selection of cakes and tray bakes on offer. Sheree went for the traditional Victoria sponge cake and I picked the carrot cake....

Victoria Sponge - Cassandra's Cup, Hampshire

Carrot cake
Cassandra's Cup, Hampshire

The slices given were a good size and both cakes were fresh. Sheree commented that her Victoria sponge was very light. My carrot cake was well spiced and moist, with just the right amount of icing. 

Our total bill for this meal came to just under £25.00 for both of us, which was OK as the cakes were very good and we left feeling full. However, I think the sandwiches were a little expensive - my prawns were £6.95.

For more information about Cassandra's Cup please visit their website, you can also see their full menu there. I would like to go back to sample their afternoon tea at some point in the future.

Can you spot Cassandra's Cup - situated behind Sheree!

The village of Chawton is a beautiful village and Cassandra's Cup is situated  opposite Jane Austen’s House Museum, and would make a lovely stop after visiting the museum.

Do you have a local tearoom that you'd like to tell us about - if so please get in touch, we'd love to hear from you!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....and some crafts with Kirstie Allsopp

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends, this time I want to share with you a rather special afternoon tea experience that I and Becca recently enjoyed.

As well as afternoon tea, I am also quite passionate about my crafts as is my friend Becca, and so when we saw that Kirstie Allsopp was hosting a craft fair, called The Handmade Fair, we knew we had to go along. The motto of the fair is "Everyone has a craft they can do!" which is something I agree with...you've just got to experiment and find the craft which you enjoy!

When we looked at the tickets available we saw a VIP experience, which included afternoon tea which Kirstie Allsopp would attend.....I think you all know where this is going...yes, we needed VIP tickets!! As well as the tea, there was a VIP lounge with free flowing tea served in china tea cups all day, a goodie bag and priority seating in some of the theatres. 

I was a little sceptical about the actual afternoon tea, knowing that it would be a mass-produced affair, but I'm pleased to report that I was pleasantly surprised by the afternoon tea. We enjoyed a traditional offering of sandwiches, scones and cakes, all washed down with tea and served on China.

Afternoon Tea
The Handmade Fair

The tea was served in the VIP lounge which was beautifully decorated with simple flowers in glass vases. When we sat down at the tables we found trays of sandwiches, and cake stands full of the sweet treats and scones. 

The sandwiches might not have been traditional finger sandwiches, and there were definitely crusts still attached.....but the bread was very fresh, as were the fillings. We could pick from cucumber, egg mayonnaise, salmon and cream cheese and ham. As you can see the fillings were generous....

Afternoon tea sandwiches
The Handmade Fair

The scones were on the large size - Becca and I shared one between us. 

Again, they were fresh and not at all claggy. They were served with strawberry jam and Rodda's clotted cream....

Afternoon tea scones
The Handmade Fair

There wasn't a huge variety of sweet treats on the top tier of the cake stand...we had macaroons and lemon drizzle cake to pick from, but there was a nice selection of different macaroons to tempt us....

Afternoon tea treats
The Handmade Fair

I really enjoyed the lemon drizzle cake, which looked a little dry but actually tasted quite wonderful. The macaroons were also lovely, with a crispy shell and quite gooey in the middle!

However, the best bit of the tea was to come.....as Kirstie joined the room about half way through. She spent time talking to us as a group, then she opened the floor out to questions....and guess what....yes I actually got to ask Kirstie a question!

Talking scones with Kirstie Allsop

I was given a microphone and amazed myself at how eloquent I managed to be considering I was talking to my crafty idol! Can anyone guess what I asked....I steered clear of craft all together...and asked her whether she was a cream or jam first lady!

Now, who can guess what Kirstie answered.....I am pleased to report that she is a cream first kinda lady, the cream being the base of the scone with jam on top! As you can imagine I was very pleased to hear that!

Scones - the Kirstie way!

All in all we had a fantastic time at the Handmade Fair and really enjoyed the VIP experience - it was great to have a lounge to escape to when we were planning what to do next. Plus having free flowing tea on tap was rather nice!

We learnt a lot in the workshops, spent our pennies in the shopping villages and thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon tea. Asking Kirstie my scone question was the highlight of the day and it's just a shame that this wasn't recorded. I'll definitely buy a ticket for next year's show!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Tried and Tested....Whittard English Rose Tea

Hello there,

Welcome back to another tried and tested tea article from Tea With Me and Friends.

Recently I received a wonderful box full of tea goodies from Whittard and Joanne at Halpern. I have to say that I was rather excited as I rummaged through the box that arrived with me and I look forward to sharing with you the various teas that I have enjoyed as a result.

I will start with the English Rose Tea that I was sent, complete with a cute little infuser. This is part of the Alice in Wonderland themed range on offer at Whittard, and I was rather pleased to also find this charming fine bone china mug to drink my tea from....

English Rose Tea
 from Whittard

The mug has a lovely key handle, which I thought was a brilliant quirky touch. Although Joe found it a little too delicate to use ("I'll snap that" were his exact words), I am pleased to report that anyone with normal sized hands will find the handle a good size and easy to use. The design is very elegant and would make any Alice in Wonderland fan happy!

The tea itself is a blended black tea with flavouring, which is best enjoyed without milk. The black tea leaves are enhanced with rose petals to produce a rather fruity blend, which I found really pleasant. 

The leaves are very dark in colour as expected, punctuated with the colourful rose petals. I'd recommend about a teaspoon of them per cup, infused in freshly boiled water.

I really liked the handy infuser, which was easy to use and allowed for simple brewing once my water had boiled.

If you look closely you might see me in the reflection!

Once brewed the tea has a beautiful amber colour and wonderful aroma. 

If I'm honest - I'm not normally a rose tea fan, as I often find them very artificial and far too floral to enjoy. However, the rose in this brew was quite subtle and gave a sweet, almost fruity taste to the tea which I enjoyed.

English Rose Tea
from Whittard

I found this to be a very mellow tea, that I enjoyed at different times of the day - but it was particularly refreshing in the afternoon with a slice of cake! 

In fact I enjoyed this tea so much that when I worked away from home this week (three nights away) I took my loose leaf tea, infuser and mug with me! Now, I think this might make me a bit of a tea snob....but I really enjoyed having a decent cup of tea at the end of the work day!

Tea on the road....
I took my home comforts with me!

The tea and infuser come together as a lovely gift set and costs £14 and the mug costs £15. To find out more about these items and more of the Alice in Wonderland range (there is lots more to see!) visit the Whittard website.

I'd like to thank Whittard and Halpern for sending me these items to try. Please note that although I have been asked to review these products by the companies, all opinions expressed are my own and I have not been influenced.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....Maison Blanc

Hello there,

Welcome back to another Guest Post at Tea With Me and Friends....this time our lovely friend Kirsty and her fiance Jake have enjoyed the afternoon tea on offer at Maison Blanc in Farnham, Surrey. I have been intrigued by this tea for a while, so was keen to hear more when I learnt that Kirsty had paid them a visit.

If you haven't heard of Maison Blanc before then let me educate you - Maison Blanc is an artisan bakery who specialise in authentic french breads and pastries and other seasonal items. Their first patisserie was located in Oxford in 1980, and today they have 14 different locations.....including the one in Farnham, Surrey.

As well as all the scrummy pastries on offer, (I have enjoyed one of their cream teas previously) Maison Blanc also have an afternoon tea experience which consists of a pot of tea or fresh coffee and five miniature pastries, which are adapted from the most popular treats offered by Maison Blanc.

Lets take a look at the cake stand.....

Afternoon tea - Maison Blanc, Farnham

The pastry selection includes a mini chocolate eclair, an apricot almondine, a lemon meringue tart, a mini chocolate brownie and a mini millefeuille framboise - if you order a tea for two you will get two of each sweet treat (so no need to fight!).

Afternoon tea
Maison Blanc, Farnham

Kirsty enjoyed the experience, highly recommending the mini chocolate brownie and the little eclairs which were her favourite parts of the tea. However, she did miss the "whole tea" experience and would have liked at least one little finger sandwich or scone!

Saying that, everything tasted good and was very fresh.

Afternoon tea,
Maison Blanc, Farnham

This tea costs £9.95 per person, or you can order a tea for two for £19.90. For more information about the treats on offer at Maison Blanc, pop by their website.

Thank you Kirsty and Jake for sharing your tea experience with us! Have you enjoyed an afternoon tea treat recently that you would like to share....please get in touch!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....The Thistle Brighton

Hello there,

Welcome back to another guest post from Tea With Me and Friends. This time we are joined by the lovely Lissie from The Little Vintage Teacup who has been enjoying a spot of afternoon tea in Brighton.

A girls day out with my Mum hunting for vintage crockery for my budding vintage tea party business would not have been complete without a little indulgence in one of my favourite past times of all (if you hadn’t guessed already ) Afternoon Tea!

We booked a week in advance at The Thistle in preparation for our day out treasure hunting. We had look at other deals in Brighton, however for £35 The Thistle were offering Afternoon Tea, Spa Access & 9 hours’ worth of parking.  For those of you who haven’t yet visited Brighton a car park for 9 hours could cost you up to £20 so we were instantly drawn in.

We had intended to arrive feeling like ladies of leisure, superbly coiffed from the hours we spent getting ready earlier that day, however when we arrived we were completely soaked from head to toe having been caught out In a rain storm and we looked far from ladylike. The waitress caught sight of us and immediately came to our aid offering us a hot drink. Having walked for hours around Brighton already we were both needing some energy & opted for some strong coffee. 

Afternoon tea - The Thistle Brighton

When the waitress brought the drinks over we were both handed our own little teapots & were given a milk jug to share. Now this may sound silly but I was pleasantly surprised to find we have been given a good amount of milk in our jug! How often does it happen that you get given a thimble of milk for an entire coffee pot! I commend our Waitress on her coffee making abilities! Her coffee to milk ratios were spot on!

Soon after our afternoon tea was brought out to us… I don’t know about you but I have always loved that moment when you first see your afternoon tea.  I like the surprise of seeing what goodies there are to try! 

Afternoon tea - The Thistle Brighton

Our tea consisted of finger sandwiches (I think they may have been cut the wrong way as they were very wide and they also still had the crusts on) filled with egg mayonnaise , ham & mustard & cream cheese & cucumber all of which were delicious! Following on from the sandwiches we had lovely warm scones served with proper jam & clotted cream. The scones were a medium size, beautifully soft inside and had that lovely golden tone to them on the outside. They were just enough to ensure we still had enough room for the festival of delicious cakes that ensued on the top layer!

Sweet treats at the Thistle Brighton

We were greeted by a Lemon Cheese Cake, Strawberry Cupcake, Coffee & Walnut Cake & a Frangipane Cake.  The Lemon Cheese Cake was light to the taste and packed a fantastic zesty tang, it had a biscuit base (my favourite part of a Cheese Cake) which was delicious, I couldn’t fault it… apart from the fact that I had to share it :P. The Coffee & Walnut Cake was deliciously moist and really complimented the coffee we had to drink with it and the Frangipane Cake was equally as wonderful with its almond undertones. By the time we had reached the end of our cakes we were both very full and unfortunately didn’t manage the Strawberry Cupcake, however I was given a little foil to wrap it up in and gave it to my Step-Gran. She said it was beautiful, and I was actually really pleased we hadn’t finished it at our tea as it meant someone else could also enjoy part of our experience.

One of the things that really hit me about The Thistle is how tranquil the environment is. You step off the pavement having been shoved and pushed by people rushing about everywhere and walk into what feels like an oasis of calm. There is delicate piano music playing in the background and as you begin to take in your surroundings the stress from the busy pavement begins to fade away.

We didn’t make it in to the spa unfortunately but having visited The Thistle on several occasions as a night guest I can recommend it to anyone looking for a little R&R.

Little T xx 
The Little Vintage Teacup

What a wonderful post - a bit thank you to Lissie for sharing her experience with me. I'm not sure about those sandwiches with their crusts on though!

If you've enjoyed afternoon tea somewhere and would like to share your afternoon tea adventures please get in touch!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....Reform Social & Grill

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea blog post from Tea With Me and Friends, last weekend Lorna and I and a group of friends experienced a new afternoon tea on offer at Reform Social & Grill in London.

I had been told about their vintage afternoon teas with live music inspired by the 40s and 50s, where guests are encouraged to dress for the occasion. Well anyone who has popped by our blog before will know that Lorna and I love a bit of vintage...so we got a group of girls together and put our 50s attire on and headed into London....

Tea With Me and Friends -
ready for a spot of afternoon tea

Now, Lorna and I have visited the Reform Social & Grill on several occasions before and have always enjoyed good food and great service, and so we were looking forward to this afternoon experience. You can either enjoy a vintage afternoon tea with traditional cakes and tea or you can opt for unlimited bubbles (for two hours) with your tea. Any regular visitors to our blog will not be surprised to learn that we opted for the bubbles! 

The tea begins with a seasonal Bellini each - we could choose from peach or raspberry. Our afternoon included live music from singers Verity and Violet, however when they are not performing music from the 40s and 50s is played in the restaurant.

After we had each picked our tea from the varied tea menu, the cake stands were brought out. The tea looked lovely, and we had vintage china instead of the usual white china used for previous afternoon teas.

Vintage afternoon tea
Reform Social & Grill

Two of our guests didn't fancy the salmon sandwiches and the waiter happily substituted these for one of the other varieties. On the sandwich plate was cucumber and cream cheese, smoked salmon and horseradish, coronation chicken and duck egg mayonnaise.

Afternoon tea sandwiches - Reform Social & Grill

If I'm honest these were not the best sandwiches that we have enjoyed with afternoon tea (although there were crust free and dainty in size!). The fillings were ok, but the bread was rather soggy. The beetroot bread from the salmon sandwich also dyed the sandwiches which we on either side of it. 

We then moved onto the scones - we had one each, which was accompanied with raspberry jam and clotted cream.

Fruity scones - Reform Social & Grill

The scones were lovely - I could have eaten another one really! They were light and fluffy inside and there was plenty of cream for everyone.

We then moved onto the top tier of the cake stand.....the vintage inspired sweet treats.

Vintage inspired cakes - Reform Social & Grill

There was a good selection of cakes and we all got one each - so no sharing here! The selection included lemon pound cake, apple turnovers, mini treacle tarts, jam roly poly pudding and rose petal meringues.

Afternoon tea - Reform Social & Grill

Unfortunately this was a rather disappointing tier, something that we all agreed on. The concept of this tea is wonderful and I was so excited to try all the old fashioned treats - but they just didn't hit the spot for us. The highlight was probably the apple turnover, but the low point is tied between several of the cakes. The treacle tart was a little too small and a little over baked - it was like eating a mouthful of pastry. The meringues were rather buttery....in fact I couldn't tell you that they were flavoured with rose petals.

The service was also sadly lacking on this particular visit, which also surprised me as everyone was always so attentive previously. Both our teacups and our prosecco glasses ran dry several times during the afternoon, resulting in us needing to catch someones eye and request "more please".

The live entertainment however was brilliant, we all enjoyed seat dancing along to the vintage inspired songs that Verity and Violet sang....and they looked beautiful in their outfits....

Vintage inspired entertainment
Verity and Violet

This was a lovely addition to the vintage afternoon tea experience that we thoroughly enjoyed.

You can partake in a vintage afternoon tea, complete with live music on the first Sunday of each month, but the vintage tea itself is served all the time (without the music). The tea will cost you £26.50 each and if you'd like to enjoy unlimited Prosecco it will cost £28.50 each. The food in this tea is limited to what you see in these photos, however if you want to order another plate of anything you can at a charge.

Considering we enjoyed rather good live music with our tea I do think its good value for money, but I would have liked just one more of those scrummy scones.

Have you enjoyed a vintage inspired afternoon tea anywhere? If so we'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea..... The Portrait Restaurant, London

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends, this time we have a lovely guest post for you from our Twitter friend Victoria who recently visited the Portrait Restaurant. Lets read about her London afternoon tea adventure.....

Trying to pick a venue for afternoon tea in London when you're from Rutland is no mean feat!  Thanks to another friend who lives in London, my friend Suzie and I chose the Portrait Restaurant for our afternoon tea.  Our criteria was "good, but not too smart", knowing we'd be needing a rest from all those galleries!

The Portrait Restaurant, run by Searcy, is on the top floor of the National Portrait Gallery so amazing views of London rooftops are the incredible backdrop.  Luckily, our table was next to the window and we could enjoy being almost eye to eye with Nelson on top of his column.  Due to the incredible view, the tables are packed in and it felt a little claustrophobic as we were weaving our way to our table.

Photo shows Suzie with our tea!

Quite radically, there was not a finger sandwich in sight.  The selection of savouries were a smoked salmon blini, a chicken brioche and a cucumber, dill and cream cheese sandwich on the tiniest slices of bread.  Sweet!  Possibly the only disappointment was that the bread for the cucumber sandwich was slightly dry.

Onto the scones in the middle.  All four scones were plain and fresh, to be served with strawberry jam and clotted cream.  Suzie apologised for cross-contaminating the jam and cream, but wolfing down the fluffy scones were the order of the day!  By this time we'd moved onto our second glass of champagne each, at a cost of £10 per glass.

Finally, the top tier.  Thankfully, there were two of each sweet treat so no arguing took place between us.  The mocha and gold leaf eclairs felt a little stale, but the rest of the top tier couldn't have been tastier!  Who would say no to a passion fruit macaroon, a mini fruit tart or, my favourite, the homemade bounty bar?  Not me!

All of this was washed down by Tregothnan loose leaf teas.  Divine!  Afternoon tea is £24.50 a head, with the champagne being charged as extra. 

Now doesn't that sound like a wonderful afternoon tea? I love the sound of the homemade bounty bar!

A huge thank you to Victoria and Suzie for sharing their afternoon tea with us - if you've enjoyed a tea that you would like to tell us about please get in touch, we'd love to hear from you!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea at Brown's - The English Tea Rooms

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends. After all the themes, quirks and somethings a little bit different that we've enjoyed lately it was wonderful to enjoy a very traditional afternoon tea in The English Tea Rooms at Brown's in Mayfair to celebrate Mother's Day.

The jubilant mood was set with a glass of champagne (or a non-alcoholic cocktail if you preferred) and we took our time choosing our teas.  Getting in the spirit of Tea Month we opted for three different blends of black tea (optimal for sharing, don't you know!) and were all thrilled to try the Cornish tea which had a lovely depth of flavour and just goes to show that we Brits can do anything when we put our minds to it, even grow tea in our capricious climate!

Afternoon tea - Browns Hotel, Mayfair

The sandwiches were delicate and divine with lots of variety and subtle, well-paired flavours.  They were also bountiful but we piously declined subsequent plates so that we had plenty of room for the delights to follow.

Afternoon tea sandwiches
Browns Hotel

The scones (how do you emphasise the 'o' in text so that Rachel knows I'm pronouncing it correctly?) were petite, warm and simply scrumptious.  There was no shortage of cream and jam although shockingly I did have to request a top up of cream with our second helping of scones!

Scrumptious scones!
Browns Hotel

There was a lovely selection of dainty pastries and fancies atop the cake stand which were just the right size.  My favourite had to be the decadent chocolate tart which was simply to die for but I was somewhat disappointed by the battenburg cake which didn't have the distinctive almond taste I was anticipating.  Never happy to end a paragraph on a low note, I would also add that the lavender cake took me by surprise and was full of aromatic flavour which I was not expecting.

The afternoon tea sweet treats on offer at
 Browns Hotel were quite beautiful!

From the cake trolley (which we sadly never saw) we all enjoyed a slice of lemon drizzle cake which was moist and delicious.

Fresh from the Browns Hotel cake trolley - lemon drizzle cake

All in all we had a wonderful afternoon with fabulous food, superb service (if a tad rushed in the middle) in a splendid setting.  There is very little that could be done to improve this tremendous traditional afternoon tea.

A traditional afternoon tea at Browns costs £41.50 per person, if you would like to indulge in a glass of champagne (who wouldn't!) it will cost £51.50 per person. This is a high end afternoon tea, but the food and drink is of a wonderful quality and is plentiful.

If you would like to know more about the afternoon tea experience at Browns, pop by their website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Lorna