The Friday Review....Jenier tea

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends....it's Friday....let's get the kettle on!

If you popped by earlier this week, you'll have seen our post about Claude the pop up tearoom from the ladies at the Vintage Cake House in Farnham. When I popped by to see them on Gostrey Meadows last weekend, they told me about the loose leaf teabags they are using to serve their takeaway tea. As a popup tearoom Claude has no teapots....but they didn't want to scrimp on the quality of the tea they served and discovered Jenier tea.

Very kindly they gave me some teabags to try at home.....so I got my pretty teacups out and let the tea tasting commence....

Jenier World of Teas operates from Scotland, and source high quality teas from around the world. They currently have a variety of black, green, white and flowering teas on their website.

I had the Cream Earl Grey, the Egyptian Chamomile and a green tea to sample.

I started with the Egyptian Chamomile which comes from the Nile River Delta, Egypt. 

The 1st Grade chamomile flowers are field grown and sundried. I thought the yellow teacup was the perfect choice for this cup of tea....

The tea had a beautiful yellow colour, with a pleasant and fruity aroma. The taste was crisp and fresh, with a warming, fruity taste. It was a very relaxing cup of tea and is obviously caffeine free.

Something full of caffeine was the Cream Earl Grey tea....

This is a traditional Earl Grey with a hint of vanilla which gives it a creamy flavour.

This tea has a lovely copper colour (the photo doesn't do it justice) and a lovely creamy vanilla aroma. The black tea is softened by the vanilla, creating a lovely sweet tea that is not artificial nor overpowering. It's a very mellow brew!

Finally we have the green tea....now this is where I have a confession to make...I'm not entirely sure which green tea this was....

I know it was a pale amber colour once brewed. It was a punchy green tea, Strong in flavour without being bitter. This tea (whichever it is) will not disappoint anyone looking for a decent cup of green tea!

To find out more about Jenier teas pop by their website. If you live in or near Farnham, Surrey, you can try these teas at Claude the popup tearoom! Read more about Claude here.

I'd like to thank the lovely ladies at the Vintage Cake House for giving me these teabags to try!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....in the great outdoors!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends, this weekend we didn't have any afternoon teas planned (shock horror I know!), but that didn't stop me heading into Farnham to enjoy something sweet with my lunch. I headed to The Vintage Cake House on Downing Street, which we have enjoyed tea at previously. I enjoyed a rather lovely piece of millionaires shortbread with my sandwiches...

Tea and cake at the Vintage Cake House

As I tucked into my lunch, I noticed a poster advertising their new pop up tearoom....Claude! I also discovered that Claude was currently in residence at Gostrey Meadows and so I decided to go and take a peek for myself!

Claude wasn't hard to spot....

Claude the Pop up Tearoom
Vintage Cake House

Claude, believe it or not, was originally a french horse box....until he came to the UK earlier this year and the Vintage Cake House ladies worked their vintage chic magic on him!

I learnt that the original Vintage Cake House is due to close at the end of the summer, but fear not cake lovers of Farnham....Claude will be travelling around providing loose leaf tea and sweet treats instead! 

As well as appearing at events such as Weyfest Claude can also be being hired out for special occasions  where guests can enjoy cream teas! I can to say that Claude looks quite wonderful with handmade bunting, vintage props and I am told he can even play sounds from bygone eras!

Sweet treats on offer - Claude - Vintage Cake House

I am sad to see the Vintage Cake House close, but very exciting to see Claude and can't wait to see him at local events. As well as the sweet treats you can see in the photo above, Claude also serves loose leaf teas, coffee and ice-cream! 

If you happen to be in Farnham (Surrey) over the summer, you can find Claude on Gostrey Meadows Tuesday - Saturday. To find out which events Claude will be appearing at take a peek at the website.

If you happen to see Claude at an event, don't forget to say hi to the lovely ladies and take a photo - we'd love to see him!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....Vintage Cake House

Hello there, I hope you are well.

Yesterday, Sheree visited me in Farnham and we decided to catch up over a spot of afternoon tea at a local tea room called The Vintage Cake House.

The Vintage Cake House opened in Farnham in June 2012 and I have to say I really love it! It's run by a group of young ladies and hits the spot in so many ways....the interior is styled well in shabby chic without being too clichéd, they play wonderful music all day long, the service is friendly and the food is scrummy! Top marks all around!

On this particular visit it was a Saturday lunch time and as usual it was very busy, but we managed to squeeze in and I'm pleased we did. We opted for the Vintage Tea....



Sheree waiting patiently for her tea!
 

We are asked by the friendly waitress a number of questions when we ordered....including what type of sandwich we wanted (there is a choice of bread and several different fillings), whether we wanted a plain or a fruit scone, which cake we wanted (cake of the day was victoria sponge or chocolate cake) and finally what tea we wanted to wash it all down with! This really feels like a personal afternoon tea, with a lot of choice.

 

The sandwiches are all made to order and are extremely fresh...you can have white, brown or granary bread. Both Sheree and I opted for the egg mayonnaise sandwiches on granary bread, but there are several different fillings to pick from. We each received four perfectly cut finger sandwiches served at the bottom of the pretty cake stand.

 

 

Next came the scones.....I requested a fruit scone and Sheree said she didn't mind which we had (and so the waitress gave her a plain scone so we had one of each). They were rather large scones....in fact we shared just one in the end! They were served with cream and strawberry jam (which we added to our scones in the appropriate order!!).

 

Finally we had the sweet treats....we had plumped for the victoria sponge cake, but when the waitress got back to the counter nearly all the sponge was gone. So we were given a smaller slice of victoria sponge each plus a piece of rocky road cake each which was a lovely compromise!

 

 

I have to say this was one of the best victoria sponge cakes that I've eaten in a while. There wasn't too much jam or cream and it was extremely moist. The cake also had a mild almond taste, which was ever so scrummy! The rocky road cake was lovely too, although after all the other sweet treats it was a little bit rich (I think if I had eaten it on its own with a cup of coffee it would have been wonderful).

 

 

Everything is served on mismatched vintage china...we had teacups and side plates and our food was served on a wonderful cake stand. All around the tearoom are displayed yet more teacups....I thoroughly enjoyed trying to spot any of my collection!

 

All in all we really enjoyed our afternoon tea....and at £9.95 each we felt it was very good value for money. The service is wonderful and the food very tasty. If you happen to find yourself in the Farnham area in Surrey I'd definitely recommend a visit!

 

Thanks for popping by today,

we hope you have enjoyed this afternoon tea blog post

 

Rachel

Blast from the past (part 1).....some of our favourite tea experiences!

Hi there,

So, we have another afternoon tea booked very soon...but just in case you fancied some tea and cake before then we thought we'd share some of our past favourite experiences with you!

An afternoon tea that is dear to our hearts is the tea served at The Savoy in the beautiful Thames Foyer. We've indulged in a spot of tea here no less than three times, with the most recently being for Lorna's 30th Birthday when we visited with a group of friends. This is most definitely a luxury afternoon tea, an occasion to dress up for. The finger sandwiches are delicate, there is a fine selection of teas and of course the cakes and pastries are to die for! A good point to remember is that you can also buy some of the cakes served at tea from Savoy Tea - the cute tea shop situated just outside the Foyer.....a chance to take a little bit of luxury home with you.

A selection of cakes and pastries served in December 2012

 

Another favourite tea is Pret a Portea served at the Berkeley, a must for all you fashionistas out there! Each season the Berkeley creates a wonderful new tea inspired by the themes and colours of the fashion world...take a look at the tea we had earlier this year.....

 

Not only does this tea look spectacular, but the food served all tastes good too - not a case of style over substance here I am pleased to report! We had a delightful afternoon, eating yummy treats and the service was really friendly too.

 

Finally I wanted to share with you something a little more affordable, a weekend treat rather than a payday treat! Last year a fabulous little tearoom opened by in Farnham, Surrey, called The Vintage Cake House. It's right up my street with a wonderful shabby chic feel to it, yummy cakes and of course mismatched china! On my first visit (yes there have been more than one!) I enjoyed the wonderfully, friendly service and a cream tea (even though it was only 11am!!). Here is what I got for my money.....

 

 

 

Not bad at all for under £6!! The scone is served warm and it was huge! There is a good selection of tea to pick from too. If you happen to be in the area, you should definitely pop in for some cake!

 

Anyway, that's our first blast from the past - we hope to see you again soon, we've got lots more to share!

 

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna