Let's Celebrate!

Did you know that this week is national afternoon tea week?  A week to celebrate the wonderful tradition that is afternoon tea!

We all enjoy the delights of tea, sandwiches and cake in the afternoon (well at any time really!), but where did this fabulous tradition begin?

Although we have been drinking tea in England since the 1660s, when it was made popular by King Charles II and his wife Catherine de Braganza, afternoon tea did not develop as a concept until much later.

It is believed that afternoon tea was first introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the 1840s. At this time dinner was traditionally served quite late, somewhere between 8-9pm, and due to the gap between lunch and dinner the Duchess would feel hungry at about 4pm.

To ease her hunger pangs the Duchess requested that a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. As time went on she invited her friends to join her for this afternoon feast. As more people experienced this wonderful meal other hostesses picked up this tradition, inviting their friends to join them for afternoon tea.

 

Afternoon tea became a fashionable social event, with ladies dressing for the occasion. This is something that me and my friends still observe today – there is nothing better than enjoying a spot of afternoon tea with your friends, dressed in your best dress!

Traditional afternoon tea consists of dainty finger sandwiches (crustless of course!), followed by scones served with clotted cream and preserves (warm scones are the best!). Small cakes and pastries are next and not forgetting that this is all washed down with freshly brewed tea served in delicate bone china teacups.

 

 

So whether you've never sampled the delights of afternoon tea before, or you indulge (like us) on an alarmingly regular basis....lets all celebrate National Afternoon Tea week this week with a cup of tea and something yummy...whether in a fabulous hotel, a cosy tea room or at home!

 

Pop back again later this week to see more afternoon tea inspired posts!

 

Thanks for visiting us today,

Rachel and Lorna

Mini Experience....Bettys York

Hello there!

We hope you are well today!

So, my lovely friends all know how much I love to see what sweet treats they have been sampling that some of them send me photos of their adventures! I was therefore not surprised when I looked at my mobile phone recently only to find a text message with the following photo attached:

My friend from work, the lovely Val, has recently spent some time in York and while there she ventured to the famous Bettys in search of something yummy!

Bettys first opened their doors to the public in 1919, with the aim of serving customers an array of Yorkshire and continental sweet treats - nearly 100 years later and they now have six tea rooms keeping the public served with tea and cake.

I asked Val for some words to accompany this wonderful photo and this is what she said:

"Don’t be put off by the queue to get into the famous Betty’s at York, it is well worth the wait and as the queue shortens to waiting inside, you will be able to see the fabulous décor and watch the waiting staff in their immaculate uniforms.

 

So much on the menu to choose from, but while in Yorkshire you should try and pick a local speciality – I chose the famous ‘Fat Rascal’.  Similar to a very large fruity scone, served with butter, beautifully presented and large enough to allow you to take your time eating and drink in the fabulous atmosphere!"

 

I have to say that Val really seemed to enjoy her Betty's experience....and although this isn't strictly an afternoon tea feature I thought I would share it with you anyway! I hope to visit Bettys one day to sample some of their sweets for myself - I'd love to hear if you have ever visited one of the Bettys tea rooms.

 

Thanks for popping by today,

we hope to see you again soon.

 

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea.....Volupte Lounge

Hello there....

Well yesterday Lorna and I took our friend Becca for a very special Birthday treat (a little late considering Becca's Birthday is in June, but definitely worth the wait!!). We spent the afternoon at the Volupte Lounge in London, experiencing their amazing Burlesque tea "Voluptea".

Now you'll have to forgive me for the slightly dodgy photos here...its a bit dark in the lounge! We arrived at Volupte nice and early to sample a cocktail in the bar upstairs (well it would be rude not to) ......

 

there is a wonderful selection to pick from - you'll be spoilt for choice. Ours were all very delicious!

 

Once seated by our host in the lounge downstairs, we enjoyed a glass of champagne and a selection of sandwiches...

 

 

including salmon bagels, hummus and tomato, pastrami, egg mayonnaise and the most amazing cheese and pickle I have ever tasted (yes I did just say that!). It was an interesting selection, and all very fresh and tasty.

 

As we nibbled on the sandwiches the first act of the show began and we were treated to wonderful performances from Tempest Rose, Jolie Papillon, Delores Deluxe and Felixy Splits. What a talented bunch of performers - all with amazing outfits and brilliant routines....you will definitely leave wanting to be a burlesque entertainer or least own some feathers! The brilliant thing about Voluptea is that the performers change regularly, and so if you go more than once (like we have) you will probably see different performers.

 

During the interval our sweet treats were served....

 

 

We had scones with clotted cream and jams, amazing mini cupcakes, fruit cake and a lemon syllabub. Again, it was all very fresh and tasty....I could have eaten those little cupcakes all afternoon! As you'll notice we all have gorgeous vintage teacups to drink from...these are filled with your choice of teas or for a supplement you can pick from a selection of tea-cocktails, which of course are served in teapots!

 

The second half begins and we are treated to more from the beautiful ladies, with fab routines, songs, magic and of course more nipple tassels! The team at Volupte made a lovely fuss of Becca, as the sweet course was brought out they sang Happy Birthday to her. She was also involved in one of the acts - dressing in a giant banana costume and being a backing dancer (sadly I haven't got any photographic evidence of this as I was laughing too much at the time to work my camera!).

 

The finale of the show was a brilliant performance from Madame Galina - I won't ruin it by telling you too much about the performance....but its not to be missed!

 

The lounge itself is beautifully designed, and suits a vintage-feel afternoon tea very well. Ladies - you must visit the toilets while you are there, they are so cute! I don't normally include photos of us....but you are encouraged to dress up for this afternoon tea, taking inspiration from the 1920s-1950s. Lorna and I rose to the occasion in our 1950s dresses, complete with petticoats.....

 

 

After the show you can retire back to the bar upstairs for another cocktail or two, you can also meet all the lovely performers...you should say hello, they don't bite!

 

This is a treat at £49 per person, however you get a champagne afternoon tea and brilliant afternoon of entertainment, so I would say its definitely worth it. Maybe this is not the right tea for the traditionalists out there....but if you love a bit of cheeky entertainment, some good cocktails and food (and of course tea)...and don't mind the odd nipple tassel or two then you should definitely give this tea a try! It's a brilliant afternoon out with the girls....we'll be booking our next one very soon!

 

Thanks for popping by today - please leave us a comment so we know you've visited!

 

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea.....One Aldwych

Hello there - it's lovely to see you!

So, this week my friend Sheree and I decided to embrace our inner child and enjoy a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory afternoon in London!

We started our afternoon at One Aldwych in the West End, here we sampled their new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired afternoon tea. Now I have to say I am always a little sceptical about "themed" afternoon teas - there is nothing more disappointing than an over styled tea that doesn't taste very good! However I am pleased to report that One Aldwych does not fall into that category!

The staff were extremely knowledgeable about the tea and happy to answer any questions you might have....they are also very proud that everything is made from scratch at the hotel. Despite this being a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tea, the savoury aspect of tea is not ignored - in fact a very good selection of sandwiches and other savoury items is presented....

 

We had smoked salmon on rye, cucumber sandwiches, beef sandwiches (controversially not cut into fingers!), a tomato tart and a stilton and leek quiche - all were perfectly sized and very tasty.

 

However, it really was the sweet treats that captured our imagination!

 

 

Displayed on wooden blocks, this really was an exciting looking tea! To start there was a warm buttermilk scone, blueberry brioche and chocolate financier all served with clotted cream, summer berry jam and apple and meadowsweet compote.

 

Among the other goodies were flavoured candy floss (I won't ruin the surprise by telling you the flavours!), a yummy chocolate caramel milkshake, a mini Eton mess and the most amazing golden egg which tasted so good and was definitely my favourite bit of tea!

 

 

Again, everything was the perfect size and very tasty - I wasn't disappointed by anything that was served!

 

This tea costs £29.50 per person and is served with a good selection of teas. Although it sounds a little pricey I think its worth it as a treat. If you fancy a glass of champagne or trying the special Cocktail Charlie with your tea the price is £38.00 per person.

 

After tea we headed just a couple of minutes around the corner to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the stage!

 

Thanks for popping by today, its lovely to see you!

 

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea..... Warren House

Hi there,

A wonderful afternoon was had today at Warren House, an elegant Victorian mansion in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey.  Rachel, Mum and I enjoyed a champagne afternoon tea with luxurious chocolate coated strawberries - a decadent addition to a traditional tea.

The china was contemporary and clean and the teas seemed to be a selection of Twinings tea bags (I'm not a tea snob and found my jasmine green tea to be very refreshing, but if you are an aficionado then this detail may be important to you) although I am unsure of the exact choices available as we were not offered a menu to peruse.

The food was delicious and the sandwiches had a home-made feel about them with a controversial hint of crust remaining.  The warm scones were delicious and we all enjoyed having our very own pot of cream to ourselves, particularly myself as although I enjoy sharing many things, food is not one of them!  The warm cakes that accompanied the scones were another variation from the norm that worked very well.

The pastries have a whole paragraph to themselves as for me they were the highlight of the afternoon.  Beautiful, bitter dark chocolate complemented rich Chantilly cream in the delicate profiteroles and the chocolate and caramel slice was to die for.  The minature carrot cupcake was moist and the shot of raspberry mousse was a refreshing, tangy alternative for your taste buds.

At £23.50 each for the classic afternoon tea, we felt this offered pretty good value as there were plenty of sweet treats and a good variety. If you want to sample the champagne afternoon tea that we had today that is slightly more expensive at £38.50 per person, but includes a glass of champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries.

Warren House provides a magnificent backdrop for your afternoon tea and and we enjoyed ours on the terrace which overlooks immaculate landscaped gardens and is a lovely place to relax the afternoon away.  It was a typical British summer's day (for all you non-Brits out there, that means it rained!) but we kept our stiff upper lips in place and stuck it out until the sunshine reemerged although we knew we could have easily been moved inside upon request.

The one problem with sitting outside was that the staff sometimes seemed to forget we were there.  However they were all charming when they were with us so maybe they were just trying to maintain an unpressurised environment, it's just a shame to run out of tea at afternoon tea.

 

However, I cannot leave you with that thought as overall our afternoon at Warren House was relaxing, pleasant and delicious.  This tea in the suburbs is definitively competition for the big city hotels.

Thank you for popping by today, we'd love it if you left us a comment to say hi!
Lorna & Rachel