Christmas Cheer - Starbucks Takeaway Coffee

Hello there,

Welcome back to another Christmas Cheer blog post from Tea With Me and Friends. Were you inspired to try the brussels sprouts tea after our last post??

Today we are joined by the lovely Becca and her sister Sam as they recently tried some Starbucks Christmas coffees while out and about in London. During their shopping trip Becca and Sam decided they wanted some caffeine and so headed to Starbucks......they picked the Gingerbread latte and the Toffee Nut Latte from the Christmas menu.

Here are their coffees.....artfully arranged in a Christmas tree in Harrods....

Did you know that Starbucks started selling coffee in 1971?

Anyway, quiz night facts aside....lets see what Becca and Sam thought of their festive coffees.

The toffee nut latte is not new to the Starbucks Christmas menu, but apparently its a firm favourite of Starbucks fans! Its a blend of two shots of espresso, milk and toffee nut syrup. If you are feeling extra decadent you can also have whipped cream and toffee nut sprinkles on top.

Sam told us that this drink was rich and creamy, but very sweet - not for the faint hearted!

Becca enjoyed the Gingerbread Latte (which I have also tried), which is made from two shots of espresso, milk and gingerbread syrup. Again, if you want extra luxury you can top your latte with ginger whip cream and wafer topping. 

Becca really enjoyed this drink, she thought there was just enough ginger and it wasn't too sweet. I also really enjoyed this latte when I tried it - I'm not normally a milky coffee fan, but the balance of ginger in this coffee is really good.

Have you tried these Christmas coffees? We'd love to know what you thought of them!

Thanks for popping by today, we'll be back soon with more Christmas Cheer!

Rachel & Lorna

Christmas Cheer - Sainsburys Christmas Tea

Hello there,

Welcome back to another Christmas Cheer blog post - this time Lorna and her hubby Jim have been trying Sainsbury's Christmas teas - Brussel Sprout flavoured tea and Pigs in Blanket flavoured tea.

Yes, you read that correctly....we've been sampling tea flavoured with sprouts!!

Let's start with the pigs in blankets flavour tea.... don't worry though, the tea doesn't contain any sausages (that would be weird!). Looking at the ingredients, the pigs in blankets flavour is achieved by blending a Lapsang souchong tea with sage and rosemary and some flavouring. 

Each tea bag includes smoky Lapsang Souchong Tea, Apple Pieces, Flavouring, Sage and Rosemary. 

But what were the verdicts from Lorna and Jim I hear you say......

Jim thought this tea smelt peppery (his nose apparently curled when he smelt it) and tasted savoury - tea loves strong tea, but he decided the smoky blend wasn't for him. Lorna picked up on the smoky flavours and decided that the Lapsang Souchong wasn't complimented by the sage. Neither of them will be drinking it again.

Not a popular tea then!

Next comes the Brussel Sprout flavoured tea, which is actually a green tea blend.

To achieve the brussels sprouts flavour that many people love, Sainsburys have blended Green Tea with lemon peel, granulated brussels sprouts and sweet blackberry leaves. Yes......there are Brussel sprouts in the tea bags!!

Shall we see what Jim thought of this tea.....and just remember that Jim is a BIG Brussels sprout fan. This is Jim before he drinks the tea, I think the aroma might have just hit his nostrils....

…..and this is Jim after he has tried the tea....

Now this is the part of the blog where I need to apologise for what you are about to read next....I am sorry if anyone is offended by the language. When I asked Jim and Lorna for their thoughts on this tea the word "fart" was used rather a lot! 

Jim though the tea smelt of vegetables, but tasted of fart (originally I wasn't sure how Jim could be so certain of this), and there was more nose curling as this tea was sampled. Lorna gave me a slightly different description, describing the tea as tasting like green tea with "a hint of fartballs"......yes fartballs! Again, neither of them will be drinking this tea again!

Now with such glowing reviews of both teas I decided (for some unknown reason) that I needed to try them for myself as well. Just to ensure Jim and Lorna were not misleading in their thoughts....

As you can see the teas look normal enough..... but unfortunately I have to agree with Jim and Lorna's descriptions. 

The pigs in blankets tea is very smoky, and it does taste a bit meaty. I didn't find it the most pleasant tea and agree with Lorna that the sage doesn't really match the Lapsong Souchang.

As for the Brussles Sprout tea.....well Jim and Lorna were right.....all I can say is farts! 

Will we be buying these festive teas again? As you can probably guess....that will be a strong "no" from all at Tea With Me and Friends towers! If after reading this blog post you are inspired to try these teas for yourself, you can buy them from Sainsburys for £1.00 for 20 teabags.

We hope you've enjoyed this Christmas Cheer blog post....if you do try these teas we'd love to hear your thoughts too. Don't forget to pop back soon and see what other Christmas drinks we've been trying!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel, Lorna and Jim

Christmas Cheer - Christmas Creme Brulee from Starbucks

Hello,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends and our first Christmas Cheer blog post!

I went for a mooch around Farnham on Sunday (I do love a mooch around the shops!) and ducked into Starbucks to avoid a shower. Instead of my usual black coffee I decided to sample one of the Christmas blends, Starbucks have several different options mostly latte blends such as Gingerbread Latte or Toffee Nut Latte.

I opted for the Christmas Crème Brulee Latte and a Salted Caramel Christmas tree....

Let's start with the coffee, if I'm honest I wouldn't normally pick a latte, but I was tempted by this one with it's vanilla and caramel flavours. 

The blurb on the Startbucks website describes it as....."Rich Crème Brulee Sauce is mixed with creamy eggnog milk, poured over our Espresso Roast and finished with a Christmas Brulee topping for a festive take on the traditional Crème Brulee."

It did indeed taste rich and creamy, with a nice caramel finish. But I couldn't have drank more than the small cup I had, it's quite a sweet coffee too!

In the photo below you can see the Christmas Brulee topping....

The salted caramel Christmas tree is a rice crispy and pretzel treat which is decorated with golden balls and white chocolate stars. It looks very pretty and is a good sized portion (you might even want to cut it in half and share it with someone). 

I'm glad this was a salted caramel treat as the salt cut through the sweetness nicely. I also liked the addition of pretzel pieces in with the rice cripsys as it gave the treat another texture. 

All in all a nice sweet treat.....maybe a little too sweet with the flavoured coffee as well....I hit a bit of a sugar high as I was walking back along the main street!

Have you enjoyed a Christmas Crème Brulee from Starbucks? If so what did you think?

Thank you for popping by today, we hope you enjoyed our first Christmas Cheer post! Look out for more posts over the coming weeks!

Rachel & Lorna

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

Festive Afternoon Tea Round Up - The Lanesborough

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we're here today with another festive afternoon tea to make you drool! Today we are featuring the festive afternoon tea from The Lanesborough....

From 25th November - 1st January, The Lanesborough's award-winning Afternoon Tea will take a festive twist, as Head Pastry Chef Nicolas Rouzaud recreates Christmas classics in the form of delicate pastries.

The menu includes....

A selection of traditional finger sandwiches:

Truffle egg mayonnaise & cress

Smoked salmon, caviar & cream cheese

Roast beef, rocket & horseradish cream

Cucumber & mint

Coronation turkey

Homemade scones, fruit preserves, lemon curd and clotted Devonshire cream

Selection of French pastries with a creative, Christmas twist:

Spicy Christmas muffin

Apple and cinnamon doughnut

Mulled wine and pear cake

Mince pie

Praline Rocher

Chestnut tart

Chocolate and coconut finger

Orange mousse sphere and croustillant caramel sable

For more information please visit the Lanesborough website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Festive afternoon tea round up - Four Seasons Park Lane, London

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends and another Christmas afternoon tea special....this time featuring the Four Seasons Park Lane.

This festive afternoon tea starts with a glass of Champagne, before you move onto the savoury selection:

Roasted Turkey, Cranberry, Whole Grain Mustard and Fig on Brown Bread

Truffle, Egg and Montgomery Cheddar Cheese on Brioche Bread

Maldon Cure Smoked Salmon, With Lemon Cream Cheese and Dill on Brown Bread

Cucumber, English Wasabi and Red Watercress on White Bread

Roasted Honey Gammon Ham, Orange and Clove on Rye Bread

This is followed by Sliced Fruit Cake and scrummy scones - both plain and cranberry.

Finally there are the sweet treats:

Yogurt Cake with Pink Grapefruit Marmalade and Crystalized Chestnuts

Nyangbo Chocolate Yule Log with Pecan Nut and Cambridge Burnt Cream

Cocoa Financier with Red Wine Poached Pear, Gingerbread Cream

Caramelia Chocolate Cremeux with Cinnamon and Candied Orange Choux

Cranberry and Mandarin Macaron

This afternoon tea is available daily from November 26th to January 7th (excluding Christmas Day) and costs £55 per person. For more information pop by the Four Seasons website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Festive Afternoon Tea Round Up - The Corinthia London

Hello there,

Happy Hump Day -you're joining us today to take a peek at another festive afternoon tea! This time we are exploring the Christmas afternoon tea on offer at The Corinthia London, which has a swan lake theme.

Relax beneath the glow of the Baccarat Chandelier and sample a range of delicious Afternoon Tea cakes, pastries and sandwiches inspired by the elegance of Swan Lake. Nibble on “Odette”, a delicate white chocolate mousse filled with mulled wine infused plums, and delight in the lightness of a “Pirouette”, a choux pastry with cranberry compote and an orange macaroon.

This afternoon tea feast includes the following:

Classic Olivier Salad on White Bread 

Loch Var Smoked Salmon with Sour Cream and Salmon Roe on Beetroot Bread

Cucumber, Buttermilk and Dill on Black Rye Bread 

Wiltshire Ham, Apple and Mustard on Cranberry Bread 

Corn-fed Chicken, Chestnut Butter and Tarragon on Brown Bread 

Pickled Tongue, Horseradish and Beetroot in a Smoked Bun 

Scones served with house preserves and clotted cream.

Followed by the hand crafted pastries:

Odette- A delicate White Chocolate Mousse with Mulled Wine Infused Plums

Odile- A Dark Chocolate Mousse with a Caramel Crémeux

Medovik- Sweet Honey Cake, Caramel and Sour Cream 

White Russian Éclair- Coffee Pastry Cream with a hint of Vodka 

Siegfried’s Sash- Layered Cherries and Tonka Bean Bavarois

A Clearing in the Forest- Caramelised Pistachio Tart, Candied Ginger and Praline Ganache 

Diadème- Lemon Mousse, Raspberry Gelée and Dacquoise

Pirouette - Choux Pastry, Cranberry Compote and Orange Macaroon

This festive feast is available from 25th November 2016 to 1st January 2017. On the 24th and 25th December guests can also enjoy ballerinas performing in the Lobby Lounge between 3pm-5pm.

For more information about this afternoon tea please visit the Corinthia London website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Festive Round Up - The Langham London

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends where we are sharing another festive afternoon tea with you...this time it's Langham London and Chef Cherish Finden's tea-riffic Christmas creation....

I have to confess that I am a little in love with this afternoon tea....it's so pretty! I just love the cottage....and that reindeer! 

The festive menu includes:

Festive eggnog

Selection of indulgent finger sandwiches:

Duck egg and oscietra caviar blini

Balvenie whiskey smoked salmon and fennel brioche

Farmhouse stilton, red onion and port relish, walnut bread

Classic Cucumber, cream cheese chives

Smoked turkey, marjoram stuffing, cranberry bread

Selection of warm scones from our Palm Court bakery with Devonshire clotted cream and strawberry preserve

Selection of French Pastries and Specialist mini cakes including:

Mini Gingerbread house

Snowflake Macaroon

Pistachio and cranberry slice

Asprey Bauble

Rosehip and Hibiscus

To find out more about this afternoon tea please visit The Langham's website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Festive Round Up - BRUU Tea Advent Calendar

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.

If you love tea as much as we do here at Tea With Me and Friends Towers then we might have found something you'll love this December.......the BRUU Tea Advent Calendar which is filled with their  gourmet loose teas!

BRUU Tea advent calendar

You’ll get a mix of different teas in your advent calendar, which might include black, green, oolong, white, chai, fruit, herbal, mate and rooibos. If you’re lucky you may even find some of BRUU's most popular teas like:- If Terry’s Did Rooibos, Festive Warmer, Biscotti Black, The Earl of Winter, Mango Loves Yogurt, Lemon Meets Ginger Green, Lullaby Dreamcatcher, Liquorice Dream, Emperors Seven Treasures, Jasmine Green…

What you'll get?

25 fresh gourmet loose teas in number packs, with enough tea in each for 2-4 cups.

Twine and mini pegs (to hang your calendar!)

Surprises along the way

Stainless steel tea egg infuser

Tea coaster

Tea guide

Our teas

BRUU pride themselves on creating unique loose tea packed with only the finest natural ingredients. So, expect to find things like whole raspberries, orange segments, rose petals and fresh liquorice in their teas!

To find out more about the advent calendar pop by the BRUU tea website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Festive Round Up - Bluebird Tea Co

Hello there,

We hope you're feeling tea-riffic today! Here at Tea With Me and Friends towers we've been sampling more festive tea from the latest Bluebird Tea Co collection....plus pulling a rather special cracker!

 Let's start with the tea....which is called Snowball...

Yes....you've read the box right.....there is marshmallows in there! And cacao and coconut....all blended with black tea! 

Bluebird Tea's most famous Christmas tea blend even scooped a Great Taste Award this year, so I knew I was in for a treat!

This blend includes Ceylon black tea, coconut pieces, cacao bean, cocoa shells, desiccated coconut, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips and red cornflowers and it looks sooooo cute....

Bluebird Tea Co - Snowball teabag

Just look at those mini marshmallows!!!

This tea is brewed for up to four minutes and can be enjoyed with or without milk. I went for it without milk and enjoyed a really lovely cuppa! The tea when brewed has a lovely warm amber colour and smells sweet.

The tea also has a sweet and coconutty flavour, but not too sweet....in fact it's quite hard to describe the flavour. So hard that I took some teabags into my colleagues for them to try too....they also enjoyed the tea, but couldn't describe the flavour properly either! 

It's a bit like a party in your mouth when you drink this tea....it's a bit sweet with a spark of coconut and a hint of chocolate. More than anything it's warming and makes me smile!

Bluebird Tea Co - a cup of snowmall and a dinky mince pie

Bluebird Tea Co also has a creamy Snowball latte recipe on their website at the moment, take a peek here!

This week we've also been getting ready for Christmas by pulling a tea-riffic Christmas cracker....a cracker that contains tea!

Bluebird Tea Co Cracker......yes, there is tea in there!

Each box contains six of these tea-riffic crackers - inside the crackers you'll find a paper hat, an individually sealed Bluebird tea bag and a tea related joke. Perfect for tea lovers everywhere!

Now for the important bit......the snap is great! When you pull the cracker it makes a lovely, satisfying "snap"! I was also impressed with the contents....yep....more lovely Bluebird Tea....

For more information about the crackers pop by the Bluebird Tea Co website.

We'd like to thank Bluebird Tea Co for sending us their festive tea collection - pop back soon to see more festive teas!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for a little festive cheer!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we're feeling a bit festive over here at Tea With Me Towers!  Mainly because we've received some quite tea-riffic post recently.....

Festive tea from Bluebird Tea Co

Christmas cake in a jar from Angel's Kitchen

Yep, that's a box of Christmas tea from the Bluebird Tea Co and a scrummy little Christmas cake in a jar from Angel's Kitchen. I love post days like these!

Over the weekend I decided to sample mt first Bluebird tea from their festive range......and to tuck into that Christmas cake too (don't worry I resisted putting the Christmas music on!). I opted for the Mulled Cider tea first, as I've had a bit of a cold recently and wanted something comforting.

Tea & Cake the perfect combination!

This fruit infusion includes apple pieces, ginger, rosehip, hibiscus, cinnamon, cloves, lemon peel, flavour. The blend smells just like Christmas - it's warm and spicy and looks really pretty...

Mulled Cider tea from Bluebird Tea Co

You need to allow this blend to brew for four minutes, but it's worth the wait. Once brewed you have a really pretty cup of red tea (perfect for the festive season!), which has a wonderful cinnamon aroma.

The taste is slightly fruity, with hints of cinnamon. Its a lovely, warming cuppa - definitely perfect for the colder months. A bit like a hug in a mug! 

And I can confirm it went really well with the cake from Angel's Kitchen...

Mulled cider tea from Bluebird Tea Co and
Christmas cake from Angel's Kitchen!

The cake can be delivered to friends or family (or yourself!) as a cute little Christmas gift! It arrives at your home, well packed in a jar with a little spoon so you can tuck in straight away! 

Angel's Bakery uses local, natural and organic ingredients in all their baking. Want to know what's inside the cake....the jar comes complete with an ingredients label and best before date (just look at that date....mine will be gone long before next July!)

The cake has a generous layer of icing on top, as well as a layer of marzipan....

The fruit cake itself is lovely - it's light and moist and full of fruit. A really lovely Christmas cake! There is also plenty of cake in that little jar - definitely plenty to share if you are feeling nice!

The jars are available at £8.95 each plus £3.50 P&P from the Angel's Kitchen Facebook page

The team at Bluebird Tea Co also suggest adding a slug of dark rum to your mulled cider tea if you fancy something a little more warming.....I can also confirm that this is a very good suggestion! 

To find out more about the festive range at Bluebird Tea Co pop by their website......we'll be sharing more of the teas with you over the coming weeks as we work our way through that box!

We'd like to than both the Bluebird Tea Co and Angel's Kitchen for sending us their Christmas goodies! 

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Christmas Tea....Tiger Spring Tea

Hello there,

Recently I met Nigel from Tiger Spring Tea at the Farnham Christmas Market. We got chatting about tea and I might have bought some rather lovely Christmas Tea in the process!

Tiger Spring is a small company run by two dedicated tea drinkers. They offer more than 30 loose leaf teas which you can buy from their online shop or from their stall at various food and farmers markets. Nigel is passionate about his tea, something which was apparent as he was talking to other visitors to his stall.

As well as more traditional teas, Tiger Spring currently have three special blends - the Balham Builder's Blend (a black tea blend), the Moroccan Mint Blend and also their Christmas Tea (Spice Blend).....

Christmas Tea - Tiger Spring Tea

This Christmas tea is a blend of black ceylon tea, orange peel, cloves, cinnamon bark and ginger. It has a zesty aroma when you open the bag.....

Christmas Tea - Tiger Spring Tea

The tea needs to be brewed for about 4-5 minutes and can be enjoyed with or without milk.....Nigel told me I might like to add a little sugar or honey too. I opted to drink it without milk and sugar to start with.....of course I drank it from my Santa mug.....

Christmas Tea - Tiger Spring Tea

This is a lovely Christmas cup of tea....its warming because of the ginger and cloves, but it also has a lovely fruity feel to it from the orange peel. Its quite a light Christmas blend, but well balanced and very enjoyable.

To find out more about this and other teas on offer from Tiger Spring Teas pop by their website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

The Friday Review....Harrods Spiced Black Tea

Hello there,

We hope you've had a tea-riffic week!

Today is Friday yet again.....so here on the Friday Review we are sharing another tea with you. This week it's the turn of the Harrods Christmas tea, which is a spiced black tea.

Recently I was extremely lucky to receive The Christmas Carol hamper from Harrods as a rather wonderful gift (I am so lucky - the sheer delight of unpacking the hamper was immense!). The hamper comes in a large hat box and contains rather a lot of goodies....

Harrods Christmas Carol Hamper

Once I had wrestled the lid off the box I discovered the scrummy treats inside included:

Spiced Omni-Grind Coffee

Spiced Black Loose Leaf Tea

Honey & Clementine Biscuits with Golden Sparkle

Winter Spiced Biscuits with Golden Sparkle

Clementine & Sweet Orange Marmalade

Spiced Pear & Madagascan Vanilla Jam

Brandy Butter with Courvoisier VS Cognac

Classic Christmas Pudding

......and a fabulous glossy Harrods red Christmas Bauble!

Harrods Christmas Carol Hamper

I got quite excited when I saw the Christmas inspired tea and decided I would try it straight away!

This is a black tea black tea from Sri Lanka which has been mixed with spices including cinnamon, cloves, orange and ginger, to create a truly festive blend. 

I decided this needed to be drunk in my Spode Christmas teacup with a mince pie (or two) to really appreciate the experience.....

Harrods Christmas Spiced Black Tea

I have to say I love this tea!

As you probably all know by now I LOVE Christmas! I love the food, the music, the films, the drinks....everything! But sometimes the Christmas teas I have enjoyed haven't been the best, the balance of spice isn't quite right or sometimes the spice is overpower. 

This cup of tea however was perfect - the black tea is bright and lively, strong enough to balance out the spices. And the spices in the blend have been well picked - this really is a fab cup of Christmas tea....I am slightly disappointed at how small the tin is....I think a trip into London might be required!

And just in case there weren't enough sweet treats in this post....take another peek at the homemade mince pies I enjoyed with my tea.....

Homemade mince pies from Tea With Me and Friends

For more information about this festive tea pop by the Harrods website.

Do you have a favourite Christmas tea? Why not leave us a comment and tell us all about it!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Christmas afternoon tea....Corinthia London

Hello there,

We hope you are well today - we thought we would share another scrummy looking festive afternoon tea with you.....and today it's the Laurent-Perrier Festivi-tea Afternoon Tea at Corinthia Hotel London which is available from now until 4th January 2016.

Corinthia London are serving a selection of festive fancies, inspired by the festive season.....

The menu includes delights such as 

Mince Pie

Spiced Mince Pie Macaron, Sablé Breton

Plum Amaretto Tart

Almond Mousseline, Roasted Plums

Golden Choquette

Chestnut Bramley Apple Choux Bun, Marron Glacé 

Christmas Pudding Gâteaux

Candied Fruits, Lemon Brandy Mousse 

Gingerbread

Pumpkin and Fennel Pavé 

Blackforest

Manjari Swiss Roll, Cherry Jam

Citron

Lemon Brûlée, Scented Pine, Spiced Sablé

Scented Mulled Wine

Pain D'éspices, Panna Cotta, Chocolate Crunch 

In addition guests will enjoy a selection of savoury items and of course warm scones served with cream and preserves.....not forgetting the bubbles!

To find out more about this festive feast pop by the Corinthia London website.

Have you tried this afternoon tea? If so we'd love to hear what it was like.....leave us a comment and let us know!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Christmas tea at home...featuring The Tea Chest

Hello there,

We hope you are well and are looking forward to the festive season! Have you put your tree up yet - we have!

Last weekend Lorna and I enjoyed a Christmas afternoon tea feast at home with our friends. As regular readers know.....Lorna and I usually bake our own afternoon tea treats when we enjoy a spot of tea at home. This time Lorna kept up the tradition.....but I have been so busy at work that I ran out of time to bake and decided to rely on shop bought goodies instead! I know - shock horror!

Another new addition to the afternoon tea feast were the actual teas we drank during with the food. We were lucky enough to be sent some brand new teas to showcase from Tea Chest , the bespoke blend tea subscription company. The guys at Tea Chest kindly put together two brand new Christmas blends for us to try! But more about that later....lets start with some of the sweet treats.....

Christmas afternoon tea with Tea With Me and Friends

Our feast included a selection of Christmas inspired sandwiches, spiced scones, chocolate cookie Christmas puds, mini mince pies, pieces of stollen, mini gingerbread men and of course Christmas cake. Quite a selection!

The sandwich fillings included traditional afternoon tea fillings such as egg mayonnaise as well as more Christmassey fillings such as turkey and cranberry sauce. Lorna even parted with tradition slightly and built a tower of sandwiches....

Lorna's sandwich tower!

We also added an extra savoury element to the spread from the Sainsbury's Taste the Difference range in the form of vol au vents....

First of the shop bought treats - vol au vent cases from Sainsbury's

These all butter cases were simply divine - bite sized and so buttery! I filled them with prawns and topped with a little paprika....

Prawn vol-au-vents - very retro!

These proved to be very popular, I'll definitely buy the cases again.

Lorna's Christmas scones were also a triumph...she took her basic scone recipe and added some Christmassey spices. I'm not sure what she added, but they smelt and tasted wonderful....

Afternoon tea scones with a Christmas twist

....especially when covered in clotted cream....

Scones served the Tea With Me and Friends way!

When it came to the sweet treats we enjoyed during the feast, there were a mixture of shop bought and homemade treats on offer. Fresh from the shelves of Sainsbury's came mini mince pies and stollen bites....

More shop bought treats from Sainsbury's

Unfortunately we were slightly more disappointed with these shop bought items.

 The mini mince pies were ok, but the bigger version of them avaliable in the shops is much better (maybe because there is more of them??). The stollen bites I didn't enjoy at all....I'm usually a big stollen fan but there was something a little odd about the texture.

The homemade treats were much more pleasing...with Becca making the most scrummy chocolate cookies which looked like Christmas puddings. 

These were rich and dense and the white chocolate topping complimented the biscuit really well....plus they looked super cute....

Becca's chocolate cookie Christmas puddings - amazing!

Lorna made the most gorgeous mini gingerbread men...and ladies. They were bite sized and flavoured well with ginger, plus Lorna decorated them with icing which made them really cute. 

She also made a mini Christmas cake by taking a shop bought fruit cake and wrapping it with marzipan and icing...

Lorna's gingerbread men and women

As we enjoyed our Christmas feast we watched Christmas movies and drank the Christmas tea sent to us by Tea Chest.....

Tea from Tea Chest
Santa's Sleigh and Christmas Pudding blends

The blends were called Santa's Sleigh and Christmas Pudding.

Santa's Sleigh is a smokey black tea, based on the original black tea that was carried on caravans from China to St Petersburg. This tea is smokey, just like Santa would be after making all his trips down chimneys on Christmas Eve. The tea is enjoyable, it has a light smokey taste - not too over powering. We enjoyed it black without any milk or sugar.

The Christmas Pudding blend is a combination of black tea, festive spices, real fruit pieces, vanilla and rose essences. This tea can be enjoyed with or without milk and it is recommended that you add a little sugar to bring out the flavours. This tea wasn't as popular with our guests, as the rose is a little strong in flavour, but we liked the idea of the tea.

Christmas tea blends from Tea Chest

To find out more about Tea Chest and the tea subscriptions they offer, which are delivered directly to your door please visit their website.

A tea delivery from Tea Chest - fits through the letterbox!

We've enjoyed sharing our Christmas afternoon tea with you....we hope you've enjoyed drooling over the photos! We'd like to thank Tea Chest for sharing their new blends with us - its always exciting to try new teas!

If you enjoy a Christmas afternoon tea this festive season we'd love to hear all about it - let us know on Facebook or Twitter!

Christmas afternoon tea stand
Tea With Me and Friends

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Tea With Me and Friends at Christmas!