Time for Tea....Coworth Park

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.....we hope you're ready to drool today! We have a rather wonderful afternoon tea adventure to share with you today, as recently the lovely Alexandra treated Rachel to a spot of tea at Coworth Park as a Birthday treat.

Coworth Park is a luxurious country house hotel on the borders of Windsor Great Park. Situated in picturesque parkland, Coworth Park is part of the Dorchester Collection, a beautiful country retreat that we'd wanted to visit for a while. Afternoon tea is served in the Drawing Room, which is located in the main Mansion House and enjoys stunning views over the hotel’s terraces and the Berkshire countryside. Words that I would use to describe Coworth Park are elegant, beautiful and peaceful....somewhere to escape to and enjoy time with friends.

Afternoon tea is a quintessentially English affair, with sandwiches, scones and sweet served on an elegant tea stand. Guests also have over 20 teas to choose from and can enjoy their afternoon tea with a glass of bubbles.

The afternoon tea sandwiches included:

Poached salmon with bronze fennel on caraway bread

Smoked chicken and basil on basil bread

Cucumber with cream cheese and mint on onion bread (v)

Montgomery Cheddar cheese savoury on wholemeal bread (v)

The sandwiches were freshly prepared, served on soft bread which was well filled. We all really enjoyed the smoked chicken sandwich, but all the fillings were tasty! The finger sandwiches were a tiny bit rustic, and not quite even...

But that added to the charm! 

We were offered a second round of sandwiches, which we happily accepted ...... well it would be rude not to when they were so nice!

Next came the scones, which were served with clotted cream and a choice of strawberry preserve and cherry compote. 

The scones were still warm when we enjoyed them. They were small enough to enjoy more than one and were light and fluffy in the middle. 

Finally we made it to the top of the cake stand and those beautiful pastries....

Each item looked beautiful and was the perfect size. The flavours were quite traditional and nothing was too fancy:

Lemon verbena éclair

Kentish strawberry and elderflower trifle

Raspberry and meadow sweet frangipane tart

Chocolate and hazelnut sponge cake

The frangipane tart was so cute, with a little bee on the top

Each pastry was well made and the flavours well balanced....it's quite hard to pick a favourite really. If you like Bakewell Tarts you will really enjoy the little frangipane tarts - the pastry is perfectly light and the almond and raspberry well balanced. But I think the chocolate and hazelnut stole it for me - chocolately without being too rich. 

As this was a birthday treat, Coworth Park helped me celebrate with a little Birthday cake:

I took the cake home with me as I was rather full from afternoon tea, but it kept really well and I enjoyed it later that week with a cup of tea! 

After tea we were encouraged to explore the beautiful grounds, including a walk through the meadow. It was a lovely sunny evening and so off we went....

From the moment we arrived at Coworth Park, every member of staff we encountered was friendly and professional and keen to help us. This coupled with the beautiful surroundings and well put together afternoon tea made for a wonderful afternoon.

I'd like to thank Alexandra for treating me to this afternoon tea - I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a treat. For more information about this afternoon tea please visit the Coworth Park website.

https://www.dorchestercollection.com/en/ascot/coworth-park/restaurants-bars/the-drawing-room/

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel and Lorna

Time for Tea....Limewood Hotel

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends. Last weekend Alex and I visited the Limewood Hotel in the New Forest for a spot of afternoon tea.

Limewood is a boutique country house hotel, set in the heart of the New Forest National Park, 1.5 miles from the small town of Lyndhurst. However, this is no ordinary country house hotel as it manages to combine the beautiful country house setting with a contemporary twist, giving guests a beautiful, modern setting to enjoy.

Afternoon tea is served in the courtyard, which is a beautiful indoor space, full of light due to a beautiful glass ceiling.......

Limewood Hotel, New Forest

The setting is elegant and comfortable, with discreet staff who leave you in peace to enjoy your afternoon tea and a good natter, but reappear when you need another pot of tea. 

We began our afternoon tea adventure with a rather lovely complimentary glass of bubbles, which we enjoyed as we picked our teas from the good selection on offer.

Afternoon tea - Limewood

Afternoon tea is served between 3-5pm everyday, and you can pick from a full afternoon tea experience or a cream tea. We of course went for the full afternoon tea adventure, which to our delight was served on cute little individual cake stands. 

The afternoon tea is served on a mix of plain white Wedgewood and pretty blue and white patterned Portmeirion china.......

Afternoon tea is served!
Limewood Hotel

We began our afternoon tea with the middle tier of the cute little stands, the sandwiches....

Afternoon tea sandwiches - Limewood Hotel

We were initially presented with four perfect finger sandwiches, with no crusts in sight! 

The selection included ham and piccalilli (I'm not a fan myself, but it wasn't too bad!), a salmon on brown, a cheese and pickle and an egg mayonnaise (although Alex was sure it was made with salad cream!). The sandwiches were fresh and the bread was soft, more sandwiches were brought out when requested (yes we requested more!).

Once we'd devoured the sandwiches we moved onto the scones which were served with strawberry preserve and clotted cream....

Afternoon tea scones - Limewood Hotel

We had one plain and one fruited scone each, both were rather scrummy and not at all claggy. The scones were a good size and I really enjoyed the strawberry preserve.

Finally we made it to that wonderful top tier....

Afternoon tea cakes - Limewood Hotel

We each had four beautiful sweets, the selection included a welly boot biscuit, a white chocolate dome with seasonal fruit filling, a delightful carrot cake and a scrummy flower pot of chocolate and caramel. Each sweet treat was perfectly executed and a good size. We weren't offered anymore sweets, but to be honest we didn't need anymore as these four were the perfect end to the afternoon tea experience.

I really enjoyed the pot, which had layers of chocolate and caramel inside. The carrot cake was also really good - light and moist, with the right amount of topping.

This afternoon tea experience costs £23.00 per person, and you can add a glass of bubbles for an additional £11.50 each. I think this is excellent value for the quality of the food on offer. The tea menu is also extensive and has something for everyone.

If you fancy a little luxury that won't have your bank manager wondering what you've been up to and happen to be in the New Forest area then I'd definitely recommend a trip to the Limewood. For more information visit their website.

Do you know of a hidden gem that we should know about? Somewhere hidden away that gives a wonderful afternoon tea experience? Please get in touch, we'd love to hear about your afternoon tea adventures!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for Tea....Chewton Glen

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends. This weekend I was very lucky to be treated to a belated Birthday afternoon tea at Chewton Glen by my lovely friend Alexandra. Chewton Glen is a luxury country house hotel and spa set in 130 acres of Hampshire countryside on the edge of the New Forest National Park, and I couldn't wait to try their afternoon tea offering.

The day we visited Chewton Glen it was very hot...but this wasn't going to spoil our afternoon tea experience as we seated in one of the many beautiful lounges, in front of doors overlooking the croquet lawn. The doors were left ajar for us, allowing for not only a beautiful view but also the most amazing breeze.

Beautiful setting for afternoon tea at Chewton Glen

 Afternoon tea at Chewton Glen is served on simple white china, and the tea is served in silver teapots - all very elegant. There is a good selection of teas on offer, including an own blend which I opted for, which was a bold black tea - very enjoyable. Alexandra opted for green tea, which she also enjoyed.

Tea at Chewton Glen

Once we had settled into our seats and picked our teas, the tea stand was brought out to us......

Afternoon Tea - Chewton Glen

The stand was simple and elegant and the contents made our mouths water - everything was perfectly sized and very appealing to look at. As tradition dictates we began our experience at the bottom of the stand with the sandwich selection....

Afternoon tea sandwiches - Chewton Glen

The sandwich selection included a traditional choice featuring Scottish smoked salmon, rare roast beef and horseradish, Somerset brie and pear chutney and egg and cress sandwiches. The bread was so fresh and thinly cut, and the sandwich fillings generous without being overpowering. These were some of the best afternoon tea sandwiches that I have enjoyed in a while - in fact we might have enjoyed a second round of them! My favourite filling was the brie and chutney which was smooth and creamy and just a little bit sweet - a brilliant combination, served on fresh white bread.

Once we were full of sandwiches we moved onto the next tier of the stand....

Afternoon tea scones - Chewton Glen

The scones were a good size and a wonderful colour. They were served warm, but were not wrapped and therefore had cooled by the time we ate them. They were served with some wonderful clotted cream and fruit filled strawberry preserve. The scones were fresh and not at all claggy in texture. Alexandra particularly enjoyed her scones.

We then moved onto the top of the afternoon tea stand, which was filled with a wonderful selection of sweet treats......

Afternoon tea - the sweet treats at Chewton Glen

As you can see there was one of each item which meant that there was no awkward moments with the sweet treats....and the choice was brilliant...definitely something for everyone!

Included on the plate was a rhubarb and custard cupcake, a lemon macaroon, a mandarin slice, a mini pistachio loaf and an indulgent chocolate mouse cake. Each item was a good size...not too big and not too small...and all the flavours were wonderful.

Let's take a closer look at some of the cakes....

Sweet treats - Chewton Glen

I'm not sure which item was my favourite...possibly that indulgent, but light, chocolate mousse cake. The mandarin slice was also wonderful - so light in texture, but full of flavour. I didn't think I would like the rhubarb and custard cupcake that much, but it was really enjoyable.....and full of rhubarb!

All in all this was a lovely afternoon tea experience. 

A traditional afternoon tea costs £26.00 per person, or if you fancy a treat you can enjoy a champagne afternoon tea for £36.00 per person. I think this is really good value as the quality of the food and drink was wonderful. We were also offered more of every item if we wanted it and the hotel also offered to pack up any cakes that you didn't have room for so you can enjoy them at home (this is never a problem for us, but its good to know!). Tea was also free flowing!

All the staff that we encountered on the day were friendly and professional, nothing was too much for them. Chewton Glen itself offers a lovely setting for a truly relaxing afternoon tea experience. For more information please visit the Chewton Glen website.

A huge thank you to Alexandra for treating me to such a wonderful afternoon tea.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel