Afternoon Tea News - CUTcakes & Tea at CUT at 45 Park Lane

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we have some exciting news for you today. A brand new American style afternoon tea is coming to London from Wolfgang Puck's debut restaurant in Europe - CUT!

CUT is an American steak restaurant which is situated on Park Lane and this is an afternoon tea which differs from the norm as there is not a traditional finger sandwich in sight! Instead executive chef, David McIntyre, invites guests to enjoy delights such as Wagyu beef sliders and black truffle grilled cheese toasties. Just take a look at the savoury and sweet bites you can enjoy....

CUTcakes and Tea afternoon tea - CUT at 45 Park Lane

The savoury bites include...

Black Truffle Grilled Cheese
Fried Chicken & Buttermilk Bisquet, Honey-Jalapeño Jam
Tuna Tartare ‘Sandwich’, Avocado, Ginger
Lobster Po’Boy, Homemade Brioche, Herb Remoulade
Wagyu Beef Slider, Garlic Aioli, Sweet Pickle

Lobster Po Boy and mini Wagyu beef sliders at CUT

While those with a sweet tooth can enjoy....

Strawberry Milkshake
Graham Cracker S’mores
Peanut Butter & Jelly Twinkie
Cola Cake & Caramel Corn
‘Cheeseburger’ Macaron
Scones, Clotted Cream, Strawberry & Huckleberry Compote
Pink Lemonade Cake Pop
Cookies & Cream Cake Pop
New York Cheesecake Pop 

Look at those cake pops and milkshake! CUT at 45 Park Lane

I think it looks and sounds so scrummy! I'm not even sure where I would start with either the savoury bites or the sweet bites! I think this is definitely one I am adding to my wish list!

You can find out more about this afternoon tea on the CUT at 45 Park Lane website. If you enjoy this afternoon tea we'd love to hear all about it!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for something sweet - bonboosh marshallows

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're ready for something sweet today!

Last weekend I was at the Odiham food festival where a friend introduced me to the delights of bonboosh marshmallows - a local company who take marshmallow flavours to the next level, producing light as air marshmallows in flavours such as sweet violets, gingerbread and their latest creation sloe gin and blackberry.

Regular readers out there will know my sweet tooth took over as soon as I saw the stall (I didn't even stop to take a photo of the stall!) and of course I had to buy a bag (just the one I hear you cry!). After a lot of deliberation I opted for the new flavour....the combination of sloe gin and blackberry sounded just divine!

Now this is where I feel I need to educate everyone a little on the dangers of being a marshmallow owner on a hot day. Listen carefully and you'll avoid the disaster that follows.....

Before sampling my marshmallows I popped in on Joe's mum on the way home, leaving my bag of goodies in the car. I disappeared inside without a further thought about my latest purchase and enjoyed a couple of hours catching up with Annette. When it came to home time I opened my car door to be greeted by the most intense, mouth watering smell of .... well of sloe gin and blackberries! At this point I just smiled to myself and drove home, looking forward to trying a marshmallow. I remember thinking it was a bit warm in the car, but it was a hot day so nothing surprising there.

However.....and I bet you can all guess where this is going.....yes my little bag of marshmallows had suffered somewhat in the heat.....

#marshmallowsdieinhotcars

Yep.....I was now the proud owner of a bag of melted marshmallow! It did smell amazing in my car, but I learnt a valuable lesson that day....marshmallows die in hot cars! 

Stories like this should have a happy ending though....and luckily this one does! I have made my own marshmallows before, and so I decided to take the gloopy mess and try and reset it, using icing sugar to stop my new marshmallows from sticking to everything. It did work....although my marshmallows don't look very pretty and I managed to lose two in the process of resetting them!

The flavour was amazing though - the perfect balance of sloe gin and juicy blackberries! The texture was also still really good, with the marshmallows being light and fluffy despite the whole ordeal! They melted in the mouth as you ate them - a sign of a brilliant marshmallow!

Just in case you were wondering....this is what the marshmallows should have looked like (I've borrowed this photo from the bonboosh Facebook page!)...

I will definitely be trying the other flavours in the bonboosh range - you can buy via their facebook page.  If you already have a favourite bonboosh flavour that you think we should try, drop us a line and tell us all about it!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel 

Afternoon Tea News - Back to the Classics Afternoon Tea at The Langham

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - this week we were lucky enough to be invited to the launch of the new afternoon tea created by newly appointed Executive Pastry Chef at The Langham, London, Andrew Gravett, and his team. Reverting ‘Back to the Classics’, the new tea showcases classical recipes made with fresh ingredients, skilfully produced by a team of passionate patissiers with a contemporary twist. Just look how beautiful the tea stand looks.....

Langham London Afternoon Tea

With reduced sugar and lighter textures, the tea reflects tastes that are easily recognisable but lighter to enjoy...... so when you have finished your afternoon tea feast you are not left feeling too stuffed. Its not a "healthy" afternoon tea, but the treats are lighter.

The Paris Brest is made with Crunchy Choux pastry, lightened pecan cream and caramelised pecans. Babalicious features blackcurrant and star anise soaked baba, Jivara whipped ganache and crunchy pearls. The Decidedly Madeleine offers the classic Madeleine sponge, passion fruit jelly wrapped in a coat of Itakuja. Spherically Challenged comprises of creamy coconut, liquid raspberry and Manjari mousse. Last but not least, the One in a Million showcases a caramelised puff pastry with vanilla infused mascarpone.

Langham London Afternoon Tea

I think my favourite sweet was the "One in a Million" which features the lightest, puff pastry - crisp and buttery! Although the "Spherically Challenged" was also amazing - full of the lightest coconut mousse which dances about on your tongue before disappearing. Lorna was rather partial to the Paris Breast - crisp and crunchy with a light pecan filling.

Accompanying sandwiches devised by Executive Chef of The Langham, London, Chris King include:

Burford Brown egg, marinated artichoke, rosemary bread
Classic English cucumber, cream cheese, chives,
Beef Pastrami, sauce ‘Albert’, watercress, caramelised onion bread
Scottish smoked salmon, Sarawak pepper and preserved lemon cream
Classic ‘prawn cocktail’, iceberg, potato bun, tomato powder

Langham London Afternoon Tea

A classical plate of well balanced savouries. My favourite was definitely the prawn cocktail - the dusting of tomato powder on the top of the roll is pure genius! I wasn't a fan of the artichoke in the egg sandwich, but that was purely down to personal taste rather than anything else.

At the launch we also met various members of the team and saw some of the sweets being put together. Everyone we met was passionate about the afternoon tea, explaining the various items.

The Langham Afternoon Tea with Wedgwood is served in Palm Court with a selection of scones and a choice of blended teas. The tea is priced at £49 per person, £59 with a glass of N.V Laurent-Perrier Brut champagne, £64 with a glass of Laurent-Perrier Rose champagne.

Seatings are available daily between 12.15pm to 5.30pm.

We can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of this new classical afternoon tea experience!

Thank you to everyone at The Langham for inviting us to sample this new afternoon tea. Please note that all opinions expressed in this article are our own.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea....with T2, Kingston Surrey

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're feeling tea-riffic today!

Did you know that Friday is National Tea Day here in the UK? National Tea Day is a chance for Tea lovers to unite in their love of tea - whether you attend the Tea Festival in London or just enjoy a brew at home with your friends and family. You can get involved on social media too, sharing your tea stories by using the #nationalteaday hashtag!

Ahead of National Tea Day I was invited into T2 which is located in the Bentall Centre in Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey for a tea masterclass. Lorna first introduced me to T2 a while ago and I thoroughly enjoy popping into their shops to have a sniff of the leaves and try the various teas (there are over 200 on offer!)......plus the staff are always so friendly. So I gladly accepted the invitation to meet Nick, store manager and learn a bit more!

This is Nick......who is full of passion and knowledge for tea (he even puts it in his stroganoff!) ....he makes a mean cuppa and wants to share his knowledge with everyone...

Nick - T2 store manager, Kingston Surrey

The philosophy at T2 is very laid back - the staff actually want to talk to you (imagine that!), they want to know what tea you enjoy already, how you brew your tea, what flavours float your boat. You're also encouraged to explore the numerous tins of tea....to have a smell of the leaves and try some of the teas (yes, they'll even brew you a cuppa!).

The first T2 store opened in Fitzroy, Melbourne in 1996 and today they have stores around the world. Every store I have been in has had the same friendly feel - lots of happy people wandering around gorgeous displays of teas and teaware.

The Kingston branch is exactly the same.....a feast for the eyes and the nose....

As we talked about the history of T2 and talked tea in general, Nick asked me questions about flavours I like and dislike and started brewing up some teas to try.

The stores are fitted out so you can sample both hot and cold teas from the whole range. If you fancy trying something new it's a great place to visit.

Today we sampled a white rose tea, French Earl Grey, a smoky London breakfast tea, Berry Oolong and a peach tisane to name a few!

Tea sampling - T2

Nick and his team are knowledgeable about tea in general (as well as T2 teas) and can guide you around the teas on offer in the current tea range. They are keen to show people how great tea can be and how easy it is to enjoy loose leaf tea at home.

If you have a T2 shop near you I would definitely recommend popping in and saying hi - you never know what you might discover.

Nick also showed me the T2 Teamaker - which lets you brew loose leaf tea at home (or anywhere) really easily and then serve it in your favourite cup simply by placing it on top of your cup (it looks kinda magical as the tea pours into the cup).

T2 Teamaker

I'd like to thank Nick for taking the time to talk to me about T2 and for taking me through so many teas. I learnt today that I still don't like Rose tea, but discovered a rather lovely New York breakfast blend that features cinnamon and vanilla (reminds me of pancakes!).

Disclaimer - Nick very kindly gave me a Teamaker and some tea to take home with me - however please note that all opinions in this blog post are my own and have not been influenced by this gift.

If you have a favourite T2 Tea we'd love to hear all about it. To find out more about T2 pop by their website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel