Valentines Day Afternoon Tea 2018 - Round Up 2

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends. Today we're back with another round up of the Valentine's afternoon teas on offer this year!

Let's start with Binswood Hall, Leamington Spa where guests can enjoy a Valentine's cocktail on arrival...

Binswood Hall Valentines Afternoon Tea

The afternoon Tea cakes on this menu include:

Red velvet gateaux

Macaroon with dark chocolate centre

Strawberry tartlet

Mixed berry Eton Mess

Chef Ben Purton at the Royal Lancaster, London has created a pretty afternoon tea especially for Valentines this year....

Royal Lancaster, Valentines Afternoon Tea

The sweet treats to enjoy at this afternoon tea include:

Strawberries & cream lollipop

Red velvet cheesecake

Raspberry love heart-shaped macaron

Hazelnut mousse on Sable Breton

Rosewater marshmallow tart

I can personally vouch for how good the lollipops are at the Royal Lancaster - always a highlight!

Lorna and I will be visiting our next hotel in April, but in the meantime here is the Valentine's afternoon tea from The Connaught

The Connaught - Valentines Afternoon Tea

I love the colours in this afternoon tea, all so bold and pretty!

The pastries on offer include:

Grapefruit & Lychee - Lychee Mousse, Grapefruit Crystalized Rose
Lemon Bergamot - Bergamot Mousse, Lime Cream Lemon Confit
Passion Fruit Tart - Passion Fruit Jam, Orange Blossom Cream
Coffee Éclair - Coffee Curd, Caramelized Pecan Nut
Rocher - Hazelnut Praline, Milk Chocolate

Finally we have this wonderful selection of Valentines themed afternoon tea treats from Fortnum and Masons....

Fortnum and Masons Valentines Afternoon Tea

Are you drooling just a little now?? Don't they all look wonderful?

If you enjoy a Valentine's themed afternoon tea we'd love to hear all about it! Drop us a line on Twitter or on our Facebook page!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Valentines Day Afternoon Tea - Round Up 1

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends....are you feeling in the mood for love? Yes, it's that time of year again....time for hearts, red roses and Valentines themed afternoon teas!

With so many options available to treat your loved one to or even better to enjoy with your friends, we thought we'd share some of the Valentine themed afternoon teas being created in 2018!

The Langham have a rather beautiful looking afternoon tea available as a extra special treat on Valentine's day only....



The sweet treats on the menu include:
Where's Cupid? - Coffee and Orelys chocolate filled choux
Marry me- Pink almond praline tart
Love is all around- Hibiscus and red berry mousse
You melt me - Warm chocolate, vanilla ice cream to share
Say it with roses- Manjari mousse with passion fruit

If you fancy some bubbles with your afternoon tea adventure Scoff and Banter in London are running a special offer with the afternoon tea booking website afternoontea.co.uk which includes a complimentary bottle of Processco with their Valentines afternoon tea...



Pop by the website for more information.

Conrad London St James have introduced a special Valentine's themed pastry to their afternoon tea which is served in their lounge Emmeline...

The Rosewater & pomegranate dome is available between 10th - 14th February as an extra special Valentines treat!

Or maybe the Enchanted Rose Afternoon Tea at Kona at Taj 51 Buckingham Gate will melt your heart....



This rather pretty afternoon tea includes:

SWEET CRIMSON DELIGHT - Passion fruit meringue tart
VALENTINE BLUSH - Strawberry delice chocolate and hazelnut mille feuille
PINK PASSION - Pink Champagne jelly with minted foam
SCARLET DESIRE - Lavender macaroons
ROSE BLOSSOM - Red velvet pastry hearts

We hope you've enjoyed this first round up of romantic afternoon teas! Pop back soon when we'll have some more Valentine's themed inspiration for afternoon tea!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Valentine' Special 2017

Hello there,

We are just days from Valentine's day 2017 and we thought it was perfect time to take a peek at some of the sweet treats being served in hotels this year....prepare to drool!

The Love Knot's Valentine's afternoon tea from Conrad St James....

The sweet treats include a Chocolate & red velvet cake, a Frosted rose & vanilla viennese, a Strawberry & yoghurt marble mousse and Sweet vegetable cake with a "love letter", meringue kisses & petals.

Valentine's at The Langham....

Diners can indulge their sweet tooth with:

White chocolate mousse, mango and passion fruit jelly and dark chocolate sable

Strawberry and white balsamic

Victoria sponge

Heart shape cinnamon shortbread cookie

English rose and lychee log

64% dark chocolate, raspberry and almond

How about the Valentine's Wyld Tea at the Mondrain....

This feast includes a glass of Perrier Jouet Rose on arrival and a Gin and raspberry macaroon to take away with a Valentines note.

Valentine's at the Hilton Bath City....

This sweet afternoon tea adventure is accompanied by a glass of Sparkling Rose.

I love the afternoon tea stand!

Fancy something a little bit different, how about afternoon tea at the Daawat Indian Restaurant...

The savouries here include: 

Beetroot gravlax in malted bloomer

Tomato wrap filled with chicken tikka and mint chutney

Paneer pakora on potato-stuffed flatbread

Cucumber and cream cheese on white bloomer

I love how colourful this afternoon tea is!

Finally we have the Valentine's afternoon tea at Amba Hotel, Marble Arch...

The sweet treats here include heart-shaped chocolate sponge, raspberry mousse cake, strawberry shortbread and macaroons.

We hope you've enjoyed our round up of some of the Valentine afternoon teas on offer this February. If you enjoy a Valentine's afternoon tea anywhere this year we'd love to hear all about it!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Six Tips for Valentine’s Day Cocktails from Bohemia Bar

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - today we're talking cocktail making!

If you’re contemplating spending Valentine’s Day at home this year, why not romance your other half with some spectacular cocktails......or maybe you want to enjoy a scrummy cocktail or two at home with your friends? Whatever your reason, the mixologists at Bohemia Restaurant and Bar in Jersey have lent us their top tips for creating home-made cocktails!

Whichever cocktail you chose to create, learn from the professionals with these six top tips:

1. Glasses Galore

If you’re out to impress (friends or lovers!), it’s worth investing in good quality glasses to add a touch of class and elegance to your home-made beverage. If you opt for a stemmed glass, you could also tie a pretty ribbon or flower stem around the base. 

2. Shaken vs Stirred

As a general rule, any drink that contains only alcohol should be stirred, while any drink which contains a mixer should be shaken. 

3. Ice Ice Baby

A little-known tip is to boil water before pouring it into your ice-tray as these means no bubbles will form whilst your ice cubes freeze.

4. Sweet and Sour

The perfect formula for achieving the sweet and sour balance is 2:1:1. That's two parts alcohol, one part sour, and one part sweet. Use sour ingredients such as lemon or lime juice; and a sweet ingredient, such as simple syrup or triple sec. 

5. Make a big batch 

If your guest is a fan of straight-spirit cocktails, why not create a batch of your drink ahead of time. You can then chill this in the fridge in an empty wine bottle and pour individual drinks when you’re ready.

6. Garnish

A garnish is more than just pretty decoration— it's often what brings the whole drink together and is worth doing well! It’s the first part of the drink that our customers judge so we put a great deal thought into this part of the cocktail process. Green garnishes look wonderful with clear drinks, and can even be added to ice for an extra wow-factor.  

I don't know about you, but I don't need any excuse to buy new glassware! I'll definitely be putting these tips into practise....who is joining us for a cocktail??

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Looking for a tea-riffic Valentines Gift??

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.

Today we are sharing with you a tea-riffic Valentines gift idea.....perfect for the tea lover in your life (or maybe just for you!). The lovely folk at Piacha have put together the sweetest tea gift, perfect for your tea-addict Valentines!

Inside this box you will find eight different Piacha teas (yes eight varieties - told you it was perfect for the tea-obsessed individual in your life!), each stored in a cute little heart shaped tin....

Tea Gift from Piacha

How sweet are those tins?

The tea selection includes some of Piacha's most popular blends -  English Breakfast, Earl Grey Vanilla, Moroccan Mint, Ginger Chilli, Chamomile Citrus,  Rooibos Choc Cinnamon, Rooibos Rhubarb Fudge and my personal favourite Apple Green Tea.

Each tin contains enough tea for between 5 - 10 cups.

I know I would definitely love to receive this little black box this Valentine's Day (hint, hint Joe if you are reading!). For more information about this gift pop by the Piacha website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Valentines Afternoon Tea at Lancaster London

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're well today.

With February just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about all things heart shaped....yes Valentine's Day is nearly upon us. It's a time when pastry chef's across the country can get creative with shades of pink and red heart shaped cakes and scones and romantic sandwich fillings! Over the coming week's we'll be sharing with you some of the Valentine themed afternoon teas you could be enjoying this year.

Let's start with a Tea With Me and Friends favourite......Lancaster London, who have created the HeART Afternoon Tea:

The hotel has reinvented its much-loved ARTea Afternoon Tea to offer an exclusive Valentines edition of the tasty treats. 

Settle into the comfortable armchairs of the hotel’s Lounge Bar and enjoy a romantic afternoon. The afternoon tea will be delivered to tables sealed in a charming case with an array of sweet and savoury treats including oysters with salmon caviar, adorable heart-shaped white chocolate and strawberry macaroons, and Love You honey éclairs. 

What’s more, the hotel will be offering a surprise gift for diners to take home. 

We think this afternoon tea looks and sounds scrummy! Another tea-riffic creation from Chef Ben and his tea.

The HeART Afternoon Tea will be available from 8-14 February 2017, from £40 per person. To read more about this afternoon tea, pop by the Lancaster London website.

Pop back over the next couple of weeks to see what other Valentine themed afternoon teas we can find for you.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel and Lorna

Afternoon tea news....Valentines 2016 at Ampersand

Hello there,

Another day, and we have another Valentines day afternoon tea to drool over!

Today we're taking a peek at the afternoon tea on offer this Valentines at Ampersand in South Kensington. As well as the usual scrummy savouries, the tea also consists of heart shaped white chocolate scones.....

The pastries include a Red berries and Tahitian vanilla cream eclair, Heart-shaped macaroon with milk chocolated and strawberry, Caramel chocolate and rose mousse and White chocolate coated marshmallow and raspberry.....

Doesn't it all look super scrummy?

This afternoon tea is avaliable between 8th February - 14th February, for more information pop by the Ampersand website.

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News.....Valentines 2016 at Paul

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - today we're taking another look at a Valentines afternoon tea on offer this month. Let's take a look at the afternoon tea Le Restaurant de Paul has created which features some of their scrummy sweet creations.

Paul's Valentine menu includes:

Artisan bread sandwiches (vegetarian option available)

1 Valentine’s Fraisier, 1 Valentine’s Craquant & 2 mini macarons

Brioches with jam and whipped cream

The Valentine's Fraisier is a light genoese sponge with creamy mousse, lined with strawberries. It's topped with pink marzipan and more strawberries....

and the Valentine's Craquant is for the chocoholics out there.....

Don't they look scrummy?

The afternoon tea stand can be enjoyed with a cup of tea (or other hot beverage) or a glass of bubbles! If you want to enjoy this tea you have to act quickly though - its only available between 12th - 14th February! For more information pop by the Paul website.

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News - Valentines 2016 at Conrad St James

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - today we are taking a look at another Valentines afternoon tea on offer this February - this time we are taking a peek at Conrad St James.

Created by Head Pastry Chef Zoe Wager the London Love Story Afternoon Tea is a very pretty afternoon tea....

Valentines 2016 - Afternoon Tea - Conrad St James

As well as traditional finger sandwiches and scones there is a selection of beautiful sweet treats on offer to guests, which includes

White Chocolate & Champagne Truffles

Red Berry Shortcake

Dark Chocolate Velvet Cake

Rose Macaroon

Strawberry Panna Cotta Macerated Berries & Strawberry Foam

Sweet afternoon tea treats
Valentines Afternoon Tea - Conrad St James

There is lots of pink and hearts in this afternoon tea and we think it looks wonderfully romantic! This afternoon tea costs £55 per person with free flowing Rose Champagne or £39 per person without Champagne.

This afternoon tea is only available from the 12th - 14th February. For more information pop by the Conrad St James website. 

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News....Valentines 2016 at The Lancaster, London

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you are well today.

With Valentines Day just around the corner we thought we would share with you some of the more romantic afternoon teas that we have discovered this February. We are staring today with a look at the Valentines Afternoon Tea on offer at Lancaster London.

Lancaster London

Guests can enjoy this romantic afternoon tea between Wednesday 10th February and Tuesday 16th February 2016, everyone will be greeted by Laurent-Perrier Rosé Champagne, a hand written menu and a beautifully laid table, scattered with rose petals.

Priced at £45 per head, the Valentine’s Afternoon Tea features romantic sweet treats including heart shaped macaroons, Champagne & chocolate opera cake, passion fruit & raspberry lollypops; and freshly baked scones with rose & strawberry jam.

Lancaster London - Valentines 2016 Afternoon Tea

The menu also includes savoury classics with a romantic twist such oyster beignet topped with caviar, asparagus and spiced tomato tarts; and a selection of fine finger sandwiches accompanied by specially blended, rose infused tea.

Valentines Oysters - Lancaster London

The Lancaster London are also holding a competition with this afternoon tea - all Valentine’s bookings will automatically be entered into this exclusive competition, for a chance to win a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Rosé Champagne with two official glass flutes.

In order to be entered the Afternoon Tea booking must be made between Wednesday 10 February and Tuesday 16 February 2016.

The Lancaster London Valentine’s Afternoon Tea will be served in the hotel’s elegant first floor Lounge Bar between 2pm - 5.30pm. For more information pop by the Lancaster London website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea....The Royal Horseguards

Hello There,

So, it's that time of the year....everything is tinged in pink and red and there are hearts, flowers and chocolates everywhere! Yes, its Valentines...the day to celebrate love. Whether you love this day or believe its a commercially driven celebration it's here and I think we might as well enjoy it!

This year I decided to indulge in a Valentine's themed afternoon tea with my lovely friend Becca....so yesterday we headed off to The Royal Horseguards Hotel in London to enjoy their Naughtea Afternoon Tea. The hotel offers a range of different afternoon teas, including their limited edition teas such as this Valentines afternoon tea.

Once seated in the comfortable lounge we were shown the tea menu, which offered a good selection of teas. I opted for the Royal Horseguards speciality tea, which is flavoured with strawberries and cream and Becca went for a flowering tea.

 These were served to us in large teapots, which were topped up regularly....

Tea is served! Royal Horseguards Hotel

Next the cake stand full of delightful treats was brought out to us. Becca cannot eat butter and I had notified the hotel of this when booking. They accommodated our request perfectly, preparing Becca a separate plate of non-butter sandwiches.

Afternoon tea
Royal Horseguards

Before I talk about the food, I want to mention the beautiful bespoke china that everything was served on. Perfectly girlie, without being too chintzy, it was pink and delicate. We also really liked the cutlery!

Right....onto those savoury items....

Afternoon tea sandwiches
Royal Horseguards

There was a lovely variety of sandwiches on offer and we were pleased to see some of our favourites feature...including coronation chicken and egg mayonnaise. The bread was soft and the sandwiches were freshly made, we were also asked if we wanted more sandwiches once we finished the initial plates (and we might have asked for one or two more coronation chicken sandwiches!).

Once we had finished the savouries, scones fresh from the oven were brought out...

Scones hot from the oven!

We had two scones each, one plain and one with raisins. They were a nice size (not too big and not too small), most importantly they were fresh and light inside.

The scones were served with thick clotted cream and strawberry preserve. We asked whether there were any other preserves available as well, as Becca cannot eat strawberries, and they brought us a dish of blackcurrant preserve too.

The Tea With Me and Friends way of
dressing scones!

Once we had finished our first two scones we were asked by the attentive waiting staff whether we wanted more scones (we declined this time!).

Finally we made it to the themed part of the tea....all those sweet treats on the top tier! Now this is where pastry chef Joanne Todd showed off her creativity....

Afternoon tea at Royal Horseguards

Our sweet treats included a beautiful mini lace cupcake which was flavoured with lemons, a scrummy corset cookie and mini macaroons topped with strawberry lips! We also indulged in decadent passionate fruit fools, red rose scented chocolate heels and a dark chocolate lipstick!

Everything was very tasty and fresh, I particularly enjoyed the cookie. It was definitely not a case of style over substance - everything looked brilliant, but tasted good too.

Throughout our afternoon at The Royal Horseguards the waiters were friendly and very attentive, despite the lounge being very busy. We never ran out of tea, we had our photo taken and we left full and happy!

Tea With Me and Friends at afternoon tea!

At the end of the tea we were presented with one last gift to take away with us.....

Tea and chocolates - what more could a lady want?

No....unfortunately not the pretty teacup....but that lovely bag of chocolate hearts! I thought this was a lovely touch to end the afternoon tea.

This particular afternoon tea cost £45.00 each and also included a glass of Laurent Perrier Rose Champagne. The other teas range in price from £30.00 for their signature tea, and also include a traditional cream tea for £16.95. 

Although this limited edition tea was higher in price, I think it was good value as there was plenty of good quality food and tea. The lounge itself is a lovely environment and the service was brilliant. We would definitely return to try one of the traditional afternoon teas on offer.

A display within the Lounge at Royal Horseguards

If you enjoyed a Valentines afternoon tea this weekend we'd love to hear from!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel

Time for something sweet....

Hello there!

I hope you are having a lovely week. So, we are already into the month of February....that month which my boyfriend dreads, which is tinged with pink and red. There are hearts and flowers everywhere! Yes, Valentines Day is just around the corner and there is all manner of Valentines themed feasts that you can indulge in.....including a lovely selection of afternoon teas!

Here at Tea With Me and Friends we're off to The Royal Horseguards hotel in Whitehall, London to enjoy their Naughtea....take a look at what lies ahead of us.....

Naughtea Afternoon Tea at Royal Horseguards
Photo from Website

Among other treats I will be enjoying a dark chocolate lipstick, corset cookies, beautiful lace cupcakes and strawberry lips macaroons all created by resident Pastry Chef Joanne Todd.

So, I thought we should take a peek at some of the other Valentine afternoon teas that are on offer this February.

You may remember my interview last month with Pastry Chef Ji Sun Shin, from the Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington. As well as learning all about this amazingly creative pastry chef we also had a sneak peek at her Valentines afternoon tea....

Valentines Afternoon Tea at The Ampersand
Photo from website

At the Ampersand you will enjoy red berry and vanilla cream eclairs, heart shaped macaroons and dark chocolate coated raspberry marshmallows.

Flemings in Mayfair is also featuring a Valentines themed afternoon tea, complete with pink champagne....

Afternoon tea at Flemings, Mayfair
Photo from website

Their tea includes champagne jellies, vanilla cupcakes, rosewater and white chocolate macaroons and coconut chocolate truffles.

Finally there is the super cute afternoon tea being served at the Palm Court at The Langham Hotel...

Afternoon tea served at Palm Court at The Langham Hotel
Photo from website

This creative tea features a Red Cupid Heart, Diamond Dust Pink Candyfloss, a Puppy Love Sable and a mini red Velvet cupcake. It all looks so cute!

I don't know about you, but I am drooling ever so slightly after looking at all those sweet treats! Don't forget to pop back after Valentines to see our photos of the Royal Horseguards afternoon tea. 

If you are inspired to indulge this Valentines, you will need to make sure you have booked a table, these teas are all limited editions and most are only available for a week around Valentines Day. Take a peek at the hotel websites for more information about dates and prices.

If you do indulge in a spot of Valentines inspired afternoon tea we'd love to hear all about it!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna