Most of you know that I enjoy food, so it’s no surprise that I thoroughly took advantage of Tea Time in London!
Contrary to my prior belief, tea time is more than a 15 minute break involving some tea and a scone. I thought it was the equivalent of a coffee break substituting tea instead. Our tea service lasted about 2.5 hours from start to finish at The Rubens!
In the 1700s, a Duchess started afternoon tea to stave off hunger between breakfast and a very late dinner. She started inviting friends, and the custom spread among the upper class. Soon, the masses followed suit and the traditional of afternoon tea was born.
Mr. S and I chose a traditional English Breakfast tea for our tea service. And boy, was I surprised when they brought the goodies that accompany the tea! Three tiers of yumminess! We started with the bottom platter of sandwiches – cucumber and cream cheese, smoked salmon, curry chicken, and egg salad. Cinnamon and plain scones filled the next platter, served with clotted cream of course. The top and final platter did us in! Cinnamon meringue, clementine macaron, fruit tart, cheesecake, sugar cookie, caramel donut, and a blackberry cupcake filled our mouths with joy! We DID have leftovers to take back to the room.
The Rubens Tea Lounge overlooks The Royal Mews and is a lovely setting for conversation and people watching. It was no wonder time flew by – I highly recommend it!
Can you spot the photo bomber?! LOL at Mr. S!
In fact, it was so much fun that I want to plan an afternoon tea party at home! What could be better than tea and goodies with some girlfriends? …maybe if I required hats!
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. – Author Unknown
{I celebrate life.}
Oh my….how I would love sitting in front of that lovely display of tea and desserts. Have fun!
Oh wow the food looks amazing! Sounds like a very relaxing afternoon :)
AwayFromTheBlue.blogspot.com.au
seems like the english version of dim sum :) so did you start at the top tier of treats and go down or vice versa???
YES, that’s so true!! English dim sum LOL! We started at the bottom and worked our way up!
I have such a sweet tooth, this looks so amazing! And fun! A tea party sounds like such a cute and fun idea. :)
Oh wow, tea time looks and sounds amazing! I hope you are having so much fun!
xo, Yi-chia
Always Maylee
Fab post Sam, so pleased London treated you well. Love the way you have graded your afternoon tea on yumminess scale:) Beautiful pictures too!
Thanks you Miss Kitty!! :)
An English tea party sounds like a fabulous idea!!! Especially if fascinators are involved!
And now I am craving tea time sandwiches.
hehe photobomb! I love tea time! My family drinks like 4 cups of tea when we hang out no matter the weather haha I’ve been having tea every morning since it’s like 40 degrees here in NYC :)
If I had known you liked High Tea…. OK, Next time I’m in the US you need to come to NY and you can join NYJen and I for high tea. We’ve been working our way through the tea houses in Manhattan. We’re determined to do Tea at the Plaza (with hats!) sometime in the near future.
YESSSSSSS!!! Are you kidding! We MUST do Tea at the Plaza (or anywhere with hats)!! How fun Mush! That’s right up my alley!
I love teatime!!
Love high tea! This looks delicious.