If We Were Having Afternoon Tea – Guest Post
Gemma has kindly written a fabulous guest post for me all about Afternoon Tea – enjoy!
Hello all, I’m Gemma and I usually blog over at Wheelescapades. Let me offer you a brew while we get to know each other a little more.
If you know me you’ll know I’m obsessed with tea, although I can’t actually make a cuppa myself. I have a disability called Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2, this means I have very little strength and am rubbish at lifting stuff. I am a full time wheelchair user and part time ranter. I write about my adventures, often highlighting access issues. I’m a huge fan of live music, comedy, festivals, and obviously tea. Rachael and I share a common love of afternoon tea (as well as food in general!) so I thought what better than to invite you all to my dream afternoon tea.
Afternoon tea has always been the perfect type of meal for me, my favourite form of dining, celebrating. I’m not a very big eater, I get some of my nutrition via a tube medically. So being ‘good’ when it comes to eating isn’t my priority. I’m also a slow eater, more of a nibbler. Which makes afternoon tea the ideal feast. Lots of small tasters as such, consumed over a brew with friends. What more could a girl want.
Over the past few years afternoon tea has become quite the thing to do, which means every hotel and restaurant is jumping on the bandwagon. The bonus to this is plenty out there to try, the negative is there are some dodgy ones!
If we were having afternoon tea it would be a sunny day of course, everything is better with a little sun. I don’t function well in the cold, and my hair doesn’t like rain.
Wimpole Estate, Cambridgeshire
We would head to a stately house surrounded by greenery, think Downton Abbey but a little smaller. More intimate. There would be a grand entrance with high wide doors, obviously no steps (ha, like that exists!). A stunning chandelier hangs in the hallway.
Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxfordshire
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
If we were having afternoon tea we would be shown to a large circular table. Because round tables are my table of choice, for easy access and socialising. Also large because who likes to be cramped, and an afternoon tea involves lots of crockery!
The table would be marble with no cloth, it feels more sleek and I don’t feel guilty for dripping jam. Crisp white crockery and dainty cutlery marks our places, silver obviously, but not too heavy for my feeble fingers.
The Randolf Hotel, Oxford
If we were having afternoon tea, the tea choices would be plentiful. I’d offer you a glass of bubbly however would decline myself. I’m a person that’s all about tradition when it comes to afternoon tea and it wouldn’t be the same without my favourite beverage.
If we were having afternoon tea I would go for an Earl Grey, preferably decaffeinated. I don’t take mine with milk, although I do if it’s a regular tea. Loose leaf is a must.
I’ve been with friends that have ordered coffee, Coke, various drinks. There are champagne afternoon teas, those served with cocktails, I’ve been to one that came with Pimms. All these drinks are delicious, but there’s nothing quite like a cup of tea with your sandwiches and cake. I find tea refreshing, thirst quenching and moreish. There are so many varieties available.
If we were having afternoon tea the stands would arrive like a performance, stunning and brimming with excitement. Appearance is everything. Afternoon tea is meant to be dainty and beautiful, intricate and detailed. It’s the small touches that can make an afternoon tea stand out from others.
If we were having afternoon tea it would make your eyes excited, dart back and forth, discovering all the delights.
The Assembly House, Norwich
If we were having afternoon tea the sandwiches would be cut in fingers, because that’s how it should be. The savouries are just as crucial as the sweets in my opinion, the opening scene, the sandwiches get the tastebuds going.
If we were having afternoon tea the fillings would be simple, delicate and traditional. Cream cheese and cucumber is a must. Although not very fancy, it’s a refreshing start to the meal. The higher up the tiers we get the richer the food becomes. So let’s not overindulged too soon! I’m also a fan of smoked salmon, I don’t eat it at any other time than during an afternoon tea, so it feels quite the treat but is still fairly light. Egg and cress is another crowd pleaser. If we were having afternoon tea the sandwiches would be replenish-able, but remember, save room for what’s to come.
Claridge’s, London
If we were having afternoon tea there would be sausage rolls, because why not?! Lately more and more afternoon teas I’ve attended have introduced an extra layer of savouries. I’m quite partial to a pastry, and a sausage roll is one of my guilty pleasures. So the added element of a savoury is a bonus for me. Possibly my favourite ever sausage roll was served at this Chocolat themed afternoon tea in Norwich.
If we were having afternoon tea there would be both types of scones, sweet and savoury. Because I get a little disappointed when there isn’t. You might assume me a sweet toothed person, but my scone of choice is usually the cheese one. I love cheese. These scones would be served warm when requested, but that goes without saying.
If we were having afternoon tea the scones would be specifically these ones served at The Assembly House Norwich. Because there is not much better in the world than their Cheese scones. Fact.
The sweet scone would be traditional fruit, with lashings of cream and raspberry jam, because I don’t get the strawberry hype.
If we were having afternoon tea we would undoubtedly have the cream or jam first debate. I would explain to you that my reasons are purely practical, and you can top your scone however you prefer. Jam first obviously.
The Assembly House, Norwich
If we were having afternoon tea there wouldn’t be a theme. As much as I love a themed tea, sometimes it can feel a little style over substance, they can look stunning yet lack a bit on flavour. One that didn’t fail the eye or tastebuds was this Rainbow Unicorn afternoon tea for Norwich Pride.
Assembly House, Norwich
If we were having afternoon tea the top tier would be bright, colourful and delicious. There would be contrasting flavours and textures. A crunchy, chocolate chip cookie sandwich, crumbles to the bite. A fluffy lemon drizzle cake (because it’s my favourite cake ever) with a gooey, sugary syrup. There wouldn’t be a macaron, because I’m still undecided on those. I know they’re fashionable and pretty, but they can be a bit like eating dust. Coconut macaroons though, those I love, especially drizzled with dark chocolate, if we were having afternoon tea we would have one of those! To finish is a glassed dessert, rhubarb flavour, zingy like this one at Barnham Broom Country Club.
Barnham Broom Country Club, Norfolk
If we were having afternoon tea we would definitely take home a ‘doggy bag’. One of the best things about the experience extending it and having some to munch on later!
I’ll leave you with this photo of an afternoon tea combining two of my loves, crafts and cake! I can’t admit to making this myself, it was part of an exhibition I took part in. Believe me, a room full of fabric food really messes with your mind!
Art Exhibition, Dereham, Norfolk
What would be your dream afternoon tea? Or is there a favourite you’ve been to?
Gemma’s social media links
Wheelescapades Blog – https://wheelescapades.com
Twitter – https://twitter.com/gemmaorton
Facebook – https://facebook.com/wheelescapades/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wheelescapades/
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.co.uk/wheelescapades/
A huge thank you to Gemma for such a foodie fantastic guest post!
If you’d like to write a guest post on https://rachaelstray.com please get in touch via my contact/work with me page.
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Other Afternoon Tea related posts
My dad and I tried out the new rustic Afternoon Tea at St Mary’s Inn
Here’s what Steve and I thought of Afternoon Tea at Slaley Hall
To celebrate our 30th birthdays we enjoyed Afternoon Tea at the South Causey Inn
Here’s what we thought of the bottomless Prosecco Afternoon Tea at Hudson
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Thank you for having me, I really enjoyed writing this!
Aww lovely to see here on here, Gemma! Great choice, Rachael – nobody can talk afternoon teas like Gemma, she’s the boss! I agree on a lot of things with the ideal experience, and a good point about the marble type of table rather than table cloth (I rarely leave anywhere without spilling something). The jam/scone debate is an easy one for me to solve – no jam at all, don’t like it. I wonder if there are many others like me out there, that don’t like jam..? 😂
Caz xx
No jam?! Do you still go for the cream or something else?
Can’t say I’m a fan of cream either… 😆
How are we even speaking 😂
I think I’ll join you for that afternoon tea. Everything you describe (except the salmon, which you can have all to yourself) sounds absolutely lovely. And they’d better have enough of the fluffy lemon drizzle cake because lemon cake is my favorite.
The lemon cake would be never-ending. The more you it the more appears!
Gemma is such an afternoon tea expert! This does sound like a perfect afternoon tea experience.
You know, (I will sound like a total wrong’un) but my favourite part of afternoon tea is all the savoury goods. I just love a good, tasty sandwich.
I love a good sandwich too!
What’s your favourite sandwich?
That is a hard one… probably salmon and cream cheese. I am very partial to cucumber too though.
Was neat to visit you and Gemma at the same time.
Thank you 😊
Like a little tea club 😍