History of Afternoon Tea
Tea consumption increased dramatically during the early nineteenth century and it is around this time that Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford is said to have complained of "having that sinking feeling" during the late afternoon. At the time it was usual for people to take only two main meals a day, breakfast, and dinner at around 8 o'clock in the evening. The solution for the Duchess was a pot a tea and a light snack, taken privately in her boudoir during the afternoon.
Later friends were invited to join her in her rooms at Woburn Abbey and this summer practice proved so popular that the Duchess continued it when she returned to London, sending cards to her friends asking them to join her for "tea and a walking the fields." Other social hostesses quickly picked up on the idea and the practice became respectable enough to move it into the drawing room. Before long all of fashionable society was sipping tea and nibbling sandwiches in the middle of the afternoon.
TEA MENU
BLACK TEA
BLACK TEA is crafted to reveal the strongest and deepest flavours. The British Afternoon Tea was developed to complement the rich, dark flavours of
these leaves. These black teas have been traditionally hand-crafted in small batches with great care to preserve their wonderful subtleties of flavour.
GREEN TEA
GREEN TEA has as many subtleties of flavour as the finest of wines. The best are both rare and exquisite. The minimum of processing allows the fresh, green flavour of the leaves to be maintained.
OOLONG TEA
OOLONG TEAS have been partially oxidised and have a flavour and body between green and black tea.
WHITE TEA
WHITE TEA is the least processed of all teas. Their young leaves and buds are all picked in spring and dried in the warm sunshine. They share very delicate flavours.
HERBAL INFUSIONS
HERBAL TEA is not strictly ‘tea’ because all tea comes from the leaves of camellia sinensis. They are infusions of the leaves and stems of different herbs. These herbal infusions contain no additives or flavourings and are naturally caffeine-free
OUR CURRENT
TEA'S
BLACK TEAS
Mayfair English breakfast tea
Mayfair English Breakfast Tea is certainly a high class tea to be savoured and enjoyed. Picture those mornings when there's just enough time to pause before the busy day ahead and a peaceful calm surrounds - well that's the ambience each sip of Mayfair English Breakfast Tea will provide. A careful blend of Assam and Kenyan black teas are mixed with a sprinkle of calming Safflower petals to produce a wonderful, full bodied tasting tea with a slight mellow astringency
Decaffeinated English Breakfast tea
Using a Flowery Pekoe tea from the Dimbula region in Sri Lanka this decaffeinated English Breakfast is full of body. A high quality Ceylon tea is used as it retains its flavour better than others whilst undergoing the natural CO2 decaffeination process. With a balanced astringency and lovely floral notes, it truly makes a wonderful breakfast tea.
Ceylon
A truly delightful, medium bodied, flavor some tea from one of the best tea gardens in Sri Lanka. Grown at high altitude amongst steep hills you can be sure of tasting a wonderful piquant cup with real Ceylon Tea character
Margaret's Hope TGFOP 2nd Flush Darjeeling Tea
A distinctive 'muscatel' flavour, with hints of blackcurrants create an almost wine like taste. Often compared to the taste and fragrance of Muscat grape, Margaret's Hope 2nd Flush Darjeeling makes a wonderful afternoon tea - great with scones and raspberry preserve!
Supreme Earl Grey
Russian Earl Grey is based on historic traditions of adding sweet blends of spices and citrus fruits to black tea. Our version of Russian Earl Grey echoes this tradition by adding naturally dried Thai Lemongrass and sun ripened, dried orange peel from Spain to create a wonderful smooth, sweet and refreshing tea.
Assam
Grown on the south side of the Brahmaputra River near the remote region of Nagaland, Bukhial TGFOP Assam is a premium tea with a traditional leaf style. As rainfall is lower in this area, the bushes grow more slowly yielding outstanding crops that have all the flavour and strength you would expect from a top Assam tea estate.
INFUSED TEAS
Mint Chocolate Rooibos Tea
If you're looking for that healthy, great tasting after dinner treat, then look no further. Mint Chocolate Rooibos herbal tea is packed full of goodness and taste - without a hint of guilt! Cocoa pieces and organic peppermint are combined with premium rooibos tea to bring you a refreshing, healthy drink that tastes just as good as it sounds. Mmmm go on, enjoy...you can
Caramel Cream Flavoured Black Tea
Enjoy the delicious melt in the mouth taste of butterscotch blended with the natural flavour of creamy caramel, a hint of vanilla and premium Ceylon black tea. A superb tea blend that can be enjoyed anytime, Caramel Cream is a favourite with many as an after dinner tea and works well with milk and sugar if desired
LUXURIOUS REAL FRUIT TEA'S
Exotic Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Tea
A wonderful bold and full bodied blend of fruits and herbs are combined in Exotic Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Tea. Totally refreshing and certainly thirst quenching without being too oversweet. Packed with Vitamin C this wonderful fruit tea tastes great hot or iced
Delicious Berry Fruit Tea
Wow! This incredible fruit and herb tea tastes fantastic and is so refreshing. The combination of hibiscus, blackcurrants, elderberries and raisins results in the most extraordinary flavours that burst through in a truly delicious berry fruit tea. Drink it hot or as an ice tea, either way you'll have a cuppa that's great tasting and healthy too!
GREEN & WHITE TEA
China Pai Mu Tan White Tea
Perfect naturally withered white tea depends on conditions that are neither too hot nor too cold. The top two leaves and bud should show a very light green, almost grey white colour and be covered in a velvet peach fuzz down. You'll see from examining this Pai Mu Tan, the tea maker did a first class job! A refreshing tea with a fresh aroma that can be enjoyed any time of day
Japan Sencha Green Tea
Enjoy the smooth, rich flavour of this premium Sencha produced in traditional Japanese style. Commonly used in Japanese tea ceremonies, sencha leaves have a distinctive glossy look and feel that provide a rich and full flavour
HERBAL TEA'S
Egyptian chamomile flowers
From the perfect growing conditions of sandy loam and nutrients of the Nile we bring you the highest quality Egyptian Camomile Flowers. Renowned for its many health benefits, Camomile makes a great tea on its own but lends itself well to blends such as honey, lime and lemon to name but a few
Peppermint cut leaves
Outstanding peppermint leaves from the best cut of the season that produce a cool and pungent cup of tea bursting with minty flavour. Peppermint tea is a really refreshing drink, totally caffeine free that tastes just as good hot or cold, especially after meals.
Herbal Lemongrass & Mint
A wonderful herbal blend with no added flavouring, Herbal Lemongrass & Mint makes the perfect tea anytime of day. The hibiscus petals provide a pretty pink infusion whilst the lemongrass,mint and liquorice give a lovely depth of taste just bursting with citrus and mint notes.
Zesty Lemon Rooibos Tea
Combining lemon with this premium Rooibos herbal tea invigorates the natural Rooibos sweet taste. Zesty Lemon Rooibos Tea has both smoothness and the slightly tart citrus edge of lemons. Great hot or as an iced tea, try it with a slice of lemon and let your taste buds tingle
Lemon and Ginger
Citrus and spice and all things nice.
Revive your senses with real pieces of warm, spicy ginger blended with the fresh, zesty taste of lemons.
It's perfect after a meal, as ginger has traditionally been used to aide digestion. Made with all-natural ingredients, nothing more, nothing less. Naturally caffeine free with no added sugar, enjoy any time of the day.