An English Tradition.....and long may it continue to be

Afternoon tea is one of those quintessentially English things that I love. Having been lucky enough to travel the world extensively I can honestly say there is nothing like an English afternoon tea served up in England. Of course there are many examples of good afternoon tea served around the globe. But, to my mind, no one quite does it like we do here at home. Here are a few of my favourites for this great tradition of ours. A great country house afternoon tea, the best afternoon tea in London and the best you can find abroad.

Lucknam Park Country House Hotel in Bath typifies what afternoon tea is all about. Delicate sandwiches, hot and delicious scones, all topped off with cakes and pastries that push you to the limit of what is feasible to consume in one sitting. This wonderful feast is served in the drawing room looking out over the vast grounds. Here you can sit and relax, winding away the hours pretending to be a landed gentry owning all he surveys whilst washing down artery clogging pastries with endless quantities of fabulous tea.

In London it seems almost all the big name hotels offer afternoon tea. However, The Connaught Hotel does it all with a bit of a twist. Here, Helene Darozze brings some Michelin starred flair to afternoon tea at The Connaught. The basics are traditional, sandwiches, scones and cakes but the style is very much its own. Resist the temptation to order more of each course when offered as you won’t get through it all. If you do fancy more, order a second helping of the scones which are simply divine and have to be the best I have ever had. A variety of scones are offered, the pick of which has to be Darozze’s now famous apricot ones. The tea list here deserves a special mention. The choice is almost endless. My personal favourite is one called French Vanilla which smells almost like custard and has a lovely silky vanilla taste to it….simply marvellous.

I can’t think of a better place to sample afternoon tea abroad than in the colonial splendour that is The Oriental in Bangkok. It’s served up in the austere surroundings of the Authors Lounge in the old original part of the hotel. I have spent a few lovely Sunday afternoons tucked away in here slowly devouring their form of afternoon tea over several hours. The surroundings can’t help but take you back to times past and I must admit I do like to imagine who may have passed through the lounge over the years or even sat in the very seat I occupy while tucking into the sumptuous cakes and scones.