Top of The Tea Pots!
10th November 2009
Judging for The Tea Guild's Top Tea Place Award 2010 has begun. Find out all about the Award here... Perhaps your local Tea Guild member is in with a change of winning?!
If you thought the 11+ exam was tough, try passing the membership criteria of The Tea Guild! Only the very cream of Britain's tea rooms and tea lounges in, out of London, hotels are granted membership of the prestigious Guild. And once you're in, only continued levels of excellence will keep you there...
Every year, inspections by an army of anonymous judges take place to ensure the high standards expected of Tea Guild members are being upheld. Only those that reach a consistently good level can remain a member - tea places whose standards slip are banished from The Tea Guild and membership is revoked! The judges report back to Tea HQ and their score sheets are collated and notes scrutinized. Only then does the the judging culminate in one lucky tea room being crowned winner of The Tea Guild's Top Tea Place Award which, in 2009, was won by The Bridge Tea Rooms in the picturesque town of Bradford-On-Avon in Somerset. Praised by The Tea Guild's judges for the "near perfect" service, who will scoop the award in 2010?
We won't have long to wait... Judging for the fiercely fought competition for 2010 has been in full swing since later Summer with the award due to be presented in April next year. This means tea rooms and hotels across the country are polishing up their act to ensure they're in with a chance of winning the title! Members nationwide will all be putting on the best afternoon teas of their life with immaculate service and scrumptious food and teas on offer. To be crowned The Tea Guild's Top Tea Place 2010, everything has to be perfect, from the table cloths to the toilets - and of course the tea - in case an inspector strolls through the door. None of the members have any inkling about when the inspections will occur. Moving forward to the final stages, once the contenders have been whittled down to less than a handful, several extra anonymous visits take place to check the consistency of service and ensure the right member is presented with the prestigious award. Click here to find the nearest member of The Tea Guild to you.
The judges' identity is strictly under wraps to ensure they receive the same treatment as any visitor would. But what marks them out from other visitors is the fact that they've all been appointed as inspectors for The Tea Guild because of their extensive experience of working in the tea industry and passion for an excellent brew! As tea buyers, tasters, directors, managers or owners of international tea companies, the judges know exactly what makes good tea - from the appearance of the liquor (which should be clear and bright), the tea's temperature (was it served at the correct heat? Green tea, for example, is best made with water at approximately 80 degrees as boiling temperatures can scold and ruin the leaves taste), the flavour (musty or stale leaves are easily identified and greatly marked down) and finally the tea's strength (which depends on how long the tea has been brewed). All these are categories on The Tea Guild's score sheets - alongside sections for marking the tea room's decor and ambience, the service and efficiency, the staff's knowledge of the teas served and the cutlery and crockery used. The judges are also keen to see what food is offered alongside the teas and whether the tea selection is described well on the menu.
One venue that did get it right is 2009's Top Tea Place, The Bridge Tea Rooms. Visiting the tea room is like stepping into a Victorian parlour. All the waitresses wear Victorian-style costumes - which were described as "delightful" by The Tea Guild's judges - and the crackling open fire and relaxing background harp music make for a cosy and intimate atmosphere. But attractive decor and a delightful ambience alone won't win you the award!
At The Bridge Tea Rooms, their extensive tea menu won specific praise for its detailed descriptions and the 26 teas available. Owners Alison and Roy Hayward, are passionate about worldwide teas and include two authentic oriental tea drinking experiences for guests to indulge in. The Japanese Sencha Fukuyu ritual and the Pai-Mutan China White tea ritual, which are both are served in traditional oriental-style tea bowls. According to the 2009 judges, The Bridges' "impressive dedication to tea" won precious bonus points while the waitresses gave "excellent advice" on the teas ordered and drunk.
It's agreed, The Bridge Tea Rooms is a worthy winner! But what does becoming Britain's Top Tea Place actually mean? Roy Hayward gave Tea.co.uk an exclusive insight into how things have changed since winning The Tea Guild's Top Tea Place Award 2009...
Roy, what did it mean to be crowned The Tea Guild's Top Tea Place 2009?
"It was hugely important and a such a privilege. To be acknowledged as The Tea Guild's Top Tea Place is simply fantastic - a massive achievement - especially from an organization as important and influential as The UK Tea Council's Tea Guild. We were working towards hopefully winning (in 2010) and had put an action plan and staff training in place to gain a higher mark. In fact we'd made quality improvements and tightened up on customer service at the start of this year - after we'd been visited by the inspectors! Little did we realize we'd already been judged before the improvements were made!"
And how has business been since you won?
"After only a few weeks we started to see a marked increase in trade and since mid-May we've increased our afternoon tea sales by a significant margin. Having our Tea Guild Award [a beautiful, and prominently displayed, stained glass window] visible has increased trade throughout the day and evening, too. Even if (visitors) hadn't intended to visit a tea room during their time in Bradford-upon-Avon, having the UK's Top Tea Place as an option for afternoon tea isn't a chance a you turn down!"
So you've had many more visitors?
"Yes, most definitely. We've had both tourists and locals, overseas guests and British visitors".
Do visitors mention they're visiting you because they heard about your award?
"They've read about the Top Tea Place award in local and national newspapers and seen the presentation on TV - subsequently we've had visitors from far and wide! I've done numerous radio interviews on winning and articles in both national and local life press, along with features on The Tea Guild's website, www.tea.co.uk, have all bought in visitors in, I'm sure. Once visitors have heard the news they make their way to The Bridge Tea Rooms and then every time an article - either on the web or in newspapers or magazines - appears, this continues to bring in more people. Our own website (www.thebridgetearooms.co.uk) has had double the number of hits over the same period last year too!"
Irene Gorman, Head of The Tea Guild, also points out that winners of both the prestigious Top Tea Place Award and The Top London Afternoon Tea Award receive extensive media coverage and PR advice arranged by The Tea Guild. "There is a huge and ever increasing interest in these Awards from local and national press, TV and radio and we ensure they are all notifed and kept up to date with who the winner is and when the winner will be announced. This also applies to those members who, whilst not having won a Top Tea Award, have achieved an Award of Excellence in recognition of the very high standards of tea and service they have offered and witnessed by our Tea Guild inspectors."
We know you don't know when the judges are coming, but how do you prepare for the anonymous inspections?
"We don't! But what we do try and do is to treat each and every customer as the most important person that will ever walk through our door. Also, as we are graded against The Tea Guild's very tight inspection criteria we follow the guidance that is provided and created an action plan to achieve the best mark we possibly could against those criteria. The points include the quality of tea, food and decor but - most importantly - the service and attention to detail. Our managers and waitresses are only employed if they are suitable for the post and everyone is trained against the inspection criteria. The training is reinforced regularly too."
How would you feel if you won next year too?
"Absolutely fantastic! We actually aimed to win in 2010 - not 2009 - and we believe that what we offer now is better than last year. But the competition is getting tighter every year and it might be a case of getting it right on the day of the inspection."
It seems that winning The Tea Guild's Top Tea Award 2010 could just change a tea room's life! Stay tuned to www.tea.co.uk for the first news of who has won in 2010 and will be joining the tea room hall of fame alongside Juri's (winner of Top Tea 2008), Peacocks (this Cambridgeshire tearoom scooped top spot in 2007) and Hazelmere Cafe and Bakery in Cumbria (2006's Top Tea Place)...
24a Bridge St, Bradford-on-Avon, Somerset, BA15 1BY. 01225 865 537. www.thebridgeatbradford.co.uk