How Afternoon Tea Can Cheer Those Dark January Days
20th January 2010
After the sparkle of Christmas and New Year have died down, January can seem to stretch out into a bank of bleak, dull and depressing days.
But we know how to lift the gloom with glamourous afternoon tea! Even if you're watching your calories - or your wallet - there are still plenty of opportunities for terrific tea to brighten your mood.
As well as a spate of severe snowy weather and long dark evenings to depress us, we're watching our waistlines and counting the pennies. If you're after an instant uplift, drinking a cuppa at home is the perfect pick-me-up. Taken without milk or sugar, tea is a totally calorie-free treat for those on January diets. While the low levels of caffeine in the brew revitalize you, tea's incredibly high antioxidant properties will give you a health boost too. If you choose to take your tea white, adding semi-skimmed milk only adds 13 calories to your cup while giving your diet a calcium boost.
But for the ultimate in mood-lifting activities, afternoon tea simply can't be beaten. We've picked out a few of the best offerings from The Tea Guild's members nationwide to cheer you during this dreary month. Whether it's a guilt-free low-cal tea, a rejuvenating spa and tea treat or a bargain two-for-one offer, book in and enjoy! Click onto The Tea Guild's pages to find the nearest Tea Guild member to you.
The Palm Court at The Balmoral
Although many of us are concentrating on watching our waistlines in January, it's the time of year when our budgets are often called into check too. Taking afternoon tea has been cited by many as an affordable luxury. Unlike lunch or dinner in a swish hotel - where the bill can swiftly mount with the addition of water, wine, side dishes, bread and dessert - treating yourself to afternoon tea is an easy way to indulge as the set price means you already know exactly what you'll be shelling out.
If you're currently counting the pennies but still crave the glamour a luxurious hotel afternoon tea bestows, The Palm Court offers a guilt-free solution. Tea for two for the price of one! From Monday to Thursday throughout January and extending into February, book your place to experience an Award of Excellence-winning afternoon tea at a bargain price. Tea-time treats on the menu include Scottish-themed sweets including Dundee cake, Balmoral shortbread and Scottish beef sandwiches alongside a mouth-watering selection of teas to try.
The Balmoral, 1 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2EQ / 0131 556 2414 / www.roccofortecollection.com
Turnberry
Running until January 22nd, Turnberry Resort in Ayrshire, Scotland (one of The Tea Guild's newest members) is offering guests a delicious Revitalising Afternoon Tea to uplift and cheer during this dull month. Starting with scrumptious alternatives to the traditional sandwich: Lemon chicken wrap and Goat cheese and potato focaccia are tempting savoury options. Next, a course of exotic treats are bound to add spring to your step: Griddled ham and pineapple skewer; Melon and strawberry soup laced with Pernod and mint and Lobster salad with mango, cucumber and creme fraiche are bound to wake-up your tastebuds! Finally the pastry course includes Fresh fruit tart, Citrus and yoghurt curd choux bun and a Coco macaroon with raspberry. Mmmm. With a tea sommelier on hand to guide your choice you can be guaranteed of a great afternoon tea...
Turnberry Resort, Maidens Road, Turnberry, KA26 9LT / 01655 331000 / www.luxurycollection.com/turnberry
Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa
For those of you that are frantically counting the post-Christmas calories, January needn't be an Afternoon tea-free month. The Sheraton Hotel in Edinburgh have cleverly created a Guilt Free Detox Afternoon Tea which is available until the end of January. Full of flavour, the treats might be light in the carbs department, but they certainly don't fall short on taste!
Guests start with No bread savoury sandwich pots in Smoked Scottish salmon with beetroot and creme fraiche; Roast sirloin of beef with watercress and spinach; Curried turkey and roasted red pepper and Chickpea, grilled vegetable and rocket. Next, freshly baked beetroot and dark chocolate scones are served with fromage frais and a selection of preserves - a refreshing alternative to calorific clotted cream! You might think cakes were out of bounds but Matcha green tea and chestnut macaroons; Goji berry and sesame seed flapjacks; Lychee and mandarin tartlet; Ginger and hemp seed madeleine and Cranberry and Blueberry terrine are suitably scrumptious but miraculously low-fat options. We could get used to dieting if it all tasted this good!
And of course afternoon tea wouldn't be complete without an exquisite cup of tea: Loose leaf English breakfast, Earl Grey and 2nd flush Darjeeling are all on the menu and are cleverly served with a handy timer so guests know exactly when their tea is ready.
Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa, 1 Festival Square, Edinburgh, Scotland EH3 9SR / 0131 221 6402 / www.sheratonedinburgh.co.uk
Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel
Although we love going out for the full afternoon tea with course after course of treats, sometimes just a taste of something sweet is all we need to satiate our appetite. The brilliantly innovative Bespoke Tea at Grosvenor House offers just that! Instead of indulging in several courses, guests can simply choose what they fancy from an a la carte-style menu. It's perfect when all you want is a small sandwich or one chocolate eclair. But of course, if you want order two eclairs that's totally fine by us too! As expected of an Award of Excellence winning establishment, the tea menu includes an array of exotic, rare brews. Golden Rose Heart tea, Flowering Red Amaranth and Flowering Jasmine and Lily are exotic choices that sit perfectly alongside the all the well-known classics.
Grosvenor House, 86-90 Park Lane, London, W1K 7TN / 020 7499 6363 / www.londongrosvenorhouse.co.uk
The Lanesborough
If you're avoiding dairy or wheat as part of your new years' resolutions, you may think that afternoon tea would be a forbidden pleasure. Well, we've got great news for you... At The Lanesborough, guests can order a gluten and dairy-free afternoon tea which includes all the sandwiches, cakes, scones and pastries a 'normal' tea entails! If that's not enough of a reason to hot foot it to this landmark hotel, The Lanesborough's Award of Excellence-winning afternoon tea service has teamed up with The Spa Studio (the hotel's equally sophisticated beauty haven) to offer guests an afternoon of indulgence with their Footloose and Fancy Tea Package.
A luxurious sixty-minute Pristine pedicure will revitalize Winter weary feet using uplifting essential oils before guests take tea in the hotel's ultra-elegant restaurant, Apsleys. There's an almost bewildering array of exotic tea blends on the menu, but enlist Karl Kessab - the hotel's dedicated tea sommelier - to advise you on your choice to ensure you enjoy the ultimate brew for you.
The Lanesborough, Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge London SW1X 7TA / 020 7259 5599 / www.lanesborough.com
Swinton Park
Outside London, Swinton Park is the perfect example of a gracious country house hotel. In warmer weather guests can stroll round acres of parkland but in Winter we recommend you venture no further than the drawing room or the hotel's inviting spa. In fact, why not combine a visit to both with Swinton Park's Afternoon Indulgence Package where guests are treated to an hour long face, body or beauty treatment (you get to choose which you prefer) and full Award of Excellence-winning afternoon tea. Tassophiles can choose from an extensive choice of teas including Assam, Darjeeling, Ceylon, Earl Grey, China Rose, Lapsang Souchong and Blue Sapphire...
Swinton Park Hotel, Ripon, Masham, North Yorkshire HG4 4JH / 01765 680 900 / www.swintonpark.com
Blakes Hotel
Proving that great bargains aren't only to be found in the sales, Blakes Hotel are offering their afternoon tea guests a fabulous discount of 25% during January along with a complimentary glass of champagne. How kind! The hotel, which is consistently rated as one of the sleekest, chicest and sexiest in the capital is the ideal place to unwind in unmitigated luxury - after you've hit the aforementioned sales, perhaps? Treats on the tea menu include beef and chilli horseradish, smoked salmon and cucumber and egg and cress finger sandwiches; “light-as-air scones” served with fresh strawberries and Chantilly cream and an assortment of home made cakes - all served in the sumptuously decorated Chinese Room.
Blakes Hotel, 33 Roland Gardens, London SW7 3PF / 020 7370 6701 / www.blakeshotels.com
The Dorchester
Unlike December, when all is ablaze with sparkle and glitz, January can seem dull and dreary in comparison. How about adding some film star glamour to these dark days? On January 21st, guests indulging in The Dorchester's BAFTA Afternoon Tea will be entered into a prize draw when one lucky tea-goer will win an exclusive BAFTA nominee gift bag, usually only reserved for those A Listers nominated for a coveted award! But even if you don't scoop the star prize, The Promenade (where tea is served) will see a host of fabulous film-star activity with models showcasing divine Asprey jewellery. All those enjoying afternoon tea will take away a goodie bag - including treats from Charles Worthington, Evian, Hotel Chocolat and Lancome - too. Lights, camera, tea-time!
The Dorchester, Park Lane, Mayfair, London W1A 2HJ / 020 7629 8888 / www.dorchesterhotel.com