Cornish Cream Tea Hamper | Simply Cornish Hampers Review

Today I have a review of a Afternoon Tea Hamper from Simply Cornish Hampers. For a while I have wanted to try out an afternoon tea hamper, as I really liked the concept of a fresh Afternoon Tea delivered straight to your door. I was just awaiting a suitable occasion for an excuse!  

...and what a better excuse than mothers day! 

I originally had my eye on the Delimann hampers, but unfortunately they don't deliver on a weekend. I will have to try that another time :) So, after doing a quick google search I discovered Simply Cornish Hampers 

Simply Cornish Hampers have been open since 2005, they sell hampers as gifts for a special occasion or a special someone. All their ingredients are sourced locally in Cornwall from a range of food and wine suppliers. Their range includes gluten free hampers, alcohol hampers, cream tea hampers and chocolate hampers. I'm sure most people will be able to find something that takes their fancy! I chose the  'Family Cornish Cream Tea Hamper' option, 

Delivery costs a whooping  £7.55 for weekdays or £8.65 for weekend delivery. 

The hamper was priced at £35.95 and was delivered in a cardboard box. You can upgrade to a black gift box for £47.45 or if you pay £58.90 they will send it in wicker basket! However, the cardboard packaging alone was fine, I loved how everything was laid out and they all fit snugly in the box!

The hamper included 8 Butter Scones, a bottle of Healey's Pressed Apple Juice, Clotted Cream, Shortbread, Sisley's Strawberry Jam, Clotted Cream Fudge, Spiced Crunch Original Fairings, 4 Rodda's Clotted Cream and Furniss Gingerbread. Its a shame that the hamper doesn't include any tea!

Since we were having a bit off a mothers day family gathering we decided to set it up as a tea party...

For my mum instead of putting out a tea cup we decided to place the Grandma mug that my niece got her. 

The food was all really yummy and had a lovely home made feel to it. The scones tasted very fresh and I especially loved the addition of the fudge  and apple juice. 

I can't recommend this hamper enough, it's a great alternative to a hotel afternoon tea. With every order you get a free personlised gift card to send to your loved ones, yet our hamper included the wrong card. It said 'Happy Birthday' instead of the 'Happy Mothers Day' message which left my mum a bit perplexed to begin with! But since the food was soo lovely I'll have to let them off for the mistake!

Have you tried an afternoon tea hamper? Any recommendations for next time?

See you next time for more of my ramblings! 

xx

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Tea, Anyone? | The Really Useful Chocolate Teapot

For my 18th Birthday my auntie gave me a Chocolate Teapot...yes, that's right - a teapot made out of chocolate - I was in heaven! It's so cute that I've actually been a bit reluctant to use it, but eventually  my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to see how it works. 

This chocolate teapot is by a company called Schokolat, they are known for selling novelty chocolate. They sell various shaped chocolate such as a golf iron, paint brushes, tools and keys.

First off I did a bit off research to try to understand how this actually works without melting straight away. I found the teapot uses dark chocolate that is 65% cocoa solids because it has a higher melting point than milk chocolate. Apparently by using dark chocolate built up in layers the teapot won't melt straight away with the boiling water and will last for a couple of cuppas. 

The teapot came with a leaflet containing some suggestions on how you could use it... 

• The first way is to make an extra chocolaty hot chocolate. I did this by placing two tablespoons of hot chocolate powder (I used the malteser one) into the teapot, then filling it 2/3 full with hot water. I then mixed it and poured the yummy hot chocolate into some teacups - I think you can repeat this step however many times you want to! 
• Once you have drank the hot chocolate, you can pour hot water into the teapot, then stir the water with the chocolate in order to create a chocolaty fondue. Then you can dip fruit and marshmallows into it to your hearts content.
• Finally, you can break up the teapot and slowly devour it (This is still a work in progress!)

So does it actually work?....YES it does! Because of the thick layers of dark chocolate the teapot only melts on the inside, so you can have a creamy fondue for your fruit, without destroying the shape. I'm not entirely sure if you can have an actual tea using this teapot, as there was no information about that. Turns out the saying ‘You are about as useful as a chocolate teapot’ isn’t correct!

This is a great gift idea for any chocoholics and is actually quite a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

See you next time for more of my ramblings!

xx

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Ramblings of a Devoted Tea Drinker's Afternoon Tea Wish List

Today I wanted to talk about some of the cafes/tea rooms/hotels that have been on my afternoon tea wishlist for some time now. I actually wanted to post this as my first post of 2016, but over Christmas I was drowned in revision for my mock exams (boo) to have time to write this post and haven't got round to writing this post until now, so lets just pretend its the first of January today, shall we? (even though it's march)...to make me feel like an organised blogger who can balance A' levels and blogging ahaha!

So here are the top 5 afternoon tea's on my hit lit...

The Parlour, West Bridgford, Nottingham - theparlourwestbridgford.co.uk/
The Parlour is a beautiful independent vintage tearoom located in Central Avenue in West Bridgford, Nottingham. I have walked passed The Parlour like a million times but I've never got round to going there for some odd reason. It's so beautifully decorated from the outside and looks very unique. They always post pictures of the afternoon tea they offer on their twitter account and it makes my mouth water every time I see it! Time permitting I will definitely be checking this one out in the next few months!

The Ritz - www.theritzlondon.com/afternoon-tea-reservations/
The Ritz is a 5-star hotel located in Piccadilly in London, it is one of the world's most prestigious hotels! The Ritz has acquired its reputation as "the place for tea" after World War I. In my opinion the Ritz is the ultimate afternoon tea location, so is definitely on my hit list this year (hopefully).

The Plaza Hotel, New York - www.theplazany.com/dining/palmcourt/ 

So this next place is a tad very unrealistic for this year, but I just had to include it in my list! I have always wanted to visit New York, so afternoon tea + New York = happy Nishah! Also, ever since watching Home Alone 2: Lost in New York I have wanted to visit the Plaza Hotel. The afternoon tea the Plaza offers looks so grand and luxurious. It would be great to experience an afternoon tea outside of the UK to see how similar/different the experience is (sad I know!!) 

I have always wanted to try a themed afternoon tea but nothing has appealed to me that much until...

The Bobbi Brown Afternoon Tea, Balthazar, London - balthazarlondon.com/bobbi-brown-afternoon-tea/

A MAKEUP THEMED AFTERNOON TEA!! When I heard about this one I instantly wanted to go! As part of the make up brand; Bobbi Brown's 25th Anniversary, they teamed up with the Balthazar Restaurant to make a beauty-inspired Afternoon Tea. The sweet treats are shaped like some of the most popular Bobbi Brown products including the Foundation Stick, the Shimmer Brick and the Gel Eyeliner they sell. This afternoon tea is priced at £25 per person and is only available until  Thursday 29th September - I am hoping to go during the summer this year! They also have made a limited edition lipstick for this afternoon tea...which I may have to treat myself too ;)                  

BB Bakery Afternoon Tea Bus - www.bbbakery.co.uk/afternoon-tea/afternoon-tea-bus-tour/
The last Afternoon tea on my hit list is a bit unusual and a twist on the traditional tea room. The afternoon tea is served on a London bus while visiting popular sights in London! - How cool is that? The bus drives past Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Notting Hill and Trafalgar square, It is priced at £45 per person, not bad for afternoon tea, culture and tourism all in one!

I didn't want to make this post too long so I've only included some of the afternoon tea's on the top of my list! Living in the UK, there are lots of wonderful afternoon tea's on offer, so this is by no means a definitive list. There are in fact lots of afternoon tea's that i would be very happy to try, so there may be some new additions to my list as time goes by! :)

Have you tried any of these afternoon tea's? Are they worth the hype?

See you next time for more of my ramblings!

xx

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Traditional Afternoon Tea at The Goring Hotel, London

Today I am reviewing the traditional afternoon tea of The Goring Hotel in London .

The Goring Hotel can be found in Belgravia in London, less than a 10 minute walk from Buckingham Palace, perfectly located for sightseeing.  The Goring Hotel is a 5 star hotel that was opened by Otto Goring on 2nd March 1910. What makes the hotel unique is that it is the only remaining hotel in London that is still owned and run by the family that built it! With Otto Goring’s Great-Grandson, Jeremy Goring now running the hotel. When reading up about the hotel I also found that the Goring was the first hotel in the world in which every room had a private bathroom and central heating! 

Today, however the hotel is probably better known for it's royal connection, as the Queen Mother was a regular visitor and more recently the hotel came into the spotlight when Kate Middleton and family stayed there the days before the royal wedding in 2011. So unsurprisingly Afternoon Tea at The Goring  is indeed a posh affair. 

lets just take minute to appreciate how beautiful this wallpaper is!  

The afternoon tea is served in the Bar & Lounge area every day between 3pm - 4pm, and is priced at £42.50. 

We visited during the summer months so were lucky enough to be offered a table on the terrace overlooking the beautiful Goring gardens. On that particular day the sun was shining and there were people  playing croquet on the grass area and others taking strolls through the Goring Gardens. It was a lovely and tranquil environment for enjoying afternoon tea! The terrace is actually well heated so you might still be able to enjoy enjoy tea on the terrace on a more nippy afternoon!

I love the minimal look to the tables!

Our Afternoon Tea started with an amuse bouche to get our taste buds going. This was essentially a  small glass of Cheddar custard, cauliflower cream topped with toasted rice - it was delicious, and very flavoured. 

The waiter then brought out a 3-tiered cake stand containing...

• 8 sandwiches between the two of us.
• 2 Plain Scones and 2 Currant Scones 
• A selection of amazingly delicious desserts: Battenberg Cake, Mandarin Dome with Financier Base, Lemon & Bergamot Meringue Tartlet, Raspberry and Pistachio Choux, White Chocolate Mousse with Strawberry Jam on a Crumble Base.

I was really impressed with all the food especially the desserts, they all looked and tasted amazing. Shame we were so full by the end  that we were struggling to eat all the cakes! Maybe we should've started with the cakes :) My personal favorite was the White Chocolate Mousse, which contained jam and strawberry pieces inside - absolutely divine!

So, finally I can't talk about the Goring without mentioning the impeccable service, as you would expect from a 5 start hotel, the staff were very friendly and attentive. The waitress frequently checked on us and offered to fill our tea cups, so we were never short of tea! I must have had like 6 cups of tea in the 2 hours we were there!

The Goring's Afternoon Tea is definitely fit for a queen. The service, surroundings and food all exceeding my expectations. If you want to treat your self to a 'high end' afternoon tea, then I would recommend the Goring to you!  

See you next time for more of my ramblings 

xx

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Afternoon Tea at Byron's Brasserie, Colwick Hall Hotel, Nottingham

Back in October I decided to treat my sister (I know I'm too kind) to an afternoon tea because I'm just the best little sister ever (obviously)...plus (kill two birds with one stone and all that) Colwick Hall has been on my Afternoon Tea hit list for some time now, Colwick Hall was where my year 11 prom was held, and ever since then I have been in love with the place.  

Colwick Hall is a magnificent hotel in Nottinghamshire right next to the Colwick Racecourse. Colwick Hall dates back to the 11th century when Sir Reginal DeColwick owned it, the estate was then passed on to his daughters husband Sir Richard Byron after he died in 1362. The Byron family lived at Colwick for over 150 years (!!) before they moved to Newstead Abbey in 1660, when it was brought by the Musters family. After the death of Mary Chaworth-Musters the Hall was sold to the Nottingham Racecourse Company and became a public house.

It is the perfect setting for a very traditional and very English afternoon tea. It is worth arriving early, so you can have a quick stroll around the grounds, which are absolutely stunning! I particularly love the fountain around the back of  Colwick Hall.

The afternoon tea itself is served in Byron’s Brasserie, just right off the main entrance. It is named after Lord Byron who used to live at Colwick Hall.  

 

Byron's Brasserie's decor is absolutely magnificent it is fitted with a beautiful lace patterned ceiling and large portraits of the Byron family. 

There are also various poetry quotes displayed on the walls, which I thought was a nice touch that makes the room look special and adds a unique touch to the room. 

On the day that we visited the brasserie was relatively quiet, so the room felt very peaceful and intimate. In such magnificent surroundings I would of accepted the afternoon tea to be pricey, but on the day we visited there was an offer for 2 for £20 - what a bargain!

So what did we get for £20...

• A cherry and orange scone each - an unusual combination, but they somehow worked!
• A selection of three savoury treats - a mini quiche, a ploughman scone and a mini soft cheese bagel (for non-veggies it would be a mini salt beef bagel) > This was a pleasant surprise as not many places offer additional savoury treats other than sandwiches. 
• A selection of vegetarian sandwiches, which consisted of the bog standard cheese and onion, egg mayonnaise and just cheese fillings. > These were on the slightly unimaginative side, but considering we already gorged on the other savoury treats I'll have to let them off. 
• A separate tray of sweet treats, including a date & walnut cake, strawberry & blackberry tart, macaroons and a violet meringue with strawberries & cream. Although we were stuffed by the time the swet tray arrived, we didn't admit defeat that early, so carried on munching our away through the sweet tray as best as we could. They were all scrumptious, my favourite had to be the macaroons! 

Overall, the afternoon tea menu lived up to the magnificent surroundings, it was both unique and delicious. Unfortunately the service didn't live up to the expectations and the staff didn't seem welcoming or very informed about the menu. At the end when we asked the waiter to pack up the left over food he returned 10 minutes later with two GIANT pieces of foil, placed them on our table and walked away, This was a bit shocking as you would expect they would pack up the leftovers for us. Despite the service we did actually have a great time gossiping over a yummy tea in beautiful surroundings. 

Has anyone else visited Byron's Brasserie? What was your experience?

See you next time for more of my ramblings!

xx

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