After quite a disappointing afternoon tea at the Cadogan Hotel my first week in London, I knew I had to try it out again. So, I went to the website Afternoon Tea Online and found a fanastic deal for 40% afternoon tea at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel. I looked at the menu, which included sandwiches, scones, cakes, and macarons. Now that is the kind of tea I was looking for. Not only did I want some tasty tea, but lots and lots of tasty treats as well.
When we arrived at the hotel restaurant, we were about 40 minutes early because we were already in the area and starving. Thankfully, that was no problem for them! Our waiter immediately led us to a table in the black and purple restaurant area and took our order of what tea we would like. The tea was from The London Tea Company and I chose the Blackcurrant, Raspberry, and Cinnamon tea for my first pot. Soon after, the waiter brought out our pots of tea (we all got our own individual pots) along with a tier of our tea food. We were in awe of the tower of treats he placed on our table and were beyond giddy as we debated what to try out first. We decided to work our way up, starting with the tea sandwiches first. Each one was so different and I loved every single one. My favorite was probably the smoked salmon sandwich with the prawn, cucumber, and dill sandwich coming at a close second.
Once we were done obsessing over how amazing the sandwiches were, we were ready to move onto the scones. With clotted cream and three types of jam (orange, a more tart orange, and strawberry), we chose our spreads and prepared the scones. One bite into them and we were total goners. How could a simple scone taste so heavenly? By then, we had all gone through our pots of tea (about 2 1/2 teacups worth) and were ready for another round. To our surprise and utter excitement, we could choose a new type of tea, so this time around I went with the Lemongrass, Ginger, and Citrus Fruits tea. It was a lot lighter than the first tea, but still oh-so-delicious and perfect for the dessert portion of the tea. As we finished up the scones and drank up more tea, we couldn't help but obsess over how amazing the experience was compared to our first tea.
We decided to let our food settle for a bit before moving onto desserts, so we chatted some more while drinking even more tea for about twenty minutes. And then, finally, it was dessert time. We had a chocolatine, a framboisier, and a vanilla macaroon each. Oh my goodness, they were definitely the icing on the cake for this afternoon tea. I savored each and every bite and couldn't help but feel sad once I put that last piece of macaron in my mouth. There was not a single component of the meal I didn't like and I'm already dreaming of the next time I can have an afternoon tea with my friends.
I am so happy I was able to find an afternoon tea that I can cherish and remember forever. With tiny sandwiches, sweet pastries, and delicious tea, London has yet again wowed me with its fantastic culture and food. Hopefully I can find one more place to have afternoon tea before I leave. This will definitely be one of the things I will miss the most when I got back home. Tea at home just isn't the same as a magical afternoon tea in England.
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