Elegant Afternoon Tea at St Ermin’s Hotel

I just love afternoon tea. Not just for the usually fabulous assortment of patisseries and cakes but for the fine teas that are served alongside. I used to spend every weekend traipsing around London trying out all sorts of places for tea. From 5 star hotels, to European cake shops to little tea rooms around London, I have probably done them all. It is quite fun to discover new places like the Maids of Honour in Kew. You’ll discover special things on Afternoon Tea menus like the home made Rose Jam in Claridges. An old favourite is Browns Hotel in Mayfair. Before they refurbished, the tea room used to have large squishy sofas in front of a fireplace and unlimited refills of tea, cakes and sandwiches.

This year, Afternoon Tea Week is on the 10th to 16th August. Lots of hotels and tea rooms are participating. At the launch event at the beautiful terrace at the St Ermin’s Hotel recently, we sampled some fine teas by Newby Teas and a gorgeous Afternoon Tea spread made by their head chef.

Tea on the Terrace at St Ermin’s

Head Chef Adam Handling has created a menu to go with the selection of Newby Teas. On the menu are pork and black pudding sausage rolls, salt beef with horseradish , cucumber and cream cheese and  smoked salmon and caviar sandwiches.

The Yuzu posset was a delightful, an unusual twist from the regular lemon, the chocolate and raspberry tea cake was served on half a macaron shell and the delicate lemon and rose petal drizzle cake. There was of course a basket of light and flaky scones served with clotted cream and home made jams. The afternoon tea is £35 per person with unlimited champagne, possibly one of the best deals for Champagne Afternoon Tea in town.

St Ermin’s Hotel Autograph Collection
2 Caxton St,
London SW1H 0QW
020 7222 7888

When you book a table this summer, request for one of the tables on the terrace. All the tables are shaded with a large umbrella and you get to enjoy an al fresco tea, a rare treat in London.

St Ermin’s Bee Hotel

Drop in at their bee hotel. They use a little terrace to house their bee hives. You can safely observe the bee’s buzzing around the hives from behind a glass wall.  A visiting beekeeper visits daily to tend to the bees. The hoeny these hives produce are used in the hotel kitchens.

Afternoon Tea Week Activities

There are some very inventive and fun events planned for the week and here are some of them:

• A Historical Afternoon Tea at Dennis Severs House with Kerstin Rodgers, aka Ms Marmite Lover. Kerstin will be creating an 18thcentury-inspired afternoon tea to fit with the luxurious, breath-taking surroundings of London’s most fascinating time capsule.
• The Bakewell Baking Festival will take place 14-16th August at Bakewell Showground. The festival features a whole host of your favourite baking stars including Edd Kimber and Fabulous Baker Brother Tom Herbert.
• The After Dark Afternoon Tea at The May Fair will be a stylish and innovative affair; with the lights down low, the May Fair will delight and surprise with an afternoon tea like no other in The Cigar Room.
•  Exclusively for Afternoon Tea Week, L’Atelier des Chefs will be offering a 20% discount on their Champagne Afternoon Tea classes, with places costing £57, usually £72.
• Have your senses seduced by the Floris Sense of Summer Afternoon Tea at The Intercontinental Park Lane. Together with the timeless fragrance brand, they have created a tea inspired by scent on what was once the site of a royal residence.
• The UK’s most renowned artisan chocolatier paul.a.young fine chocolates will be offering the Afternoon Tea Week Collection, a specially curated selection of afternoon tea favourites reimagined into sublime truffles – including Scone, Jam and Clotted Cream, Treacle Tart and Pimms.
• You are cordially invited to afternoon tea at The Ritz London, who will be launching a new Chocolate and Salted Caramel Fudge cake during the week. Composed of a milk chocolate mousse, cocoa nib crème brûlée, dacquois, sponge, salted caramel and hazelnuts, it’s the perfect accompaniment to the exquisite surroundings of the famed illustrious The Palm Court.
• Indulge yourself with a Champagne Tasting at the Radisson Blu Edwardian The Berkshire, a four-star deluxe boutique hotel located in the very heart of London.

You can get a discount on the regular Afternoon Tea prices if you book through their website: www.afternoonteaweek.com

EatCookExplore was a guest of Afternoon Tea Week and St Ermin’s Hotel