I’m not worried about itDarn. I knew we’d had afternoon tea discussions but I couldn’t get the search facility to throw anything up.
I think I should change thread? Keep it all neat?
I’m not worried about itDarn. I knew we’d had afternoon tea discussions but I couldn’t get the search facility to throw anything up.
I think I should change thread? Keep it all neat?
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to hear gen z love afternoon tea.Afternoon tea is undoubtedly an iconic ( and, I'm sad to say, archaic) British tradition. I seriously believe it will go to meet its maker within the next 25 years.
However, I have fond memories of taking foreign EFL students to Harrod's ( and Brown's hotel) for afternoon tea back in the 70s.Brown's was far better because they made tea with proper loose leaf tea, instead of Harrod's wildly overpriced ratbags.
I can't see GenZ or the next generation (generation Iphone) following the strictures of 4pm tea, dainty sandwiches and tea cakes. They'd probably prefer a sushi pizza slice.
That I could doAn afternoon tea we enjoyed for our anniversary at Coombe Abbey a couple of years ago. There were two choices, the traditional sandwich based, or a pastry based version which we had.
View attachment 134768View attachment 134769
Sausage roll
Pork pie
Bao
Mini fish and chips
Mini quiche
Mustard and pickled onions
Scone and butter
Coffee cake
Mouse in a chocolate plant pot.
Loving the little park benches.An afternoon tea we enjoyed for our anniversary at Coombe Abbey a couple of years ago. There were two choices, the traditional sandwich based, or a pastry based version which we had.
View attachment 134768View attachment 134769
Sausage roll
Pork pie
Bao
Mini fish and chips
Mini quiche
Mustard and pickled onions
Scone and butter
Coffee cake
Mouse in a chocolate plant pot.
If based on our most recent visits to the UK (2017, 2018, 2022), I have to say, I don’t see afternoon tea going anywhere anytime soon. It’s everywhere!
Those visits were around The Costwolds, Suffolk, and London, respectively, and in every location, we had no issue finding a place for our afternoon tea habit; most hotels offered it daily, and there were plenty of other places provided it as well and a while collection for antique cups and saucers.
When we were staying Cheltenham, we had afternoon tea at our hotel nearly every single day. One day, however, we were out-and-about and started to get hungry - without even thinking about it, we wandered into a tea cafe and…oh look! They’ve just started their afternoon tea service!![]()
As to those little picnic tables…yes, they’re darling, but I must admit that when it comes to afternoon tea, I prefer it on a three-tiered cake stand, and like SSOAP, I want it fairly traditional.
The last afternoon tea we had in London was at the Tower hotel, right down there on the river, with spectacular views of Tower Bridge. Of course, their afternoon tea (available every day) was presented on on a two-tiered cake stand made to look like a sleek version of the bridge - I dare say…it dampened my enjoyment a bit!
Oh…now that I think of it, our most recent afternoon teas were on the 2023 Mediterranean cruise we took. We had one in one of the dining rooms, and we had another specially ordered for our balcony in our room. That one was nice, but no cake stand at all, everything was delivered on plates under polished stainless steel covers and dramatically revealed as the two servers set everything up.