A Dash of Patriotism

Bunting, Union Jacks, BBQ, sparkling wine, Pimms, cake...doesn't get much better than this

Congratulations Wills & Kate!

The Market Coffee House

Having seemingly adopted E1 as my new home, I once again spent the last sunny Sunday wandering through Spitalfields and consuming as much food and drink as my 5'3.5" (very important .5) frame would allow.

My afternoon was spent in The Market Coffee House sampling their Afternoon Tea for a very reasonable £12.50.  The scones were beautifully fresh and served still-warm, the "selection of homemade mini cakes" were both incredibly pretty and delicious!  They offer a small but nice range of teas and my Jasmine flower tea was perfect.

You might be put off by the dark wood interior in weather like this but we really appreciated the break from the sun and the chance to rest our feet in one of their characterful booths!  With the surrounding area in mind, The Market Coffee House is a perfect place to take people but inexpensive enough to enjoy whenever the urge for an Afternoon Tea strikes you!

Just don't try to eat a roast afterwards...

R x

London Coffee Festival

This weekend gone marked the first London Coffee Festival at the Old Truman Brewery in lovely Brick Lane, East London.  Having opted for the earliest of the 3-hour time slots pre heavy drinking the night before, I stumbled over to E1 with a band of bleary-eyed friends on Sunday morning with a genuinely desperate need for an enormous caffeine fix.

It took a little while to get into the spirit but in no time at all we were all gabbing away with any stranger that graced us with a little eye contact and sampling anything and everything that paused nearby for long enough.  Memorable samples include a delicious coffee ice-cream/milkshake from Lavazza, espresso martinis and finally getting to try cat-poo coffee!

In what I hope was a nod to the Starbucks-on-every-corner joke there was more than one Starbucks stall within the event, both of which were very generous with their samples : )

So: we left feeling refreshed and happy due to the bellyful of coffee, chocolate etc. and to top it all off- it raised money for charity!

Looking forward to next year's...

R x

BBC Breakfast

Imagine my delight and surprise this morning when I turned on the television to a BBC Breakfast report on the huge rise in popularity of the Afternoon Tea!  It was a nice piece but I didn't feel that they really understood or captured the reason for the rise- So here goes my explanation!:

The cupcake, whoopie pie etc. have been as fashionable as baked goods get for the last few years with people choosing them for all sorts of important celebratory occasions (weddings, birthday presents etc.).  It follows therefore that these would combine nicely with other increasingly popular things such as the vintage and floral trends a la Cath Kidston and the celebration of the kitsch and traditional.  As the Royal Wedding approaches, I expect that such quintessentially English things will only increase further in popularity with both us natives and tourists alike!

When these ideas are combined within an experience which is comparatively cheap (in these hard times) and yet full of theatre, involves eating cake and getting dressed up, it isn't at all surprising that people are once again embracing the glorious frivolity of the Afternoon Tea! 

R x

p.s. I made my first ever tarte tatin last weekend and it was possibly the best pudding I've ever put together!  Whoever discovered caramel is a genius (and so is Raymond Blanc)...here is a copy of the recipe if you'd like to have a go: Tarte Tatin

Brumus

For my first ‘in-hindsight’ post, I’ll be attempting to recall my trip to the Haymarket Hotel’s bar & restaurant, ‘Brumus’, in December.  If you’re someone who cares about attention to detail when it comes to décor you couldn’t fail to be impressed from the moment you pass through the glass doors and into the crimson glamour…

This is no place for a quick cup of tea: it’s a full-blown afternoon’s worth of foodie delights, atmosphere and, of course, brews to explore!  There are a variety of Teas to choose from including a simple Cream Tea and several larger Afternoon Teas (with or without champagne).  Each of the Afternoon Teas is comprised of sandwiches, scones and homemade cakes in many combinations and the tea of your choice.  Something they fail to mention, is that they will refill the sandwiches (and possibly other layers of the cake stand), if you manage to work your way through them.  They conveniently only tell you this once you’ve gorged yourself so it’s useful to know so you can save yourself for your favourite bits and then have more!

Unlike many place I have been, Brumus truly does have that special feeling that I treasure in an Afternoon Tea experience.  It has all the theatre and sparkle that undoubtedly contributes to a celebration along with fantastic food and drink.  You may need to brace yourself slightly for the Hungarian take on ‘service-with-a-smile’ that we were given and choose instead to find humour in the scowl but the handsome surroundings and delicious treats should (more than) make up for it.

R x