Blog Archives
The UK’s 50 best tea rooms
In honor of National Afternoon Tea Week this week, check out The Independent’s 50 best tea rooms! I’m sad to say I haven’t been to any of these (I’ve only ever been to the Ritz Hotel in London for tea!) but will add them to my list for a future visit!
Ever been to any of these? What’s your favorite British tea room?
Infographic: The history of high tea
I spotted this charming infographic by Confused.com on Pinterest!
17 ways to annoy a British person
Bless you, Buzzfeed, for posting this list of 17 ways to annoy a British person and for being so very spot on, especially #1 and #2! Also love #15:
Read the list and feel free to add to the list in the comments here!
Tea at Wickle
After our visit in Devon, we headed back on the train to visit friends in the town of Lewes for a couple of days. Lewes is a gorgeous little town just an hour from London on the southeast coast.
One of our favorite moments was having afternoon tea and cake in the children’s shop Wickle. The shop sells beautiful clothes, high-quality toys and games and tucked in the very back of the store is a little cafe, perfect for children and grownups. The kids got the most decadent hot chocolates and we sampled ginger cake, brownies, millionaire’s shortbread and victoria sponge cake.
Infographic: How to make tea
I love this simple little infographic, detailing ways to make three different cups of tea, courtesy of Stephen Wildish.
How do you like your cuppa? I like a good builders’ tea, without the sugar!
A hotter toddy
Photo credit: F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal
Is it just me or is this cold/flu season hitting particularly hard?
I suffered the better part of November with a lingering cough that I couldn’t kick (although I would’ve kicked it hard, wearing a pair of steel-toed Doc Martens, if I could) – and the more people that I talk to, the more I realize that this is one monster of a cold going around. But never fear … there are remedies! Good ones! In this weekend’s Wall Street Journal, a suggestion for an outstanding one went something like this:
Hot Toddy
In a large cup, combine 1 spoonful honey, juice of 1/4 lemon, 1 cinnamon stick, small dash of cayenne (optional but recommended) and the tea bag of your choice. Stick 3 cloves into 1 small lemon wedge and add to the cup. Pour in a slug of bourbon, as much or as little as you like. Fill cup with boiling water, stir well and let steep 5 minutes. Savor slowly; repeat as necessary.
Yes! Cayenne and tea jazz up this classic recipe. The writer suggests Earl Gray, Chai, ginger tea or, indeed, chamomile, if you’re seeking a little sleeping solace. I have whiskey in the house, but no bourbon (and I do think that Jim Beam would be a delightful choice in this scenario), but now have a good (and health-giving) reason to buy some.
If you try this recipe, please tell me what you think!
Call it a good cuppa
I spotted this in the December issue of Matchbook Magazine and fell in love! If you’re shopping for an anglophile, I’m sure they’d love this London Calling Tea-for-One Set as much as I do! This little teapot-and-cup set is on sale at Urban Outfitters for $20.
A sad news day for milky tea
Tea without milk is like a day without sunshine. Photo credit: iFood
Tea without milk? Blasphemous, I say!
But there is some debate over whether milk diminishes the heart-healthy properties in a cuppa. Tea apparently won’t help regulate blood pressure or control diabetes when milk is present. To this I say, “Poppycock!” (Ooh, I feel like Maggie Smith in “Gosford Park” or … anything really … when saying that.)
Why Judy Dench loves her tea …
Hot, soothing, warming, nice … Tea is all of these things and no one understands that better than the Brits. Around 11 a.m. and then again at 3 p.m., I find that tea is the perfect companion. (By the way, I love this Tuffy tea steeper and steeping mug – perfect gifts for the tea lover on the go).
Watch Judy Dench as she reveals why she thinks Brits love their tea in a recent interview with Anderson Cooper.
BRITRISH.COM 