Now for something completely different . . .

Well . . . sort of.

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be taken for afternoon tea at the Corinthia Hotel’s Crystal Moon Lounge in London as a late birthday present from my friend Beryl. As it’s tea-related, I thought it would be good to share my afternoon and the lovely sandwiches and cakes they served us.

As both a tea lover and a cake lover, I am a big fan of afternoon teas (I am actually considered the Queen of Afternoon Tea in my office because I’ve had so many – my 50^th birthday seemed to consist of nothing but afternoon tea for several months) and to my mind the Corinthia is one of the best venues in London and I have been there several times now.

Unlike better-known establishments, the Corinthia is extremely easy-going and they don’t impose a 90-minute time limit that the more touristy places such as the Ritz, the Savoy and the Dorchester do and they always, unfailing, provide excellent service and a good level of knowledge about the products they serve. We spent a good 3 hours in there, having a marvellous catch-up and enjoying some wonderful teas and some exquisite sandwiches, scones and cakes.

The Corinthia changes its menu regularly and often has themes for its cakes and this week the theme is, unsurprisingly, Easter.

Since the last time I visited, the hotel has changed its tea supplier and now uses Camellia's Tea House, who I shall definitely be checking out in the future. In line with several other establishments that I have recently visited for afternoon tea, they provide a sample box containing phials of their teas on arrival so you can smell them to get an idea of what they’re like before you try them.

I wholeheartedly approve of this idea and this opportunity to smell first definitely informed my choices, which weren’t at all what I had expected to choose when I studied the menu, which I had downloaded before going.

One of my favourite smelling teas was a smoky Lapsang blend which smelt of leather armchairs and cigars/pipe tobacco and made me instantly think of Winston Churchill, for whom the tea is named. I also loved the smell of the Chocolate tea.

However, I began with a China Milky Oolong, which smelt divine – wonderfully creamy and sweet – almost like those milk gum sweets. The Corinthia describe it as: Characterised by a milky and smooth infusion, this Gold Taste Award winning Oolong Tea has a delicious and distinctive flavour with undertones of Vanilla.

China Milky Oolong

I very much enjoyed this tea which was every bit as sweet and creamy as the aroma suggested, although by the third cup it had begun to take on a slightly bitter taste as I think it had been steeped too long, and it was the bottom of the pot.

Although I’ve mentioned before my sweet tooth, today I didn’t add any sugar (they do lumps – white and brown) to any of my teas as I didn’t think they needed them – especially once I started in on the cakes!

Beryl chose the White Elegance tea, which she said was very nice. It is described as: A delicious and refreshing combination of White Tea and fragrant, succulent Apricots. Reminiscent of summer orchards, this Chinese tea is a light golden infusion bound with undertones of delicate Jasmine and warming Ginger.

Accompanying these teas were these rather splendid sandwiches, which turned up after an amuse bouche of virgin mojito pannacotta with poached pineapple (full disclosure – I hate pineapple so Beryl took mine, but the pannacotta was lovely with the perfect hint of mint).

Sandwiches - Cucumber, cream cheese, mint and radish on cranberry bread; smoked salmon, creme fraiche and chives on brown bread; coronation chicken on white bread; egg mayonnaise and truffle mustard on granary bread; tuna confit, lemon mayonnaise and rocket leaves on basil bread 

The sandwiches were followed by some delightful scones (plain and raisin), which were served with clotted cream, strawberry jam and the most divine lemon curd.

Plain and raisin scones

By the time we moved onto the cakes, we were on our second pots of tea. Beryl chose another white tea – this time one called Snow Buds: A premium White Tea grown for the past hundred years in south-east China at the lofty altitude of one thousand metres in Fujian Province. Consisting only of hand-plucked buds and the youngest leaves, this tea has a pale yellow colour with a warm, sweet, subtly spicy flavour and a pleasant aftertaste.

She said it was nice but she preferred the White Elegance.

I had discovered a lemon and ginger combination (always a favourite for me – spoilers for a review coming up shortly), the Corinthia’s exclusive special blend called Welcome Tea, which they describe as: A tea to uplift and refresh the senses. Enjoy a delicious and delicate blend of White and Green Tea interlaced with subtle notes of Lemon and Ginger.

I found it extremely drinkable and didn’t notice any bitterness at the bottom of the pot and the ginger while adding a touch of spice, wasn’t overwhelming as can sometimes be the case. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I chose it for my third pot of the afternoon, as did Beryl.

Welcome Tea

Finally, we moved onto the cakes which were the cutest things imaginable and tasted every bit as good as they looked:

Baba's Nest (rum baba, bergamot marmalade, mascarpone cream) and Cinnamon Blossom (blossom orange cheesecake eclair, cinnamon gel)

Hen's Macaron (lemon-yuzu and hazelnut praline macaron); The Chocolate Bunny (kalingo chocolate mousse, early grey tea, cremeux & jelly, poached pear) and Egg Delight (coconut mousse, mango gel, lime financier sponge) 

I think my favourite cake was the Cinnamon Blossom, as I adore the taste of cinnamon and I loved the thin layer of white chocolate with Easter eggs stamped on it on the top, although both the Baba’s Nest and the Chocolate Bunny came close. Beryl enjoyed the Egg Delight, which I didn’t try as I don’t like coconut.

All in all, it was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, and I definitely look forward to checking out some of Camellia's Tea House’s other teas in the future (and that Milky Oolong is definitely on my list of teas to buy).