Sugar and Spice

Back in London again where I spent a rainy Friday afternoon with the London gals taking in a delicious high tea at the beautiful Fortnum and Mason Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon which was inaugurated last year by the Queen, Kate--the Duchess of Cambridge and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall in conjunction with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

A dozen of us gathered there for a fancy girls' day out

which started with individual pots of tea,

and progressed to a tower of treats. Our table was literally cluttered with tea stands

full of sweets, scones, and finger sandwiches. The scones were light and fluffy and made even tastier with Somerset clotted cream, preserves and lemon curd.

Thanks to our menus we were able to identify our finger sandwiches which I'll list in case you ever want to duplicate their formula: Cucumber with mint butter, Coronation Chicken, Ploughman's, Rare Breed Hen's Egg with Mustard Cress and Smoked Salmon with Lemon Dill Butter.

And just in case you still had room, there were assorted pastries followed by

a trip to the Coronation Cake Carriage to select a slice of your favorite tea cake. We were delightfully more than satisfied, and spent the two hours sipping tea and catching up on the news of travels and playtimes.

Then we were off for the Spice of the day...

It was time to "spice" up our life with the new Viva Forever musical now playing on the West End.

A story of a young singing group and a reality TV show competition with the Spice Girls music to move the story along. And if what "you want, what you really, really want" is a fun musical with a great sing along at the conclusion, then Viva Forever is for you.

Spice it up!

Texas Tea time

My son married into an incredible family. You just get lucky like that sometimes--I could have shopped around for years and not found anyone as loving, warm and welcoming. Here's the icing on the cake--they are all so talented, and smart, and funny and great hostesses who really know how to do "tea" right. Not the iced tea we are accustomed to enjoying in Houston, but a proper tea, English style. Their expertise comes from years of reading, research, and on-the-job tastings. When Cristen's mother and aunt came to London to visit last year--I think they tried out 5 different afternoon tea spots around town. Their top vote this trip went to The Connaught Hotel. You can read their menu here.  Cristen says they are "scone snobs" in the best way, because they have high standards and search London every time they visit for the very best. I don't think you can go wrong with one of their recommendations.

Last month, the "Committee," which is their pet name for themselves, had us over for tea. Beautiful silver, English china and crystal adorned the table.

Only the finest tea was served--my flavor of choice was apricot.

I was warned to come hungry. The tea was staged over four courses, starting with a salad,

followed by a course of sandwiches. Cucumber sandwich, chicken salad, and my favorite, crab cakes.

The next course was homemade scones. That is Cristen's aunt's specialty, and boy does she excel. Can't find any scones as tasty as hers here in London. I love loading mine up with fresh cream, and then topping it off with jam.

You know when you think you can't eat a bite more, and then a dessert course is placed right in front of you that you can't resist?  Chocolate cup, cookie and strawberry. Divine!

And of course, the tea flowed as well as the conversation. Lovely afternoon, lovely people and a wonderful memory. Thanks, ladies! It was truly royal treatment-Texas style!

Twining's Tea

Logo courtesy of Twinings website

Recently I visited the historic Twinings Tea shop on the Strand.

In the 17th century, the most popular drinks In England were coffee, gin and ale. The Chinese had been drinking tea for centuries but it had only recently been imported to England and had yet to become very popular.

Along comes Thomas Twining who sets up shop on the London Strand in 1706 in the former Tom's Coffee House, and he introduces tea to his customers. By the 1750's, tea was the most popular drink of the working class.

In that same spot today, this narrow little shop sells tea along with a little bit of history.

Twining's now sells more than 200 teas.

Their expert tasters taste more than 3000 cups of tea per week.

On the high end are these two teas, which sell for between $37-42 for 4 1/2 ounces. Both are two highly coveted Chinese green teas.

These intrigued me. How about a moment of calm? Oh, if it was only so easy to find that elusive moment of calm with a cup of tea!

And for those who like a little bit of this and that, you can put together your own assortment of teas, a bag at a time.

In the back of the shop is a little museum where you can find unusual and special items like this beautiful tea caddy in a sarcophagus shape with brass handles. It dates from the latter part of the 19th century.

Now you may think this is blasphemy in this veritable tea hall of fame, but my eyes were drawn to this cooler of iced tea. Confession time--I am not a hot tea lover. Makes living in London slightly more difficult when you feel like a fish out of water. Believe me, I've tried to like it, with cream, with sugar, without cream, you name it, but it hasn't grown on me yet.

Thankfully, they have a drink just for me--silky smooth and indulgent, it claims. Thank you Twinings for being all things for all people!