Afternoon tea - quintessentially English and good for the soul!!!

Mr J and I don't get that much time together.... He works the normal working week (well that depends what normal is bearing in mind before Friday he hadn't had a day off for four weeks) whereas much of my work happens midweek and at weekends.... So as you can see never the twain shall meet so to speak....

So when we do we get together we like to treat ourselves to a little something nice.... On Friday we took up a groupon offer of champagne afternoon tea at the Norfolk Royale hotel in Bournemouth.... 

Now afternoon tea just has to be THE one treat I enjoy the most!!!! Quintessentially English, I don't think there can't be anything better than getting dressed up, spending time with friends and/ or family enjoying delicious sandwiches and sweet treats, chatting and generally spending quality time together....

When we arrived Mr J and I were a little early so we sat down and enjoyed a little drink first in the comfort of the elegant but modern hotel lounge and took a little peak at what was in store to tempt our taste buds. It all sounded rather lovely so we relaxed, chatted and generally unwound and people watched... The foyer of a hotel is a perfect place to do that and Mr J and I are experts at the pastime!

When our allotted time arrived we chose where we wanted to sit - there were options to suit everyone... A lovely veranda to the front of the hotel, the garden at the rear and some rather sumptuous and comfy sofa's in the bar area... Because of my personal seating requirements and comfort we chose the bar and were very happy with this.

Mr J enjoyed his glass of champagne and fruit juice alternatives were available for myself as medication prevents me drinking the champagne (bah humbug!!!!!)

The afternoon tea was beautifully presented on a modern stainless steel stand (I want one!) and looked very inviting. A note to those with eyes bigger than their bellies here - it didn't look like huge quantities but there turned out to be more than enough to satisfy our appetites, and on an afternoon tea front that is saying something!!!

The sandwiches were fresh and scrummy - smoked salmon was my favourite but they were all clearly just made and cut (no curly up bread here - and that would have been a real possibility given the heat of the glorious summer day.) Bottom tier finished!!!

We then moved straight to the top to try the scones... Now here I must point out that a couple of things stated on the bar menu for afternoon tea it seemed were changed for the groupon voucher (for instance for the sandwiches Mr J believed he read home cooked ham and it wasn't though still absolutely lovely so we have no problems with this - but then champagne afternoon tea without our voucher would have been £40 and with it it was less than half that so I can excuse a few cost cutting measures)   Now I can normally tell a home cooked scone a mile off.... My mom bakes quite possibly the best scones in the universe and beyond and she is quite a connoisseur herself and I would have to say that my thoughts are that the scones weren't home baked as per the club bar menu... I may be wrong but never-the-less if they were bought in they were top notch and very tasty with plenty of fruit, and plenty of cream and jam. Here I should also just say the bar menu states home made strawberry jam but we both received a little pot of wilkinson's jam which again was just fine given the price of our deal.... 

Finally we attacked the middle tier and this was really the highlight of the afternoon tea - chocolate brownie so yummy you could quite happily die at it's hands (don't by disappointed by the small size of the piece received - it is so rich you really only need a tiny sample to appreciate it's gooey yumminess), delicious light blueberry sponge and a fruit tartlet that was perfectly balanced taste-wise with tart fruit balanced by rich buttery pastry and creme patisserie that was tasty but not sugary. 

End afternoon tea more than satisfied and as a taster for their normal afternoon tea - well it worked for us!!! Under normal circumstances we wouldn't usually pay for a champagne afternoon tea because I can't have the alcohol but we both said we would like to return and sample the menu's afternoon tea at £25 for 2 people and surely a groupon voucher deal leaving customers wanting to return has to be a successful deal....

In review, and in less wordage I can sum up the experience as follows:

became 

resulting in

(Mr J and I do not take a good selfie!!!!)

Now go out and spread the word:

Afternoon tea is good for you AND your soul!!!! 

Thank you for reading today and look forward to catching you all soon..

Becky

xx