Did you know it was National Tea Day last Friday on the 21st April? Can you guess which country consumes the most tea in the world? Surprisingly it is Turkey.
The UK is listed as 14th out of 172. As one of the nation’s biggest tea drinkers, afternoon tea is one of Brits favourites past times. Marriott Kensington hotel invited me down to try out their newly launched afternoon tea menu.
The Marriott Kensington is a 4-star hotel is conveniently located near Gloucester Road, along with many other hotels close by to landmarks like Kensington Palace, Hyde Park, and the National History Museum.
Afternoon tea at the Marriott Kensington hotel is served at their Atrium Restaurant; people from the street can come in and have modern British dishes, Starbucks coffee, fresh juices, pizzas and much more.
Seated by the window, we had two menus on the table. One with a selection of Simpson teas and the other food and cakes that we are soon be tucking into.
Simpson tea has created a bunch of fun teas to go with Marriott afternoon tea. Hitchcock blondie being the most popular filled with strawberries, cornflowers with green and white tea. My sister and I also got a glass of bubbles each. It was a Friday and we thought why not.
The teapot being used amazes me, given a master class timer the tea is brewed for 3 minutes and twist the handle to lift the tea from the water. It leaves a wonderful infusion.
Our food and cakes arrived in what assembled a mini luggage trolley, with three shelves. The top wowed us with the fancier looking cakes, secondly the finger sandwiches than the scones.
I started off with the savoury sandwiches, all freshly prepared and just plain good. Fillings are the classics that never get old, honey roast ham & mustard, salmon and dill crème Fraiche, egg mayonnaise and cucumber with mint butter.
I usually judge a good afternoon tea by the scones, and they were astonishing, not too overly heavy, soft on the inside and nice and crumbly on the outer edges.
The assortment of cakes delighted with different flavours and textures. Classic Opera, earl grey tea filled cream éclairs, tangy lemon meringue tarts and macaroons filled with fresh cream and berries.
The price is very competitive and well valued at £21.50 per person for the standard set. £27.95 with a glass of champagne or the unlimited champagne option for £32.95.
147 Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW5 0TH
