Rock and Roll Tea, anyone?

Mmm...tea!

A month of yummy tea!

I have been lucky enough to have had a number of fantastic tea experiences over the past month - both in the UK and across the pond, in the ever-amazing NYC!  I would like to share them all with you over the coming weeks, but first, I must tell you about the fantastic W Rock Tea afternoon Tea at London's W Hotel in Leicester Square.  Remixed by the fabulous Gizzi Erskine, the menu features sandwiches, scones and sweet treats named after famous rock and roll artists and songs. 

Our afternoon tea outing was organised by the charming tea-loving ladies at
The Secret Tea Society, a membership group for like-minded ladies who, well, love tea!  And what a wonderful way to spend the afternoon it really was!  I encourage you to join this fab group of fellow tea lovers!

The lovely Claire from The Secret Tea Society

Mmm - rock and roll tea, anyone?

The tea looked amazing, as I'm sure you'll agree!  We started with "Dark Side of the Moon" sandwiches, followed by the aptly-named "Rule Britannia" currant scones (with jam and clotted cream, of course!), then  the beautiful and sweet-smelling "Every Rose has its Thorn" (Rose financier with rose petal jam), the "Cherry Bomb", a colourful and sparkly bomb of chocolate, mascapone and cherry.  

Wild thing...you make my heart sing...!

Then came the cakes, designed by Gizzi herself!  My favourites were the utterly gorgeous "Wild Things" - salted caramel and popcorn eclairs - which just melted in the mouth!  These were closely followed in my affections by the equally fabulously-named "Rockabilly Rebel" cakes, made from Devil's Food Cake layered with peanut butter mousse and topped with peanut brittle.  
Mmm...even more delicious then the Reeses Peanut Butter Cups that I was addicted to for a long time!  There were also the delightful "Flips Ville" - miniature Cherry Cola and Yuzu tarts with sparkles and popping candy (still popping when they arrived - amazing!)

The delicious food was all washed down with a fine selection of teas from Harney & Sons, a really lovely range of teas that I discovered in New York, first when I was served it with breakfast at the Waldorf Astoria where I was staying, and then being served almost everywhere I went!  I brought some of the very tasty and quite unusual blend of English Breakfast back to the UK with me, so was delighted to have more of this and also sample their refreshing Earl Grey with my W Hotel tea!

We had a wonderful afternoon of great tea, yummy food and even better company!  To top it all off, after a leisurely afternoon taking tea, we also tried out the delicious cocktails at the W Hotel bar.  I had the very appropriate "Royal T" - a fragrant, floral mix of jasmine tea, rose syrup, gin and lemon juice, topped up with Prosecco.  Refreshing and delicious!

Cheers! Cocktail o' Clock with fellow Secret Tea Lady, Liz!

I heartily recommend this scrumptious tea - and the extensive cocktail menu!  In fact, I will have to go back again at some point just to try the other equally tasty-sounding cocktails!
So, until next time, "Cheerio", as we said at the end of our afternoon!  Enjoy your tea break - perhaps rock and roll-style and even followed by a cocktail (or two?) Fabulous! :)

Rachael X