It could have been !
I had a day off on Wednesday and had arranged to meet up with friends both in the morning and again in the afternoon.
JJ and I hadn't seen each other in over a year. Work and family commitments keeping us both busy so when I received a New Year text suggesting that we meet for coffee, I accepted with alacrity. She suggested that we try the Pulborough Tea Room. In spite of living in the village for nearly a decade I'm almost ashamed to admit that I'd never been inside.
As you can see it was originally a cottage or maybe two cottages. It's very quant and typically 'English tea room' inside with a good menu.I checked out the opening times but the day before we were due to meet I noticed that it was still closed...in spite of what it said on the website.
Perhaps they were having an extended Christmas break ? So in the end we opted to go to the Corn Store instead. A place I know well having discovered the antiques and collectables almost as soon as I moved to the village. The Corn Store -as the name suggests is housed in the former Corn Store building on the bridge over the river Arun. Before the railway came to Pulborough, barges and river boats were the only practicable way to transport goods around the county. The River Arun once was home to far more than leisure watercraft.
(Pics nicked from Trip Advisor !)
Within the building are many individual 'shops/market stalls' of bric-a-brac, antiques and collectables alongside new giftware and cards and also a very nice tea room.
So JJ and I sat and chatted over coffee. I heroically resisted a scone as I was planning on having one that afternoon. I didn't think I'd be able to manage two in one day-especially not coming so close after Christmas !
In the afternoon I collected friend JS and we headed over to the Milk Churn Tea room in Rudgwick. This place is fast becoming a favourite haunt for afternoon tea or a light lunch. Home to the famous Sussex Charmer cheese, you can enjoy all things cheese related or opt for a sweet treat instead.
It was fairly busy in the main part of the restaurant so we took our tea over into the 'Parlour'-that's a Milking Parlour reference not a living room one !
https://localfoodbritain.com/sussex/places-to-eat/coffee-shops/the-milk-churn-coffee-shop-rudgwick/
If you are in the area, it's well worth stopping by for a visit.
It's hard to choose between them but if you are planning Afternoon Tea then you'll probably need to skip a meal !
Afternoon Tea was introduced to England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford in around 1840. As dinner was served at the then fashionably late hour of 8pm, quite some time from lunch, she found that she was often hungry by around 4pm in the afternoon. So began the practice of ordering tea and light refreshments to be sent to her room. In time this morphed into a more social occasion involving special 'tea gowns' and entertaining friends for a gossip in the parlour.
Tea drinking was made popular by Catherine of Braganza, wife to Charles II who introduced the custom in 1662 when she came to England as a bride. Where the court went, the country followed. In 1706 Thomas Twining opened London's first tearoom and the rest, as they say, is history.
So what's the difference ? Well essentially a cream tea consists of tea (naturally) served with scones, fruit jam and clotted cream. Whether you spread the jam or cream first depends on which side of the Devon-Cornish divide you favour. You can read more about that in the etiquette of cream teas (seriously!)
An Afternoon Tea requires a cake stand with several layers as it is not only tea and scones but also finger sandwiches(with the crusts removed) and cake as well. It is an altogether more substantial affair !
Both cream teas and afternoon teas can be enjoyed in a huge variety of locations around the country. Most tearooms, restaurants and hotels will offer one or both. You can enjoy one cruising down a canal or riding a vintage steam train. You can even have a cream tea whilst riding the London Eye.
Now that would have surprised our Victorian ancestors !
I've enjoyed cream teas and afternoon teas in many places but one of my favourites has to be Amberley Castle in West Sussex.
Once a castle now a rather exclusive hotel, popular as a wedding venue and conference centre, it offers a an Afternoon Tea experience. A group of friends and I who were all celebrating our 'golden' birthdays decided to visit a couple of summers ago. Tea was served inside the castle in a room redolent with Gothic and medieval weaponry and artefact's. We had wonderful service from the staff who reappeared at our elbows as soon as the teapot was empty and were kind enough to supply us with 'doggy-bags' as there were so many left over treats.
www.amberleycastle.co.uk
Well worth treating yourself if you are local to the area.
There is as I recently discovered ,a cream tea society. This year National Cream Tea day is Friday 28th June. Should you wish to host a charity fund raiser -holding a cream tea event to raise money for your chosen charity, then you can apply for a pack of free clotted cream and jams from the society.
I just might give that a whirl-who doesn't like a cream tea ?
If you would like more details (or to check out the etiquette rules !) have a look at their website here.
www.creamteasociety.co.uk
Welcome to Cake Advisor-my new blog !
As many of you are aware, in spite of following a largely low-sugar/low-carb diet, I do have a bit of a 'scone habit' :)
Tea and cake is a particularly British custom and tea rooms are found all over the British Isles. Some would say that the refreshments are an intrinsic part of any day out. Other countries do also enjoy coffee and pastries or tea and cake but for the purposes of this blog, I am going to concentrate on the UK.
Being a subject which requires a great deal of research (!) it will be a record of my first hand experiences largely (but not exclusively) in the South of England. I am happy to eat cake ...anywhere so other regions will feature from time to time.
I am always looking for new places to try out so please feel free to add your recommendations/links in the comments box below.
As we are only just into the new year, I will start the blog with a few photos of a visit I made to Arundel Castle for the tulip festival a couple of years ago.
www.arundelcastle.org
On that particular occasion I had visited with a friend and we managed to consume coffee/hot chocolate and scones see above in one of the town tea rooms and also lunch at the castle.
Arundel Castle has both a restaurant and a coffee shop in the Castle Servants Hall.
If memory serves me correctly the tea-and-scones were enjoyed at Cockburns Tea Rooms on the HIgh Street. They also have a shop in Midhurst.
www.cockburnstearooms.co.uk
Arundel is popular with visitors and does not lack for refreshment opportunities. Next up on my list of places to try out is the Swanbourne Lake Cafe (also in Arundel) Perhaps for a Springtime amble ?
