High Tea at the Savoy in London

Before I go on with recipes from our trip to Paris, I would like to write about our High Tea at the Savoy hotel in London. I have become a real fan of afternoon tea both at home and in local tea shops or venues. So I was naturally anxious to try this experience in the place afternoon tea was invented. First you must understand how seriously the British take their tea time. We were almost unable to get a reservation for High Tea at the Savoy. The Atrium was packed every single day from 2:30 to 5:30PM. The first thing I noticed is champagne was used to whet the appetite before tea was served. I like this custom . After champagne you pick the kind of tea you want. I particularly like the Buckingham Palace black tea but you can choose from black teas to herb teas or green teas. After your pot of tea is delivered, scones with clotted cream(see my recipe for scones in a previous post). These were marvelous. They were warm and buttery without the addition of any condiment. Next comes tea sandwiches. These were not so good. The bread was like  a white Wonder Bread with the crust removed. They were filled pimento, cucumber, egg salad or chicken salad. They were cold and tasteless for the most part. Next came a wealth of different pastries with chocolate éclair being my favorite. Believe it or not, we were then offered two different types of cake. By this time we were already on a sugar high. All in all I was somewhat disappointed. If you live in the DC area, the best afternoon tea I have found is the one offered from 2 to 4 PM each Thursday at the Black Market Bistro in Garret Park .For a terrific atmosphere try the Tea on the Tiber in Ellicott City.