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by Jo Gifford Despite lingering images of weak brew and ham sandwiches in your grandparent’s front parlour, tea is making a come back, and it’s doing it in style. The long favoured drink for the nation is seeing resurgence in demand, fuelling favour for a cultural shift in leisure time based on our favourite brew. Whether fashionista fancies in the Berkeley to salmon at The Savoy, we are embracing the humble beverage with a penchant for parlour parlay in abundance.
A campaign launched in 2005 by the tea industry in association with the Tea Council has successfully re-educated consumers about the health benefits of their daily cuppa, resulting in an increase in sales and a younger customer base. Dispelling the myth that tea has as much caffeine as a Starbucks injection has aided buy-in from the health conscious among us, and education of the antioxidant effects have helped get tea to the top spot of non alcoholic drink consumption, knocking soft drinks from the lead once and for all. This recent change in perceptions accompanies a current trend for combining business and pleasure with a spot of Earl Grey. Across the nation, hotels, restaurants and tearooms alike are catering for an ever-growing crowd of customers eager to dabble in British eccentricity and the relaxed ritual of afternoon tea, as predicted by The Future Laboratory back in 2003. Business meetings with tea and cake are a relaxed alternative to the power breakfasts and lunches of yester years, allowing a serene environment for decision-making and discussions. Coffee shop culture has its place in our neo-American/European fusion, but the humble tealeaf floats back to the surface with a vengeance. Bookings for the Ritz and Savoy have 6 week lead times, and other contenders in the arena are making their mark. The Soho Hotel, media darlings favourite, is among a list of top hotels including The Dorchester and The Landsdowne to offer their particular blend of afternoon fun. The Tea Palace on Westbourne Grove is a recent addition to the map, offering a vast range of beverages in a holistically inspired environment. Their mission vision describes that the Palace is “about tea in all its guises from the finest Earl Grey, to the rarest hand-tied Chinese green tea to herbal infusions made with Whole Organic Chamomile Flowers”, indicating the diversity of the teas available, a veritable sensory celebration. The Berkeley Hotel is a fashion favourite, with the “Pret-a-Portea” menu offering couture cakes and fancies in suitably sized calorie conscious portions, based on Autumn/Winter ’05 designer collections.
Steeped in far eastern tradition, tea drinking has its roots in Zen Buddhism, a ceremony to purify the soul and regain balance. The focus was often to appreciate arts and crafts in a serene atmosphere. British afternoon tea, however, was initially linked with the sugar level drop we all know and love in the afternoon, and was initiated by the Duchess of Bedford in the 19th Century to entertain friends with an ‘extra meal’ between the traditional 2 meals of the era. The resulting evolution and merging of the cultures has inspired a huge variety of environments from which to sup, the best of which are reviewed and awarded recognition nationwide on the Tea Council website. So, in our society embracing downshifting and flexible working, the place of afternoon tea is being rediscovered among businessmen, ladies who lunch, the Sloane set and your Nan, to bridge social divides, class barriers and making the most of the afternoon in the way we know best. Could you pass the milk please? www.tea.co.uk
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