The Chelsea Teapot: A Tea Place Review

It’s been a while now since I’ve been in the UK however haven’t even finished writing all my tea place reviews. There were some places I decided to simply not write about however The Chelsea Teapot was not one of them!

We had been having an incredible time in London, indeed it is one of my favourite places to be. The night before our walk down the King’s Road we set out to Leicester Square where we were squeezed into a crowd and stood waiting for close to two hours. The temperature dropped to a level that would frighten most Australians and then I couldn’t feel my toes; I was even wearing my snow socks! My lovely husband suggested it was time to go however I wanted to stay for just a few more minutes and I’m glad we stuck it out as this happened…

Now, many people in London seem to find this ‘normal’ however before this time it is likely that the most famous person I ever had an encounter with was a local news reader. Now I was rubbing shoulders with Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Hugh Jackman at the world premiere of Les Miserables. I have to say there were some crazies in that crowd. A group of young girls were standing next to me at the fence consistently shoving me and shouting ‘who’s that!’ I’m not really sure why they were there! After I had a selfie with Helena Bonham Carter they said to me, ‘who was that!?’ (but you have to imagine it in a rather ocker British accent). Then they continued on to ask who Stephen Fry and Isla Fisher were. It was at this point that I felt old and turned to my husband who stuck his hand out and dragged me through the crowd to the tube. I was cold and tired.

The next morning I was in need of some tea and The Chelsea Teapot did not disappoint. I must confess that I found this gorgeous little tea room on Google. Unfortunately I am gluten intolerant and whenever I go anywhere I tend to Google ‘gluten free’ followed by the suburb or area I will be in. One of the places that popped up in Kensington and Chelsea was this tea room. That morning I wanted to do some shopping so we set off on foot to the King’s Road when I remembered that a tea room in that locale had popped up on my gluten free search. After the purchase of several, ok dozens of pairs of shoes we found The Teapot and weren’t disappointed. It really stands out with its colourful exterior on what is otherwise a fairly dull stretch of road.

Image courtesy of The Chelsea Teapot website

This tea room is cute with its pastel colourings and vintage shabby chic interiors. I loved the church pew bench seat and mismatched but coordinating chairs. Aside from a lovely range of gluten free cupcakes, of which I selected a beautifully decorated red velvet, they also had some other sweet treats on offer; my worn out husband enjoyed a lovely piece of apple pie. Downstairs, aside from a well kept bathroom it looked like they had a small function area.

I enjoyed a lovely refreshing chamomile tea from a pretty cup and saucer and appreciated the lovely cutlery. I guess if I had to describe this tea place it would be something like modern vintage, it would be what you might expect if you collided my ideas of a tea room with those of my Nana. The result really is somewhere cute and cosy and perhaps even a little posh with friendly service and the most amazing gluten free cupcakes! I even purchased another to take home with me as a snack for later. By the looks of it they also sell lots of tea paraphernalia too.

I’m glad we visited this tea room and if you are in the area then I recommend a visit!

The Verdict

Tea Place: The Chelsea Teapot, King’s Road, Chelsea, London, UK

Contact: Website, Facebook

Rating: 4/5

Comment: A cute interior and lovely gluten free cakes however, like most London shops it was a little tight inside so there wasn’t a lot of privacy however the nice range of teas and treats on offer makes up for that.

I visited in December 2012.

The Aviary Dessert Kitchen: A Tea Place Review

Over the last 12-18 months the popularity of dessert cafes has risen steadily, probably in direct correlation to the supply. These usually cute, quirky places seem to pop up over night and develop cult like followings. Some are better that others though and The Aviary on Norwood Parade, Adelaide is now high on my list of places to go for a sweet treat and a delightful cup of tea.

First, lets talk about the tea. One of the things I love about this place is the fact they use teas by Australian company Tea Tonic. Tea Tonic produce divine herbal, fruit and green teas. Stay tuned for future tea reviews of Tea Tonic teas. These teas are predominantly organic to suit the ever growing demand for organics in this country and are actually blended by a naturopath. They claim to be Australia's healthiest teas.

My dining buddy and I ordered and shared a pot of Apple Tree Tea. This refreshing fruity blend is predominantly apple pieces. So keen to try to deliciously scented brew was my buddy, the tea was poured before it had been given enough time to brew. Fruits and herbal teas need a little longer than black and green teas for the flavours to truly shine. Regardless, this was still such a refreshing treat. I loved that they presented our tea in a green pot with green cups.

In addition to Tea Tonic they also stock a selection of Marriage Fr`eres teas, boutique teas imported from France. This covers you more than well if you are searching for a nice black tea or a premium green tea.

The Aviary, like most dessert cafes has a seasonal menu and they introduce new items on a regular basis. What appealed to me most was the fact that they also clearly indicate which of their items are gluten friendly (GF) or diary free, and there were plenty of choices. Now I know GF means gluten free but like most places as they have gluten containing products in their kitchen they can't guarantee there won't be cross contamination but they try their best. This is why I use the term gluten friendly! They are happy to have gluten intolerant diners and accommodate them! Their current menu can be found on their website.

I ordered the 'a-lychee in wonderland'. The floral lychee, raspberry and vanilla jelly, macaron ‘mushroom’ and turkish delight were served with a tangy but refreshing mangosteen sorbet and tufts of persian fairy floss. It was to die for. No photo I could take of this adorable presentation would do it justice. The flavours all came together so well. This was the first time I had eaten pashmak, persian fairy floss, and it really was nice. It had a soft, melt in your mouth texture, unlike the grainy clumps you get with regular fairy floss. A special touch was the inclusion of a sprinkle of popping candy through the pieces of meringue and turkish delight. Trust me, it tasted even better than it looked, a perfect balance of textures and flavours.

My dessert buddy ordered the Chocolate Pecking Plate which was a tasting plate of flour-less chocolate cake, fresh belgian waffle with chocolate sauce and a chocolate raspberry mousse pot. There is no photo of this one because it was gone before the camera was ready! The signature dessert here is the Macaron Flower Pot and although we didn't try one, they certainly looked delicious.

This is such a popular place and it's easy to see why. Not only is the food to die for, the surroundings are cute and the service is friendly, efficient and attentive - that is something that is unfortunately becoming less common these days. If you want to visit I strongly recommend giving them a call and booking a table, the phone number is on the website.

The Verdict

Tea Place: The Aviary Dessert Kitchen. Norwood Parade, Adelaide, Australia

Rating: 5/5

Comment: A great range of teas to complement every delicious menu item. Great service and a great atmosphere. Check the website for the latest menu and make sure you call to book a table.

Contact: The Aviary Dessert Kitchen Website, The Aviary Dessert Kitchen on Facebook

High Tea for Habitat

September was High Tea for Habitat month. A whole month dedicated to the art of high tea and fundraising for Habitat for Humanity in the Australian and Asia-Pacific region. Naturally I held my very own afternoon tea where friends tasted a range of teas and nibbled on some of the delicious treats I had prepared. Before we get into that, how much do you know about the origins of afternoon tea?

Anna Maria Russell, aka the Duchess of Bedford, is credited with having been the inventor of the afternoon tea. In the early 1800’s she decided she simply couldn’t wait for dinner and needed a snack. It was around this time that tea had gained some popularity and was a little more common. She had a snack prepared for her of some sandwiches and cakes with a cup of tea. She enjoyed this so much she started to invite her friends for afternoon tea and of course if it was popular among the noble classes, it was also popular among the upper classes and the middle classes. But what’s this got to do with high tea you ask? Good question, I say! It all has to do with the height of the table. Taken at a dining table it is a high tea. Taken at the coffee table etc it is a low tea. These days the term ‘high tea’ tends to be given to any tea party with tea, cake and sandwiches that is a little more classy than your average afternoon tea. So popular is high tea that most lovely hotels host them regularly on weekends and some on weekdays. If you are lucky enough to live near a beautiful old fashioned tea room, well you can have high tea anytime!

Now, back to my high tea. Over the course of the month a grand total of $505 was raised for Habitat for Humanity. The day itself was a lovely success. We had several games, some of which you might like to try if you ever host a tea party.

The first was a word game where participants had 30 seconds to compile a list of as many words as they could that ended in the sound ‘tea’. For example; quality, equity and tasty. The winner took away a gorgeous little Maxwell and Williams infuser teapot.

The second game was a tea guessing game where four little Chinese teacups had been filled with different varieties of tea. One point was awarded for every correct ingredient guessed. This game went down to the wire in a Mastechef-esque elimination with a fifth tea. The first to guess an incorrect tea ingredient was eliminated. This nail biting round went down to the wire. A tea with close to a dozen ingredients was chosen and with just two ingredients left (blackberry leaf and red thistle flower) we had a winner who took with them a gorgeous Maxwell and Williams infuser teapot and mug.

One of the most popular treats on the day was the Apple and Caramel Baked Cheesecake. The recipe for this divine desert comes courtesy of fellow blogger and soon to be published author, Not Quite Nigella. You can access the recipe here.

A great afternoon was had by all and more importantly lots of money was raised for a very worthwhile cause.

Check out some beautiful photos of the day taken by the lovely Jen of jen hostetler photography

Thank you to everyone who made it such a special day!

Chocolate Cake Pops

Elderflower, lemon and mint cordial

Chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate and salted caramel frosting

Vanilla cupcakes with boysenberry swirl icing