Afternoon Tea

On Saturday several of us went into London to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum.  One of the nice things about most of the museums here is that they are free.  I'll take that any day!  I especially liked the Regency life display, but my favorite display was the ironworks.  They had some really cool tins and amazing locks and keys.  Afterward we decided on a whim that we should go to tea.  Now, this is not unusual.  We often go for a cream tea while we are out and about, but today we decided to go to The Orangery at Kensington Palace.  Since it's been on my list of things to do, I opted to splurge and have a full afternoon tea.  How could I not?  I was at a palace!

The Orangery at Kensington Palace.

Okay, so really it's separate from the palace, but I think it still counts.  I mean the actual palace was only about fifty yards away.

 

The inside.

An orangery is really just a glorified greenhouse, only much fancier.  Most are decorated in white with gilt or wooden accents.  This one had wood carvings above the arches.  The trees that you see are indoor orange trees - hence the name orangery.  In times of old, and maybe currently as well, the wealthy would import orange trees and keep them indoors so that they could enjoy the citrus fruit.  Unfortunately, British weather is not at all hospitable to citrus.

 

The menu.

Even it is fancy.  I ordered the Signature Orange Afternoon Tea.

 

Rooibos breakfast tea. 

This is loose tea brewing in the teapot.  The fragrance of the tea was amazing - it had a hint of orange to it.  Technically, rooibos is not real tea, rather from the redbush plant and considered an herbal tea, but I'm overlooking that for the sake of this experience.  Besides, it was the recommended blend.

 

There is a big debate in this country as to whether the milk goes in first or last.  I'm a believer in adding the milk first.  It makes a difference in the taste . . . really.

Since this was loose tea, I had to pour it through a strainer to catch all of the bits. Unfortunately, on my second cup I forgot.

 

I take one lump of sugar in my tea and I prefer the taste of the brown demerara sugar.

 

Impressive presentation.

 

"Assortment of finger sandwiches."

The assortment included a cucumber, a ham and English mustard (a spicy hot mustard, there is nothing like it in the US),  a cheese and pickle (pickle is more like chutney and has no pickles in it), and a smoked salmon and cream cheese.  Although it may make me sound hoity-toity, I think my favorite was the smoked salmon.

 

"Signature orange scented scone with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam."

Notice that the tea is a nice caramel colour - that's thanks to the milk that was added.  If this was the only part of the repast, it would be called a cream tea.  I prefer plain scones to fruit (raisin) scones, but the hint of orange was quite nice.  Please forgive the poorly staged photograph.

There is also a debate regarding the correct order of condiments for a scone.  

Should it be jam then cream?

 

Or cream then jam?

Personally, I don't think it makes a difference.  Both are delicious!

 

"Delectable eclair and orange and passion fruit tart."

The final course.  Yumminess!  I felt quite frou-frou as I partook of these.  The presentation was amazing.  I've got to learn the secret to the tart - it was wonderful!.  The red currant garnish was the perfect touch.

 

By the time we finished the sun had set, but this is part of the palace garden looking to the orangery.  

The word garden sometimes just means "sculpted hedges".  The palace proper was to my left as I took the picture.

We had to walk through Kensington Gardens to get to the bus.  Here's the lake at dusk.