This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
( afternoon tea )


n d e


While James Bond always expressed lukewarm feelings about tea, the rest of us adore the stuff. Lucky, then, that the Cotswolds is littered with great places to remind us of why, says PAUL MARLAND


C


offee has had the most incredible renaissance in recent years, of course, but tea – harder to mess up, and with most people


preferring only the most simple variations on the classic ‘builder’s’ formula – has rather lagged behind. Until recently, that is. Occasionally


you might still ask for tea and get a heart-sinking mug of milky warm water with a PG Tips string dangling out of it, but that’s increasingly rare. Now, hurrying to catch up, humble tea is showing what it can do – revelling in all its numerous varieties and traditions. Certainly, that most reassuringly


British of lazy day rituals – afternoon tea somewhere relaxing but posh, with fine china and an assortment of nibbles – has never been more universally available, or more reliably top-notch. Though interchangeable in many


minds, the world’s most popular beverage is actually a very different beast to coffee. It encourages contemplation more than activity, calms rather than excites, and generally promotes a healthy, introspective take on the world. Unlike coffee, that punchy energy boost in a cup, tea doesn’t slap us on the back and push us bodily into the day so much as tells us


crumbsmag.com


to calm down, take the weight off our feet, have a little think. And hey, is there anything that really has to get done in the next 24 hours anyhow? It’s no accident, then, that Japanese


tea ceremonies – ripe with respect, purity, harmony and all that good Buddhist stuff – are always such tranquil occasions, or that one of the most celebrated times to take classic British tea is in the afternoon, with both lunch and dinner a respectable couple of hours away in either direction, and a goodly proportion of the day’s tasks done and dusted. For the full old-school experience, afternoon tea should be sipped from China cups – often the sort with handles you can only crook a single finger through – against the sort of backdrop where no fabric can be too floral or waitress too rosy cheeked, and where dainty silver towers cascade with cakes and biscuits and tiny crust-free sandwiches of every type. Next to each little silver tea pot, strawberry jam and clotted cream slip down the side of an over-laden scone. (Cream first, right?) Happily, the Cotswolds are awash


with such gaffs. At the Highworth Hotel we’re told that “cream tea is the most popular option, as it’s light and spontaneous, a little treat out of the blue”. At Bibury Court Hotel people come for the scones, baked at its in-house bakery using artisan flour from Shipton Mill, while at Lucknam Park at Colerne, “delicate cakes, homemade scones and dainty sandwiches vie for your attention, served with the finest of teas or an indulgent glass of champagne”. It all sounds perfect but, across the world, tea has many differently cool


51


ceremonies attached. The Chinese version exists across Japan and Korea and much of Asia too – only the Tibetan model, an oily purple-black concoction which adds salt and yak butter, is something of an acquired taste. If you fancy something more modern, the Taiwanese variation of bubble tea – hot or cold milky tea in bizarre flavours, drunk through a fat straw capable of sucking in pearls of tapioca that lurk at the bottom – has long had a clawhold on Bath but will surely soon creep north into the Cotswolds, we’re sure. For now though, the Chinese model’s


chief international rival – the classic British tea – is what dominates on our patch, and quite rightly so. After all, there’s something about tea and the Cotswolds that go perfectly together: this amber drink and that honey coloured stone, with their shared commitment to laidback grace and the quiet luxury of taking your time.


What’s brewing?


Amazing places to unwind, relax, sip your cuppa and stuff your face


Bibury Court Afternoon tea is pre-booked only www.biburycourt.com


Buckland Manor www.bucklandmanor.co.uk


Buttercup Baking Boutique baking and tea parties for your event www.buttercupbaking.co.uk


Calcot Manor www. calcotmanor.co.uk


Cotswolds 88 www.cotdwolds88hotel.co.uk


Daylesford Organic www.daylesford.com


The Daffodil www.thedaffodil.com


Highworth Hotel Choice of airy atrium or sun-trap courtyard www.thehighworth.com


Inn at Fossebridge cotswolds-country-pub-hotel.co.uk


Lower Slaughter Manor www.lowerslaughter.co.uk


Lucknam Park Gluten-free teas, plus an ‘Afternoon Tea’ cookery course is available www.lucknampark.co.uk


Manor House Hotel www.cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk


Whatley Manor www.whatleymanor.com


A t


f


t


e h


nr


i


o


o l


g


s


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68