Tea for two! Two for tea!

I think we should make afternoon tea a part of everyday life. Sitting, chatting, and for a few minutes (or more like an hour); you look at the person in front of you, and talk. All while eating delicious sweet and savory treats, and letting the warm and fragrant tea soothe whatever part of life is aching at that moment.

It's a perfect concept. Food therapy, I might even venture to call it.

One of the trips I've most enjoyed in my life is my short tour of the South of England with a good friend whose family welcomed me and were eager to have me try all the local flavor. It was August, 2012- the summer breeze and easy strolls across the beautiful landscape made for an unforgettable getaway.

While on a day excursion to Bath, Lucy and I made our way to the Grand Pump Room, part of the Abbey Church Yard and home to Roman Baths, where spring water still fills the long and regal bath rooms, and my destination of choice: their beautifully classy and serene restaurant serving the best tea display I've ever had. (Which I hope is a good compliment, since I've only had real English afternoon tea a few times in my life.)

The Pump Room Museum's one key characteristic is the often smelly sulphuric waters. The water is so rich in minerals (and equally rich in its "eggy" taste) that the restaurant is able to serve some of the water to patrons who request it, directly from the source. It was warm, murky, and not so delicious- but I was told it was good for me, so I did not hesitate drink up!

The highlight of the day was the full afternoon tea display that my friend and I enjoyed. Behold the deliciousness:

Savory at the botton, scones, clotted cream and jam in the middle. At the very top lie the sweetest treats in the trio. I loved the finger sandwiches!

Since coming back to the United States, I have tried to find imported clotted cream. And I have, but it's expensive of course. And it has not tasted so delicious and fresh as the one pictured here for example. Look at how thick and luscious it looks. I split the scone, doused it with some jam and put a very healthy heap of clotted cream on the very top. For those of you who have not tried clotted cream, let me try to describe it to you as a cross between whipped cream and BUTTER. The consistency is thick, but it melts so easily after a bite. The mild sweetness and starchiness of the scone is such a good companion to the tea (I added milk, but not sugar) Simply glorious!

As a side note: I have heard two very different pronunciations of the word scone. One rhymes with gone and the other rhymes with tone. 

You decide which you prefer. In the UK, I've heard it's a matter of region and dialect. 

I have found a few places that serve a decent afternoon tea in the US... I'm sure there a ton! I have   yet to discover them all in my vicinity. Here is one such valiant effort. Though I have my doubts concerning the clotted cream they served...

But as you can see, the display was lovely! My mom and I enjoyed the wide selection of teas at the Rowe's Whaf Sea Grille. It was a relaxing afternoon, a few hours of good conversation sand tasty morsels. That is after all what a leisurely tea time in the afternoon is all about...