A Very High Tea

On a recent visit to the city,I treated myself to an afternoon tea and came away charmed by the elegance and the indulgence of it.

It was a freezing cold,wet day in London and after hours of window shopping at trendy Oxford Street,my feet ached and the soul hungered for an afternoon fix of tea,my antidote for nearly everything in life. I was in no mood for the shoppers cuppa bought from a quick service restaurant,to be had while roaming around aimlessly on the street. I wanted a comfortable place to sit,to rest my poor feet and some me time,after the craziness of being surrounded by a million shoppers!

Thankfully,I was just a couple of minutes away from The Churchill,the Hyatt Regencys elegant hotel that is home to the Montagu restaurant and its Tea Guild award-winning afternoon tea.

If pampering and indulging myself was what I wanted,I got more than my share of it,just as soon as I walked into the stylish restaurant with its dark-wooded interiors,high ceilings with grand chandeliers and an open fireplace that was more than welcome after the biting cold. The icing on the cake was the restaurants large floor to ceiling windows,that offer sweeping views of the picturesque gardens of Portman Square,a sight for eyes that are sore and fatigued by innumerable shopping destinations.

There is something charming about the tradition of afternoon tea itself. I mean,how many of us now have the luxury of spending a couple of hours over tea,let alone cakes,sandwiches and pastries. The Montagu Afternoon Tea is luxury and elegance personified,right from the start when the staff brings an elegant,three-tiered stand to your table,which groans under the weight of what seems like an endless supply of goodies. There was a selection of finger sandwiches filled with all manner of cheeses,smoked salmon,the very British cucumber and watercress version offered on white,brown and flavoured breads. They were so delicious that I pigged out on a decidedly un-womanly five,before my companions pointed out that we had a lot of other goodies to tuck into.

If you are not sure about what tea to order,ask the wait staff. At the Montagu,the staff is trained and knowledgeable and will help you choose from the range available Sapphire Earl Grey,Darjeeling Second Flush,Organic Bohea Lapsang,Organic Silver Needle and Hand-rolled Jasmine Pearls. I decided to try at least three of the varieties over the two hours that I spent there,gorging on some divine sweet treats that followed.

If you have a sweet tooth,the English afternoon tea is what the doctor ordered for you. The evening I went,I noticed that one tier of the goody stand remained disappointingly empty but I realised soon enough that they like to treat guests to warm scones,the way it is supposed to be had with tea condiments. Mine arrived,a couple of plain and fruit scones,which I polished off,with great lashings of delicious strawberry jam and sinful Cornish clotted cream. I could have eaten a couple more but I had noticed tier number three on the stand and had no intention of missing out on that one. I mean,who in their right mind would pass over a treat of charming miniature fruit tarts,a moist tempting dark Opera cake,colourful,cheerfully decorated cupcakes and my old favourite,the chocolate macaroon?

The trick to enjoying the English afternoon tea and getting your moneys worth for it the tea at Montagu is almost 30 pounds per person is to savour the time you spend over it. While we would imagine that most Britons spend lazy afternoons over tea,the truth is that for the average Englishman,this is an occasional indulgence reserved for special events such as a bachelorette or anniversary party. The afternoon tea is now more an indulgence for the endless stream of tourists who arrive in the country every year,determined to check out all that the country has to offer.

The tradition of afternoon tea was introduced in Britain in the early 1840s and evolved largely as a small meal that would keep hunger pangs at bay between breakfast and dinner,which was served only at 8 pm,the prevalent practice of that time. The practice itself is believed to have evolved when Anna,the seventh Duchess of Bedford talked about having that sinking feeling during the late afternoon. As an antidote to which she resorted to a pot of tea and a slight snack in her private quarters. Soon she was inviting her friends for tea and sandwiches and before long,the practice became so fashionable that ladies from the upper class had adopted the ritual for their own and vied to lay out the best goodies that they could imagine,in their drawing rooms

The Montagu is also the perfect place for some avid people watching. The day I went,there was a large table of a dozen beautifully dressed men and women in formals treating a group of Japanese business visitors. There was a great deal of gesturing and explanations about the ceremony by the hosts,while the Japanese guests were busy capturing the event on expensive cameras.

Then there was the other table,right next to me,where a group of six ladies,dressed in pearls,designer threads and vertiginous heels,were having the time of their lives,tucking into the goodies. And wait a minute,were those champagne glasses on the table? Yes,the wait staff told me. That table had ordered the Desperate Housewives Champagne Afternoon Tea,a decadent indulgence that includes,among other things,burgers,doughnuts,appletinis,glasses of champagne and a chocolate that arrives on the table in the form of fire-engine-red stilettos,that one of the divas in the popular serial is addicted to. I looked stealthily from the corner of my eye and there it was,the gorgeous chocolate shoe,shining,winking at me in the warm glow of the chandeliers and seducing me like a wicked temptress.

The popular sex and the city afternoon tea has a selection of pastries created with each of the girls from the serial in mind. For Carrie,a strawberry-flavoured chocolate pink stiletto; for Charlotte,a pink strawberry cupcake; for Samantha,an appletini jelly in a mini martini glass; and,for Miranda,glazed doughnuts. In recognition of the girls love of cocktails,guests can indulge in one of the girls favourites,a flirtini champagne,vodka and pineapple juice in a heady mix.

Only,I had no place left in my belly for a even a single morsel but the next time I go to London,nothing can stop me from checking out the Desperate Housewives Afternoon Tea Special.

If you go before the end of May,the restaurant is even offering a free glass of champagne with every order of Afternoon Tea.

If you plan on going,I would much advise that you have a light breakfast of cereal that morning,no lunch at all and be prepared to not only skip dinner but also work out the excesses with some brisk walking afterwards. And remember,while you are tucking in,dont worry about the calories that you are adding up.

Sudha Menon is the author of Leading Ladies.