Afternoon Tea at Wivenhoe House, Colchester Review

During our stay at Wivenhoe House Hotel, the home of the UK’s only ‘working’ hospitality school, we decided to indulge in the hotel’s afternoon tea service. Created and served by the hotel’s students, we decided on the Champagne afternoon tea, which was served with a glass of Laurent Perrier.

Having both chosen Assam tea to accompany our afternoon tea, we began with the selection of sandwiches. We were informed that the bread was freshly baked and we could certainly tell through the wonderful flavours that accompanied the variety of fillings. The fillings included dill marinated cucumber and black pepper cream cheese, free range hen’s egg mayonnaise and sprouting cress, oak smoked salmon and horseradish crème fraiche and poached free range chicken and mustard mayonnaise. Every sandwich was delicious and each filling and clearly been thought through and reinvented from traditional afternoon tea sandwich selections.

"The students are eager to create a wonderful experience for every guest.”

Following our afternoon tea, we enjoyed the freshly baked apple and cinnamon scones served with citrus curd, clotted cream and tiptree strawberry jam. Again, although based on typical afternoon tea, the scones and accompanying citrus curd were innovative and creative, introducing new flavour combinations to our afternoon tea repertoire. The scones were particularly enjoyable and the cinnamon added a depth of flavour to this otherwise classic afternoon tea staple.

Finally, we finished our tea with a selection of cakes and pastries. Each of the cakes provided was very creative, and once again we were pleased to see an alternative twist on the traditional tea. One cake was based on the classic bakewell tart and recreated the flavours of this classic cake well. Another was based on traditional profiteroles and featured a wonderful cream centre. We were also treated to homemade macaroons, which were delicious and inventive in their presentation.

While we enjoyed our afternoon tea we were lucky enough to sit outside and take in the surroundings. We also noticed the passion and enthusiasm of the young trainee staff. Chasing their dream career, the students are eager to create a wonderful experience for every guest.