A new afternoon tea experience has come to London

On Saturday 15 guests, including influencers, joined the Afternoon Tea Expert for a guided tea ceremony in the Arch Hotel. With afternoon tea becoming ever increasingly popular in the U.K, especially with the tourist market, the event was created to satisfy the need of creating an alternative way of enjoying afternoon tea. While anyone can go for afternoon tea in London, not everyone can go for an afternoon tea party with the expert and learn more about the subject.

The guests were taught:

·         The history of where afternoon tea originated from

·         Basic etiquette tips for afternoon tea, including how to pour the perfect cup of tea

·         How to break a scone – and learn about the jam or cream first debate

Guests were given a goody bag with a special Christmas blend tea from Orange Pekoe, Barnes and a selection of delicious handmade chocolates from Bloom Delight who are the sole supplier of chocolates to the Ritz.

Afternoon tea is a booming part of the London tourist scene and continues to rise in popularity especially from the Middle East and Asian tourists who have a fascination for all things British. A calendar of 2019 group events is about to be published while Eileen also runs one-to-one private events for tourists.

The Afternoon Tea Expert, Eileen Donaghey, described how she came up with the new experience, “I am asked almost daily where to go for afternoon tea that is ‘different’ and, as hotels in London are now saturated with themed afternoon teas, people want to go somewhere that they haven’t experienced before. This is how I thought of the idea for a new concept of an afternoon tea ceremony.”

She continued by saying “Afternoon tea is a social affair and rather than sitting at home posting pictures on Instagram, I’d rather meet other afternoon tea lovers and share my knowledge in a fun but informative way.”

One of the guests from Saturday said: “A simply wonderful event. Eileen took afternoon tea to the next level!” while another said “A beautiful, lovely event created in such a way that not only is it fun, but a great way to meet new people whilst enjoying gorgeous food and being immersed in afternoon tea culture. Eileen is so lovely to be around.”

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