When thinking of a tradional English afternoon one thing that springs to mind is afternoon tea. This week it is national afternoon tea week, so let’s take a look at the tradition. Afternoon tea, that most quintessential of English customs is, perhaps surprisingly, a relatively new tradition. Tea was popularised in England in thr 1600s by King Charles the second and his wife his wife the Portuguese Infanta Catherine de Braganza.
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00:00 We just love cake, don't we?
00:02 Any excuse.
00:03 Tea and cake.
00:04 Yeah, it's really quintessentially British, isn't it?
00:07 When thinking of a traditional English afternoon,
00:10 one thing that springs to mind is afternoon tea.
00:13 This week it is National Afternoon Tea Week,
00:16 so let's take a look at the tradition.
00:18 Afternoon tea, the most quintessential of English customs,
00:22 is, perhaps surprisingly, a relatively new tradition.
00:26 Tea was popular in England in the 1600s by King Charles II
00:31 and his wife, the Portuguese Infanta Catherine de Brasva.
00:36 Let's visit Berwick Lodge to find out about their afternoon tea.
00:40 So we are at Berwick Lodge in North Bristol.
00:43 We are a five-star hotel and we also have a Two Rosette restaurant on site,
00:48 which is where we do our lovely afternoon teas.
00:51 It changes seasonally, so this is our summer menu at the moment.
00:55 Oh, Rosie, what's your favourite bit from this one?
00:58 I can't lie.
00:59 The cherry and chocolate macarons have got to be number one at the moment.
01:02 Yeah, it's beautiful, isn't it?
01:03 Yeah, or the elderflower trifle. Delicious.
01:05 It's all good, though. It's all good.
01:07 So we have a special Christmas one.
01:09 I think that's usually quite a big fave,
01:11 and that's got little mince pies and Christmas cake and stuff.
01:13 It's super cute.
01:14 Yeah, it's got more along the Christmas carol.
01:16 Yeah, and festive sort of sandwiches.
01:18 You've got your turkey and cranberry and...
01:20 Well, that's a must. Brew. Yeah, you have to have brew.
01:22 Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna,
01:25 the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840.
01:29 At around four o'clock, the Duchess would become hungry
01:32 before her evening meal at eight o'clock.
01:35 After she started to snack between dinner at four o'clock,
01:38 she began inviting her friends to join her,
01:41 and the tradition has continued ever since.
01:44 But what are the key features of an afternoon tea?
01:47 And what can you expect if you visit Berwick Lodge in Bristol?
01:51 Let's find out.
01:52 It's going 100%. It goes with the cream.
01:54 As much cream as you can get in, for sure.
01:56 Although we do have arguments in the kitchen,
01:58 especially with our head chef, because he's from Devon,
02:01 about what goes first, jam or cream? Jam or cream.
02:04 I'm a jam-then-cream girlie, always.
02:06 The Cornish way of thinking. Cream-then-jam.
02:08 Cream-then-jam every time.
02:10 So we have amazing chefs here.
02:12 So we operate pretty much every day of the year,
02:14 so they're here full-time,
02:16 so they make absolutely everything for our afternoon tea.
02:19 Very special. Very, very special.
02:21 We even grow some things in the garden as well,
02:24 so we've got mint and other herbs that they use in the restaurant
02:29 for other things as well.
02:30 And we're really big on sustainability here,
02:32 so we use Too Good To Go,
02:34 so any leftovers you can actually pick up a goodie bag,
02:37 and our china will be fripped and things like that,
02:39 just to try and do well in hospitality,
02:42 which can be quite difficult.
02:44 Sarah, the owner, is here a lot,
02:46 so you can really feel her energy in the place.
02:48 Yeah, and she also always says she wants it to feel like home,
02:52 away from home, so when people come, she'll be like,
02:54 "Oh, welcome home."
02:55 Yeah, it's like, I always say we feel like a little island up here.
02:59 Yeah, definitely.
03:00 And it's just really unique, really special.
03:02 Yeah, and I think Bristol's hidden gem is a good way of describing it.