High Tea

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Now, what's the fun in that?!?

 

Somewhere I heard or read that the preference depends on where you're from. Devon does one way and Cornwall does the other (but I can't remember which is which).

 

If it's clotted cream, I put that on first. As you say, like butter. But if it's whipped cream, then the jam goes first because whipped cream is too soft and squishy for the jam to spread on top. 

 

Affirmative, from memory, in Cornwall the jam is applied first then topped off with clotted cream and vice versa in Devon. Personally, I prefer the Cornwall method, is it is easier to spread the jam directly onto the scone, then shovel on the cream.😁

[Blackduck59]

4 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Lyle - you bring back happy childhood memories. Any double cream but especially double Devon Cream, OMG!!! it is so good, but just a  little bad for you. You can almost whip it with a fork. If I can't find clotted cream, I'll use this as an excellent substitute.

We don't lay on "afternoon tea" often but when we do we make an effort. I know that logistically it is impossible for HAL to do what we would do, but you would think they could bake fresh scones.

[Toofarfromthesea]

This whole thread brings back such memories of our afternoon tea at The Ritz London.  One memory is of a family of eight at a nearby table.  They were beautifully dressed, and there was a little boy of about age 6 who was wearing a better suit than any I've ever owned.  In my head I was thinking that the dad must be in the House of Lords and buys his bespoke suits on Saville Row.

[SargassoPirate]

19 hours ago, syesmar said:

For whatever it’s worth, the HAL “Know Before You Go” page still says this under “Dining Venues,” sub-section “Other Delightful Dining Options”: 

• Classic High Tea once per cruise.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/faq/know-before-you-go.html

 

I also miss the Royal Dutch Teas and Indonesian Teas! Do they still do the Cupcake Teas?

Should somebody let them know they are advertising the plowman's supper?

[BetsyS.]

Toofarfromthe sea - Many years ago, I had afternoon tea at the Dorchester Hotel in

London. My friend and I were not staying at the hotel, but we had heard about their tea. It was wonderful and I can still remember it to this day.

[BigMattT]

We love that HAL still has Afternoon Tea almost daily. It’s one of the reasons we still choose them.
 

That said, Afternoon Tea can be hit or miss in the Main Dining Room depending on how busy it is, the weather, and if the pastries are fresh that day. (We suspect but can’t prove that they’re made every other day.) When sailing in a Neptune Suite, however, tea is consistently excellent when setup in our cabin using that perk.

 

In the MDR, you can request whatever type of other tea you’d like instead of the PG Tips from the larger carafes. It just takes longer to receive and refills are uncertain.

 

While PG Tips is actually a fine choice for an Afternoon Tea, they could very easily offer a second variety in large carafes as a special each day to make the affair feel slightly more memorable at minute additional cost.

 

If I were HAL, I would double down on the marketing fact they are the last mass market line to have a charming Afternoon Tea. Always puzzling when such a clear a opportunity to differentiate with a well thought-out experience is overlooked.

 

I’d even suggest they add an option for a $15 upcharge to add a glass of sparkling wine, nice caviar on a blini, foie gras pate, and premium signature dessert bite of some sort to the standard (always better be free) tea service.

 

On ships with Tamarind, I’m baffled they don’t offer an Afternoon Tea with Asian influences. That gorgeous venue on Pinnacle ships is woefully underutilized during the daytime.

[FlaMariner]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

Should somebody let them know they are advertising the plowman's supper?

 

Fine with me.  We enjoy the afternoon tea (especially when Mother is onboard) and it fits us "plowman" types just fine!

 

 

[Vict0riann]

17 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Have had High Tea at Raffles Hotel, Singapore. I've not seen high tea on a HAL ship that comes close.

 

I couldn't believe that Raffles would have a "high" tea, so I looked it up...

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

 

I couldn't believe that Raffles would have a "high" tea, so I looked it up...

 

 

Now that is a lovely Afternoon Tea. Just look at those scones!!!!

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, BigMattT said:

If I were HAL, I would double down on the marketing fact they are the last mass market line to have a charming Afternoon Tea. Always puzzling when such a clear a opportunity to differentiate with a well thought-out experience is overlooked.

 

I’d even suggest they add an option for a $15 upcharge to add a glass of sparkling wine, nice caviar on a blini, foie gras pate, and premium signature dessert bite of some sort to the standard (always better be free) tea service.

 

On ships with Tamarind, I’m baffled they don’t offer an Afternoon Tea with Asian influences. That gorgeous venue on Pinnacle ships is woefully underutilized during the daytime.

 

I'm never sure what counts as "mass market," but Cunard does afternoon tea and they do it beautifully. They do offer a champagne tea, held in a separate lounge instead of the Queens Room. 

 

I like the idea of and Asian Tea in Tamarind. It is a lovely venuie. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

Should somebody let them know they are advertising the plowman's supper?

 

But they're serving it wrong. A plowman's should be served with an ale, not tea.

[Vict0riann]

We had a lovely Indonesian tea on Rotterdam in the Spring - I don't remember costumes, though.  Maybe on the female wait staff?

 

[syesmar]

57 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

We had a lovely Indonesian tea on Rotterdam in the Spring….

I am so glad to hear and see this! Loved the Indonesian Tea Times!

[BigMattT]

58 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I'm never sure what counts as "mass market," but Cunard does afternoon tea and they do it beautifully. They do offer a champagne tea, held in a separate lounge instead of the Queens Room. 

 

I like the idea of and Asian Tea in Tamarind. It is a lovely venuie. 

The mass market vs premium vs luxury line distinctions are increasingly blurry since COVID. I think HAL is much more of a “serene and steeped in tradition mass market” than Premium or Luxury these days. (Not necessarily a bad thing.)

 

I haven’t sailed on Cunard, but it strikes me as a premium or luxury line than mass market.

[Kristal Blade]

I live in Devon. There the jam goes first, then the cream, in Cornwall it is cream first then jam.

 

If you have ever tried proper clotted cream then you know it is nothing like “whipped cream”. Whipped cream in a cream tea is unthinkable! I don’t think it would be allowed to be called a cream tea if it didn’t have clotted cream.

 

As for the high tea chat, I’m originally from Scotland and there a high tea is a hot dish, such as fish and chips, quiche or pie and veg served with bread and butter, then cakes and other sweet treats served with a pot of tea. As described in an earlier post by a Canadian aficionado! 
 

we are sailing HAL next year round Japan. I’m hoping they might do tea ceremony for us!! What are the chances?

[bennybear]

3 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

We had a lovely Indonesian tea on Rotterdam in the Spring - I don't remember costumes, though.  Maybe on the female wait staff?

 

Oh I am so happy to see that is back!  My favourite. Thank you!

[bennybear]

16 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I researched all of this when we did a pre-cruise stay in London.  But I think the use of the terms in less formal settings like a cruise ship or anywhere here in the States is unlikely to follow the real definitions.  And if memory serves, isn't there another type of tea called a cream tea?  I think I saw that listed on some of the Cotswolds' day trips I researched.  But since we were going to do the afternoon tea in town we picked an outing that included a pub lunch.

 

IAC, our afternoon tea at The Ritz London, was a highlight of our stay.  Despite the high cost.

  
 

We too love afternoon  tea,   From the  Fairmont Empress, Banff Spings, Palliser Downton Abbey tea and  Bono’s hotel in Dublin; 

 

but the best can be a cream tea! 
 

Here is one in Cornwall!  Try the Victorian sponge cake!  I’ll avoid the debate, but I like the jam on top

Edited September 19, 2023 by bennybear

[cruisemom42]

36 minutes ago, Kristal Blade said:

we are sailing HAL next year round Japan. I’m hoping they might do tea ceremony for us!! What are the chances?

 

Well, it certainly didn't happen this year during my 28-day journey around Japan....

 

But then again, Japan had just reopened to tourists and there was a lot of red tape (and Covid concerns), so perhaps it would have been difficult to bring anyone onboard to do it. 

 

Plus, it's usually more of a small group experience. You can book such experiences in Japan itself -- just not sure you'll see it happen onboard.

Edited September 19, 2023 by cruisemom42

[bennybear]

3 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Well, it certainly didn't happen this year during my 28-day journey around Japan....

 

But then again, Japan had just reopened to tourists and there was a lot of red tape (and Covid concerns), so perhaps it would have been difficult to bring anyone onboard to do it. 

 

Plus, it's usually more of a small group experience. You can book such experiences in Japan itself -- just not sure you'll see it happen onboard.

They didn’t do it precovid either.  We had an amazing experience in Uji where they grow the tea.

you can also try matcha ramen, and see the temple that’s also on the ten yen coin. 

 

[cruisemom42]

@bennybear We are so similar. I snapped a photo of the 2,000 yen Japanese bank note while standing in front of the Shureimon gate (in Okinawa) which is pictured on it. Unfortunately I haven't yet combed through all my photos to find it. 🤷‍♀️

 

[Toofarfromthesea]

Just like a good tea, whether it be afternoon, high, cream, or an international version, this is a lovely thread.

[Kristal Blade]

49 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Well, it certainly didn't happen this year during my 28-day journey around Japan....

 

But then again, Japan had just reopened to tourists and there was a lot of red tape (and Covid concerns), so perhaps it would have been difficult to bring anyone onboard to do it. 

 

Plus, it's usually more of a small group experience. You can book such experiences in Japan itself -- just not sure you'll see it happen onboard.

The tea ceremony comment was said tongue in cheek. We have visited Japan before and had a wonderful tea ceremony experience in Tokyo along with a lesson in writing Japanese characters; very complicated but interesting and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

[lyndarra]

1 hour ago, Kristal Blade said:

 

As for the high tea chat, I’m originally from Scotland and there a high tea is a hot dish, such as fish and chips, quiche or pie and veg served with bread and butter, then cakes and other sweet treats served with a pot of tea. As described in an earlier post by a Canadian aficionado!

Here in Oz "tea" or "teatime" is what we call our evening meal. No scones, cream or jam. Usually meat and three veg and a pot of tea.

When we were kids we had to be home by teatime which was usually around 6pm when dad got home from work. We were very punctual as Mickey Mouse Club was on TV from 5 'till 6 - for those of us lucky enough to have TV.

Myself, I now refer to evening meals as dinner but tea or teatime is still in common use.

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

@bennybear We are so similar. I snapped a photo of the 2,000 yen Japanese bank note while standing in front of the Shureimon gate (in Okinawa) which is pictured on it. Unfortunately I haven't yet combed through all my photos to find it. 🤷‍♀️

 

Oh how nice!    I understand re the photos,  I jus organized some into albums but am thankful for the search function, lol! 

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

Just like a good tea, whether it be afternoon, high, cream, or an international version, this is a lovely thread.

I could talk about tea forever, lol!