Christmas Afternoon Tea at Corinthia Hotel

Whether you are a local or a tourist, one thing you cannot miss in London this Christmas is a festive afternoon tea! Spending a few hours with your family or friends in a beautiful hotel eating sandwiches and scones with tea is FUN all year round, no doubt about it. But with all the decorations, lights and elaborated festive-theme cakes, afternoon teas at Christmas time are something special!

This month I had the pleasure to try the festive afternoon tea at Corinthia Hotel, a luxury hotel situated in the heart of London, just a few minutes’ walk from Trafalgar Square, the Strand and the Southbank.

It was the perfect location to meet my friend Sally of The Cafe Cat blog and chat about our gift shopping and holiday plans. Neither of us had been to the Corinthia Hotel before, but we loved the elegant Lobby Lounge where the afternoon tea is served and the hotel’s Harrods shop with beautiful Christmas tree and gingerbread houses on display.

We were invited to try the Festive Laurent-Perrier Afternoon Tea, so we started with a glass of Champagne and a selection of freshly prepared sandwiches on artisanal bread: Roast Turkey with Cranberry Compote; Loch Var Smoked Salmon; Roast Sirloin of Beef with Mustard; Egg Mayonnaise with Watercress; Creamed Innes Goats’ Cheese and Cucumber.

For our tea selection we both chose the Ceylon Orange Pekoe, a rich and delicious tea from the Nuwara Eliya tea plantations in Sri Lanka. I visited that region in the summer so it’s a tea I am familiar with and which I love.

The afternoon tea arrived on a three-tier stand with warm scones (plain and with raisins) served with house preserves and clotted cream; and two plates of beautifully decorated cakes.

Jack Frost: Lemon Drizzle Cake, Lemon Marzipan, Soft Coconut Dacquoise,Toasted Italian Meringue.
Stocking Stuffer: Yuzu and Clementine Mousse, Orange and Chocolate Sable.
Sugar Plum Fairy: Plum Crumble Tartlet, Spiced Frangipane, Muesli Crumble.
The Scrooge: Chocolate Roulade, Tea Infused Ganache, Gold Chocolate.
Rudolph: Crispy Topped Choux filled with Malted Milk Chocolate and Banana Cremeux.
Yuletide Treasure: Moist Dark Chocolate Sponge, Amarena Cherry Compote, Nyangbo Cremeux, Velvety Red Finish.
Santa’s Little Helper: Chestnut Cream and Blackcurrant Macaroon, Sugar Snowflake.
Avalanche: Dark Chocolate Shortbread, Salted Caramel Ganache, Vanilla Frosting.

It was such a rich afternoon tea that I couldn’t eat everything, so they kindly prepared a box with scones to take home.

I love luxury hotels and going to cafes or tea house, so for me there really is nothing better than afternoon tea! I love this tradition and I wish we had something similar in Italy. If you live abroad and are planning to visit London in the future, don’t miss it!

The menu at the Lobby Lounge at Corinthia Hotel was delicious and it was the perfect way to get me into a holiday spirit!

Disclaimer: I was invited to try the afternoon tea at Corinthia Hotel as a guest. All opinions are my own.