Review: The London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea by Helen SImpson

A nice little book celebrating tea and its history.  The Palm Court Tearoom at the Ritz is one of the most famous places to do so.  It features a history of tea and calls it "The Democratic Herb" as it is enjoyed by all classes and most cultures.  It features differences between Winter Teas, High Tea, Afternoon Tea, Pre-Theatre Tea, Nursery Teas and Summer Teas.  It offers many recipes in both metric and Cup measures.  Recipes include traditional savories and sweets and show how they have been updated over time.They include, Crumpets, English Muffins, Shortbread, Scones, Seed Cakes, Madeleines, Eccles Cakes (which I had no idea were illegal in 1650 - imagine going to jail for eating a cake???)Egg  or Cucumber Sandwiches, Scotch Woodcock, English Rabbit and Welsh Rarebit as well.

The book is filled with literary quotes involving tea and lovely illustrations. 

If you love tea, (which I CERTAINLY do!) it is definitely worth checking out!

Terri