Birthday tea at Fortnum and Mason

For my birthday this year I wanted to be in London having tea, and to me there was only one place to have that tea, the legendary Fortnum and Mason department store. When I first visited London 10 years ago, this was by far my favorite store and my favorite place to have afternoon tea. When we arrived, I was surprised to find the building is undergoing some renovations, and what a clever way to disguise the exterior. Charming!

Alex and I arrived a few minutes early for our noon reservation. I was happy to begin taking in the elegant surroundings. The entry to the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, where we would have tea, features live piano music and those beautiful "eau de nil" colored tins of tea. The French term literally means "water of the Nile," and that exquisite shade of blue-green is perhaps my favorite color in the world. It features prominently at Fortnum and Mason, which is no doubt another reason I love this store so well! Some of you may recall that the Queen herself made an official visit to Fortnum and Mason back in 2012 when the restaurant was renamed the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, and The Daily Mail covered it here. (The Queen wore an eau de nil suit and hat which were simply beautiful. Cake lovers, scroll down to see the cake Fortnum and Mason made in honor of the royal visit.)

When we sat down at our table, I paused to take in the new furnishings since I was last there, and of course the pretty eau de nil teawares.

We just happened to be seated next to this picture of Audrey Hepburn, which was fitting since Audrey and I share the May 4 birthday. She would have turned 85 the day I turned 50, and this year Google honored her on that day with a "Google Doodle," as I recall.

I love the elegant teawares here. You'll note that atop the teapot is a leaf-shaped piece of paper which bears the name of the Queen Anne blend of tea I ordered. A clever way to distinguish the various pots of tea!

For once, I didn't mind seeing a few bits of leaf in my teacup, as I knew it meant the good people of Fortnum and Mason had properly brewed the tea with some of their fine tea leaves!

When the tiered server came, I admired all the pretty offerings.

There was also a second tiered server for the preserves, lemon curd and clotted cream.

Oh, these sandwiches! Now first of all, isn't that a unique and tidy way to display the different flavors? From front to back are Cucumber with Cream Cheese, Rare Breed Hen Egg with  Mustard Cress, Rare Roast Beef with Gherkin & Caper Dressing, Smoked Salmon with Lemon Dill Butter, and Coronation Chicken. I enjoyed them all, but the Coronation Chicken was my favorite. Interestingly, the servers make a point of telling you that you may enjoy repeats of anything you like. Alex and I were quite full after eating all five of the tea sandwiches, but the young couple next to us ordered new plates of sandwiches two more times— that was 15 tea sandwiches each! (And no, they weren't obese. I can't imagine where they put them.)

We enjoyed both fruit and plain scones, and they were light and delicious, especially with that yummy clotted cream.

I should have written down what the sweets were, as now that I'm back home my memory is not the best! Clockwise from top right are a chocolate petit four with gold leaf, a rose-flavored eclair (we both liked it!), a cream cheese and chocolate tart (I believe), a mousse type dessert and a macaron. Oh, were they ever good!

And I am unbelievably sorry to have to report that despite the lovely looking delicacies we were encouraged to try from the cake carriage, both husband and I were so full we couldn't eat another bite. You cannot imagine how I mourned this fact, but I didn't want to make myself sick, after all. (Now, of course, I'm home where the most exotic sweet currently in the house is a Chips Ahoy cookie, and I'd kill for a piece of one of these cakes!) As we left to enjoy a bit of shopping in the store, we were presented with two small tins of Fortnum and Mason Afternoon Tea to take along. It was a lovely end to a particularly lovely birthday tea!

Tomorrow: Shopping at F&M — and a small giveaway!