Time for tea? London’s afternoon tea trail

Chocolate afternoon tea at Brown's Hotel
Chocolate afternoon tea at Brown's Hotel. Credit: Brown's Hotel

Tempt your taste buds on a tea trail around London with the help of a new website launched by Horniman Museum and Gardens.

Chocolate afternoon tea at Brown's Hotel. Credit: Brown's Hotel
Chocolate afternoon tea at Brown’s Hotel Credit: Brown’s Hotel

A new web app celebrates the most British of beverages by taking visitors on a trip through time, offering the choice of three unique trails through London.

Tea Trail London, launched by the Horniman Museum and Gardens, explores the heritage of tea in the capital, sharing the historic stories of tea in a variety of fascinating London venues, including museums, shops and tea houses.

Each trail has a different focus, allowing users to explore sites and objects ­– from ‘meeting’ Earl Grey and seeing the home of the Duchess who ‘invented’ afternoon tea, to sampling tea flavours from around the world.

A Horniman tea ad, courtesy of Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. Credit: Robert Opie
A Horniman tea ad, courtesy of Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. Credit: Robert Opie

The three trails are: Tea Through Time, which follows tea’s journey to Britain, introduces the people who first imported it and looks at how tea was received in London society nearly 500 years ago; World Tea Tastes, which explores some of the different ways and styles that tea is drunk around the world; and Taking Afternoon Tea, which looks at this famous institution enjoyed for hundreds of years by everyone from monarchy to working families. This trail includes some iconic London landmarks, including The Ritz, Fortnum & Mason and the Museum of London.

Adrian Murphy, digital manager at the Horniman Museum and Gardens, says: “Our founder Frederick Horniman was a Victorian tea trader so the topic of tea was a natural choice when we became involved in this project. Tea Trail London has given us a great opportunity to explore our own collections for tea-related objects and to work with some of the establishments connected to tea that our capital has to offer.”

Tea Trail London is the Horniman’s contribution to Europeana Food and Drink, an initiative that has brought together partners from across Europe to develop inspiring projects focused around food and drink.

Tea Trail London can be found here. Access to the web app is free.

 

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