Tea and Crumpets

"Tea & Crumpets: Recipes & Rituals from European Tearooms & Cafes" is an elegantly beautiful, bound tea cookbook that contains tasteful reductions of the history of tea in addition to a selection of classic tea recipes and suggestions for savories, scones, and sweets, plus a sampling of various Western European tea customs as well as a traveler's guide to European tearooms. All of this is studded with beautiful photographs of delectable tea treats, tea serving accessories and china, and famous teashops throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. It is accessible to American readers particularly because the recipes are adapted to standard American measuring utensils. There is also a handy list of resources at the end that lists sources for many of the teatime special ingredients as well as descriptions of the treats and ingredients. Finally, a Table of Equivalents lists easy conversion amounts for readers who want to convert other tea recipes from one system to another. "Tea & Crumpets" will appeal not just to Anglophiles and Francophiles, but to anyone who has ever learned to appreciate a wonderful cup of tea.

"Tea and Crumpets" is a delightful review of tea shops, tea history, and recipies for all manor of items to be served at High Tea. I purchased four copies - one for me, one for my sister, one for my daughter, and one for my BFF. Brew a cup of tea and sit down and read "Tea and Crumpets" all the way through.

My mouth was watering just flipping through these recipes. They brought back wonderful memories of having high tea in London. Can't wait to try a few of these recipes and then plan a tea party with friends.

I have several other books on tea and many, many more on desserts, quick breads and muffins but Tea & Crumpets is an excellent addition to my bookcase. The book starts with an introduction to tea including a brief history. It was interesting enough to keep my attention and although I consider myself knowledgeable about tea, I learned a lot. The chapters of recipes include Sandwiches and Savories; Crumpets, Scones and Fruit Breads; Teatime Sweets; and the French Art of Tea. These cover standard teatime fare such as cucumber sandwiches, scones and clotted cream as well as more inventive recipes such as spicy marmalade loaf, chocolate scones, earl grey imperial madeleines, and lemon cream tartlets with wild forest berries. I like that a handful of the dishes, including truffled wild mushroom tartlets and poached lobster with mini molten cheese souffle, are fancy but none of the recipes are inaccessibly gourmet (no caviar or liver pate). Only a few of the recipes in the Sandwiches and Savories chapter call for meat so as a vegetarian, I can enjoy the vast majority of recipes in the book. Almost all of the recipes call for eggs, milk and/or other dairy products so this would not be a good book for a vegan, however. The recipes range in difficulty. Only a few require special equipment (such as madeleine pans or 3" ring molds) and/or special ingredients (such as white truffle oil or rose water). 25 of the recipes include a full page color photo. I counted 58 recipes, not counting suggested variations on several recipes. There were additional color photos of tea services, tea, and tea rooms. The final chapter, a Traveler's Guide to European Tearooms, is what further sets this book apart from other books on tea. It includes phone numbers, websites, and whether reservations are required for 48 tearooms in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Switzerland and Paris. Many of these tearooms have been serving tea for decades, if not longer, so I am not worried about the information becoming out of date. I enjoyed the profiles of tea houses, tea brands and iconic tea treats (such as shortbread) throughout the book. There is a resource guide in the back for the few ingredients which may not be in your local grocery store. This would be a wonderful gift (along with a fresh baked treat and/or a favorite tea) for a hostess or any friend who loves tea.

I have probably over one hundred books on tea, taking tea and food for tea. Tea and Crumpets is probably the one I would save of all of them. It is fun to read,has great recipes and could provide ideas for tea for quite some time. A wonderful resource for the beginner or aging tea lover.