I love the tradition of proper afternoon tea. Impeccable service, starched tablecloths, someone tinkling the ivories, fine china and silverware and an eye-watering bill to finish. But this has always involved a trip up to London where they have a wealth of options for the experience. Brighton just doesn't have the same attitude to luxury, I don't know why, we just don't seem to do it in the traditional sense - if we do it's always with a twist or quirk and that suits us just fine.

Which leads us onto the newly launched Afternoon Tea at The Salt Room, who are still flying high from that glowing review by Jay Rayner. The interior here is refined with a healthy dose of on-trend industrial aesthetic. Everything is well considered and the staff are stylish and professional in equal measure. Instead of a crisp white jacket and a plummy accent, our waitress had soft pink hair and a flower tucked behind her ear and had such a brilliant demeanour, both charming and fun, that she genuinely added to the experience.


Every head in the room turned as the stand was brought in topped with two candy floss (could it scream Brighton any louder??), the visual is certainly impressive and a nod to The Salt Room's now infamous Taste Of The Pier dessert plate. Noone could help being impressed with this, it was absolutely beautiful.


Starting with the fish-based savoury layer, the Crab Scotch Egg was fragrant with tarragon and a nip of chilli and worked perfectly with the sweetness of the crab meat. I think Truffled Grilled Cheese is quite possibly the nicest things you could put in your mouth. Anything truffle and I'm in - this was glorious and such a welcome break from the finger sandwiches you'd expect. The Salmon and Squid Ink Bun was striking but somehow needed something, more seasoning maybe or more of a hit of flavour in the bun as it diluted the salmon and horseradish filling. A pig to eat was the Aged Beef Tartare & Egg Yolk Jam Sandwich, served between two crisp pastry layers that shattered on bite impact, but utterly, utterly delicious. Egg yolk and raw beef is a classic pairing but reworked into this little gem was inspired.


The little scones, served with home-made clotted cream and strawberry elderflower jam were the perfect size, not too filling and the only real nod to tradition. Still, I was happy they were there.


The sweet layer is a picture right? The crowning glory of the event. Present were the Chocolate Pebbles everyone seems to go crazy for - sugar coated chocolate truffles that are too sweet for me but I'm not a huge fan of chocolates (give me another slice of that truffled grilled cheese any day). Sadly our Rhubarb and Custard Macaroon had disintegrated into the plate - maybe we had been talking too long. Shame as they were nicely flavoured and the dehydrated rhubarb shards that topped them deliciously tart in themselves. Disappointing was the slice of heavy and claggy Pistachio & Raspberry Battenberg, I'm not really sure what the issue was here but Paul Hollywood would have pulled one of his faces for sure. Whilst I think they probably need to bring the sweet elements to the same exceptional standard as the savoury, we ended on a high with the most beautiful Orange & Yuzu Posset, really refreshing and light, served in a delicate meringue case.


I have to say we didn't sample any of the tea - why would you when the bar here is one of the best in town and there's a Champagne option. Plus, I was with the effortlessly stylish Alexis from Style Memos - a dear friend and one serious social influencer, and meeting her always calls for a celebratory drink to supplement our hundred mile an hour chatter.

The teas are from JING and there is a reasonable selection or you can opt for a gin and tonic, Champagne or sweet wine (nice to see an ice wine on the list) or a tea-tail which is a cocktail with tea infused gin and vodka.

As the afternoon tea here is fish based I chose a Gin Mare which is becoming a bit of a favourite. It's slightly savoury with Mediterranean herbs and olive notes and served with samphire. Perfect choice for the savoury layer of food.

Price-wise it's a fraction of the cost of what you'd pay in the capital and excellent value for money too, starting at £24.95 with coffee or tea, £29.95 with gin and £34.95 with a glass of Taittinger Champagne.


I always get asked for afternoon tea recommendations in Brighton and historically struggled, but now there are a few decent options (none in the main hotels you would expect). This one here at The Salt Room would certainly be up there, particularly for its celebration of the city and position by the sea.

The Salt Room
106 King's Road

I don't have a great relationship with green tea or matcha. I knew it was good for me in some way (It's green, it must be right?) but goodness me, I just couldn't get down with the taste of it at all. Turns out that not all matcha is the same and I was just pouring boiling water on it like a good old cup of builders, scorching the stuff so it was bitter and chalky as I didn't realise how to prepare it properly.

Thankfully Brighton-based company, OMGtea (Organic Matcha Green Tea to you), have given me a bit of an education. What caught my interest was that the company comes from a really interesting background, it isn't just a tea company at all really. Founder Katherine Swift began research into green teas when her mother was diagnosed with cancer due to the beneficial health properties. As well as sourcing and selling premium, traceable matcha tea, OMGtea will also be supporting scientific and medical research into preventing degenerative disease and extending health and life span. They do this by donating a percentage of profits from sales to the Healthy Life Foundation.


Matcha being high in antioxidants, calming and detoxifying is resonably common knowledge but I had no idea it burns calories and is anti-ageing. And Lord knows I could do with better memory too. If the claims stack up, then I'm prescribing myself a cup of this daily, sod the face cream. I mean, matcha has 137 times more antioxidants and 10 times the nutritional benefit of regularly brewed green tea. If you are interested in the science then Google away my friend.

From the silky black packaging and intricate metallic detailing on the labels, The Tea Makers products exude quality and luxury. Although there is a time and a place for a good cup of PG, I have really been enjoying proper, loose leaf tea lately. With the sheer volume of choice, trying different blends is a really enjoyable sport too. TTM are a very good place for niche blend, be it flowering, rare, aged or monkey picked (yes).


I can't recall ever trying Oolong tea. The curled balls of leaves, dried in the sun then twisted and rolled, are very distinctive and oh, my...I'm hooked. The Taiwanese Jin Xuan (Milk) Oolong was so refreshing, yet delicate with a slight floral note of jasmine and apricot. Due to the production it is understandably pricey but worth it.

Even the English Breakfast tea was an enormous leap in flavour from supermarket brands.


Although the individual black tea caddies are attractive in themselves, a selection box makes for an impressive gift. Mine included Organic Chamomile Blossoms, Iranian Whole Rose Buds and Rare Ceylon Silver Tips. I always go for a silver tip if I'm having a decent afternoon tea and it's nice to enjoy it at home too. Pale and delicate, it is the most prized of all white China tea, picked from the first leaf buds of spring when still tightly furled, hence their silver colour.

Initially I wasn't sure about the "magic" Tea and Coffee Maker / Infuser they had included, thinking it to be a gimmick item but I've used it almost continuously since I unpacked it. Sure, the leaves look pretty in the transparent jug but I've been after something functional to infuse loose leaf tea for ages. A teapot and hand held strainer is a faff at your desk, the ball infusers always leak leaves. This brews the tea then automatically filters it directly into your cup when you place it over it. It's just a simple valve but by far the cleanest, easiest way I've tried so far. Love it!

I've really enjoyed trying these and instead of mindlessly glugging down a mug of tea, the quality of these blends have made me take a proper break in my typically frazzling days to carefully prepare and then savour them.

Pack up those Aperol Spritz drinks, the autumn is coming so get the kettle on. Bluebird Tea Co are a fantastic tea shop in Brighton that make drinking tea, well, bit more exciting.

They have just launched an Autumn collection and as I've come to expect from them, have added their own spin to some classic flavours. Their biggest USP is that their teas look amazing, full of ingredients you can actually see and taste. No dusty teabags here.

My favourite of the set was the Spiced Pumpkin Pie Chai. This had gorgeous notes of vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and clove and (my inner child squealed a little) Halloween sprinkles. I KNOW.


Pudina Chai on the other hand was very fresh with strong peppermint against cardamom, lemongrass and ginger. I think the chai range at Bluebird is particularly good, and I've loved working my way through them.

I wasn't nuts for the Nuts About You one.  The tea seemed to taste overwhelmingy of almond extract. Shame as the other ingredients (almond pieces, cinnamon, coconut flakes, mallow flowers) sounded like a beautiful combination.

The inevitable seasonal sniffle can be soothed with their Kung Flu Fighter! with eucalyptus leaves, aniseed, lemongrass, chilli, echinacea and peppermint. I thought this would be more medicinal than enjoyable, but actually was rather nice to curl up on the couch with.

It's a great idea that they keep things interesting with seasonal specials but their main range is worth a look too. They have experience packs which are a good place to start. Pop into the shop or order from http://bluebirdteaco.com. Bluebird Tea Co are a fabulous Brighton brand so support them!

Bluebird Tea Co. 
41 Gardner St, Brighton, BN1 1UN