Tales in a Tea Cup
It is a rule in life that the best things come in the most extravagant boxes. Take Tiffany. It wouldn’t be the same without the mint green boxes and the pearl-white ribbons laced around the outside.
The same goes for cocktails. A martini glass is nice, a champagne flute is charming, but the best box for a cocktail is without doubt, a tea pot.
I’ve been meaning to blog about cocktails and tea cups since New Year’s – an Alice in Wonderland themed extravaganza at Sakura in Reading – when they were serving tea pot cocktails with these tied around the handle:
"This time she found a little bottle on it, ('which certainly was not here before,' said Alice,) and round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words 'DRINK ME' beautifully printed on it in large letters."
There is something just delightful about cocktails in tea pots - Alice in Wonderland meets Breakfast at Tiffanys meets Sex and the City – and nowhere does it better than Foundation Bar in Covent Garden.
It was a balmy July night last summer when we visited Foundation for @CallMeJosephine ‘s birthday and it was the perfect birthday treat. Their cocktails come on tea trays, in tea pots, with jam jar glasses and – the chic little touch – tea biscuits.
"Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off. "
The High Tea is £16.50 for two people sharing, £24 for three and £31.50 for four, which considering its London prices isn’t a bad deal for such beautiful drinks.
The mix of Bombay Saffire Gin, peach, lemon and Earl Grey tea is as tasty as Alice’s shrinking potion, but really it’s all about the novelty. As it was a birthday we also paid £5 each for a table and got cupcakes with glitter and sweets on the table – so cute!
The bar itself is full of little nooks and bare brick walls with a dance floor and a good mix of music as well. I’d definitely recommend falling down the rabbit hole and going for a gorgeous cocktail filled cup of tea.
