I found numerous references to Postcard Teas when I was writing my article on Where to Buy Tea in London but I couldn’t get my head round it…what has a postcard got to do with tea?
I had also never heard of Dering Street where Postcard Teas is located.
So this establishment went ignored until I started researching luxury within a block of Oxford Street and stumbled on it.
The Postcard Teas Shop
While the exterior has an almost Dickensian London feel with its double fronted small paned windows, there is definitely a minimalist Japanese aesthetic going on inside. One wall is lined with tea, not as you would expect in caddies but in oblong boxes resembling post cards.
The postcard drawings are a delight. They look as if they come straight out of a children’s book from the last century. There are ladies in fancy, feathered hats sitting on wicker chairs enjoying tea in fine porcelain cups, Monet style water lilies in a lake and children drinking tea poured by mum from a large tea pot.
On the reverse of these manila cardboard boxes is a detailed explanation of the tea that they contain.
I purchased the London Roast at £7.95 for a 50g postcard box.
These teas make unusual, postable presents or the perfect hostess gift for a breakfast or afternoon tea invitation.
Postcard Teas’ Description of the London Roast
Description of London Roast on rear of box
A robust blend of fine black teas that have been roasted in the UK using our unique London Roast process to create a new kind of black tea. The base material comes from a mixture of our Hijiri Black and Family Tea, as well a strong black tea from the Cubbagudta Plantation in Australia.
The result of the roasting is a rich, aromatic tea with a full body, addictive roasted taste and dark caramel sweetness that works equally well with and without milk. Out of all the blends we have made in the past eleven years, this may be the one we are the most proud of creating.
Are you also a coffee and cake eater? If so you may enjoy this post on where to buy coffee and cake in London. Of course you can have tea with your cake if you prefer.
My Postcard Teas London Roast Brew
When I was ready to brew I took out my sturdy stainless steel tea pot for one, warmed it with boiling water and put in two scant teaspoons of tea…and poured on the slightly off-the-boil water.
However, subsequently I have discovered that this tea tastes best with less tea and a shorter brewing time… 2-3 minutes is all that is needed.
The London Roast has an unmistakable almost savoury smell. It reminds me a bit of hot oxo (a stock cube) which we drank as kids. The taste is richer than standard black tea. It has a smokey, caramel aftertaste which is very pleasant.
My Postcard Teas London Roast Brew
Post Card Teas London Blends
Postcard Teas has a special selection of other London Blends
These include:
English Breakfast
English Afternoon
London Lapsangang
London Rose
My Verdict on Postcard Teas London Roast
Postcard Teas London Roast is almost addictive. I will definitely be buying more. I guess it is better to be addicted to upmarket tea than gin.
Marylebone on a budget? It can be done! Explore this little known area sandwiched between Marble Arch and Baker’s Street with a unique village atmosphere, many independent shops, a church that rivals some cathedrals and a sumptuously ornate, free museum. Here is a nuts and bolts guide on how you can have a fabulous day in Marylebone on the cheap.
Each month I show you how to plan a budget day out in an interesting part of London, I throw in some cheap eats, shopping and culture and help you do it for less than £15. If you are travelling on a shoestring budget read on…
Rules for the Marylebone on a Budget, London for £15 challenge
I don’t include tube travel …the over 60s with a London address have a Oyster 60+ card which gives them free travel on the London Underground and buses. Many working Londoners are using Oyster cards with capped daily spends and and most tourists have a prepaid Oyster card.
And I don’t include memberships. If you are a Londoner on a low budget, I advise you to stock up on every subscription and membership that you can lay your hands on…just make sure that they are for venues that you will actually go to several times in the course of the year.
Why Marylebone High Street?
Marylebone is probably the only place that I can think of in the centre of London that has a village feel with markets, charity shops, churches and museums. It has a great foodie vibe with a handful of artisan food shops with authentic produce…no E numbers or factory produce here. What appeals to me is the sheer variety of sights and activities all with the feel of London a hundred years ago.
Moxton Street – a Foodie Heaven off Marylebone High Street
Moxton Street is the epicentre of foodie heaven with some surprising budget finds. At the weekends there is a food market at the end of the road where locals buy their produce and they then stop off at La Fromagerie to recover from their exertions and catch up with friends. Bill Nighy is often spotted in the restaurant Aubaine opposite.
Ginger Pig
The Ginger Pig is renowned for offering a roast lunch which is costed by weight…pork, stuffing, gravy…roasted vegetables with minty, lemony seasonings and gravy. There are also pies worthy of any Charles Dickens novel…hot sausage rolls, Cornish pasties etc. You can easily pick up allow cost takeaway lunch here for £5-£8.
The Butchery section of Marylebone’s famous Ginger Pig.
A good selection of high quality low priced cold meat pies
Great value sausage rolls. Choose the hot ones.
Roast pork with vegetables and salad priced by weight. Infinitely more delicious than the photograph.
La Fromagerie
And then head next door to La Fromagerie which prides itself on sourcing its ingredients directly from top artisanal producers in the UK and Europe.Their food is fresh and beautifully presented. At the rear of the shop are tables dedicated to people sampling cheese boards and wine and there is a cafe with a small kitchen menu that includes the very popular Portuguese Sardines on toasted sough dough with caper berries and Amalfi lemon at £11.50…but as we are on a shoestring budget, I recommend sticking with the picnic idea from the Ginger Pig. Or to hell with it…blow your budget on a Yorkshire Salt Beef Sandwich with homemade slaw at £12 and focus on free activities for the rest of the day!
Whole Cheeses in the Window of La Fromagerie in Marylebone.
Beautiful Food Displays at La Fromagerie.
Go for the Carrot Cake a bargain at £3.20
You can return to La Fromagerie for afternoon tea. They have home made cakes with deep buttery icing that they serve in gargantuan slices…enough for two people. Their cakes are are really good value at £3-£4 a slice, approximately.
After that culinary overload you need to rest, so off to Pret. For frequent low budget adventurers I recommend the Pret Subscription as it allows you to have a free drink every 30 minutes, up to 5 times a day, for £30 a month and 10% off the food menu. Get a free barista coffee, or a cup of British Breakfast tea and leave the tea bag in to steep to get the full malty caffeine hit. I usually park myself on one of their outside tables and eat my picnic there. I know that this is frowned on but no one has said anything yet!
Charity Shops
The adjacent residential houses in Marylebone are all worth millions. They are where the super rich live. So it should come as no surprise that the charity shops on Marylebone High Street are choc full of discarded designer clothes, many unworn and still tagged from Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
Unlike the London suburbs. where you can pick up a piece of bargain second hand clothing for a couple of quid, these charity shop managers know how to price but you’d still be paying a fraction of the cost new.
Even if you don’t buy anything in the charity shops it is fun to look.
Found in a Marylebone charity shop. Is this a bargain? A £150 Pucci silk scarf.
Daunt Books
Welcome to Daunt Books which is probably the most photographed book store in London – an independent bookseller with an original Edwardian interior featuring a two storey gallery which contributes to its olde world charms.
This is the place where celebrities come to do their book signings, so be sure to check out their Events page. Boris Johnson was photographed here recently.
Daunt Books exterior on Marylebone High Street.
Gallery at Daunt BooksThere is a huge selection of London books including this one on London for free.
St James’s Church a Marylebone Church with a Beautiful Gothic Interior
St James’s Church in Spanish Place is not on the tourist circuit but it has an interior that would rival that of many a famous European cathedral. It’s in an early Gothic style. There has been a church in this site for centuries and the current church opened in 1890. There are beautiful paintings, statues and brasses. The church does a lot of work for the homeless. There is a daily mass. The church is free to visit and is a must for your Marylebone on a budget day out – you can make a small donation in the boxes provided.
St James’s church exterior in Marylebone with its flying buttress
Gothic revival interior.
Polished brass tomb covering.
Altar frieze.
Wallace Collection is Marylebone’s Glitzy Glamorous Free Museum
TheWallace Collection is the jewel of Marylebone – a gilded, glitzy, glamorous museum in Manchester Square. It is stuffed with objet d’art, hand carved furniture, armoury and marble statues. And best of all it is free to visit but a small donation is encouraged.
Visit Marylebone’s free museum and see this amazing ornate fireplace offset by red flock wallpaper.
Frans Hals The Laughing Cavalier
The grand marble staircase with gilded balustrade and burgundy carpet.
The Wallace Collection museum shop has things that you might actually want in your home which makes it a rare find in the world of souvenir type shops and it is not too pricy.
Stylish dressing gowns many with London maps or typography.
For those looking for a tasteful apron depicting a naked man.
Entry to exhibitions is currently £14 but you can buy annual membership for the Wallace Collection that would give you free entry to exhibitions for a year for £45 (single adult membership 2023). If you have a National Arts Club Fund membership you can gain admission at a 50% discount for £7. And of course, if you are on a tight budget and without the necessary memberships, there’s plenty to see in the free permanent galleries.
Harley Street and Selfridges
I ended my day with a walk down Harley Street gazing at the practitioners’ plaques and window boxes and did a bit of browsing in Selfridges.
Instead of heading south towards Oxford Street you could extend your day by going north towards Baker’s Street and visiting the free Queen Mary’s Rose Garden in Regents Park. We have a blog post entitled Queen Mary’s Rose Garden – A Sublime Floral Display.
Total Spend for my Marylebone on a Budget Day Out
My low cost day in Marylebone was only £3.20! I only spent money on the cake in La Fromagerie. I was gifted a few food samples as part of my blog research which kept me going.
If you had a picnic lunch from the Ginger Pig or one of the many cafes in Marylebone High Street, used your Pret subscription and focussed on free entry to the church and the Wallace Collection you could have a fab day out for well under £15.
There’s far more to see in Marylebone on a budget, so please subscribe so you don’t miss another London for £15 blog post in the area.
In my wildest fantasies, I imagine being gifted a hamper…not just any old hamper but a wicker Fortnum and Mason hamper bearing the chic black monogram and brim filled with exquisite treats – each one in beautiful packaging A hamper fit for a Londoner of refined taste (me). And it would be the sort of hamper that would thrill all Londoners from monarchs to the locked-down and quarantined in the London suburbs.
Fortnum and Mason Hampers are a Right Royal Treat
Today I had an email from the Queen’s grocer, Fortnum and Mason informing me of their Locked Down Lovers Hamper…a worthy alternative, in these times of virus, to a Valentine’s dinner
An opportunity for lovers everywhere to change into seductive jimjams and snuggle on the sofa with the delights of a bottle of Cote du Rhone, chocolate covered raspberries, stilton, butter biscuits, rose petal and prosecco jelly and dark chocolate macadamia nut biscuits amongst other delectables.
But in my small household of me and my cat, we have a more savoury meaty, fishy tooth, we like sharper, bitter umami tasting things, London things. A pork pie or scotch egg anyone?
My Fortnum and Mason hamper needs a good selection of savoury items like this delicious pork pie.
As a double royal warrant holder, Fortnum and Mason supplies both the Queen and the Prince of Wales. And naturally, I want whatever she is having!
I can’t quite picture Her Majesty, on the sofa, snuggled up to the Duke of Edinburgh with a bag of chocolate covered raspberries.
Anything that I choose for my perfect Fortnum and Mason hamper has to shout from the rooftops “supplied by the Queen’s grocer and fit for the Queen”.
So I have trawled through the Fortnum and Mason’s omnibus of fine delicacies, condiments and preserves to see if I could create the perfect selection, the most scrumptious of scrumptious, the most Toad of Toad Hall and the most Rupert Bear of all offerings.
Fortnum and Mason est. 1707, is a jewel box of a shop with liveried staff. Decked in an iconic turquoise blue, it screams luxury and refinement. Stopping off point for stage coaches, sender of sustenance to wars and boarding schools. Purveyor of goods to royals. A lifeline in the heart of Piccadilly.
What is the Winning Fortnum and Mason’s Hamper formula?
I analysed all Superior and Show Stopper Fortnum and Mason hampers priced £200-£2,500 and concluded that a magic and majestic hamper needs to contain items in these categories:
Tea and coffee
Preserves and honey
Savoury crackers
Pates and spreads
Ham and cheese
Chutney and mustard
Sweet Biscuits
Chocolates
Wine and spirits
A gift item eg. a cook book or a tea pot
A top of the range Fortnum and Mason hamper.
My Winning Criteria
All delicious consumables would need to pass the following test:
Something I couldn’t, or wouldn’t, make from a recipe
Delectable to the extent that I would be salivating as I tear open the packaging
Uniquely English and preferably with a London twist
True to its royal heritage and fitting for Queen Elizabeth II
Something clearly superior to a supermarket product
Here’s a Fortnum and Mason Hamper Fit for a Londoner – This Londoner! Me!
In blue, black and white – here is my gift list for birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s, Pancake Day, My Cat’s Name Day or any other special occasion. The work has been done for you!
Traditional Potted Stilton
This cheese is the celebrity of Stiltons, it is made from the last family-owned Stilton producer in the UK, and only with milk from the three ‘Stilton counties’ – Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. And the jar has cachet.
Welsh Rarebit Cheese Straws
My mother used to make cheese straws with pastry, cheddar and mustard powder.
But the best cheese straws are the ones wheeled out at the Goring Hotel. It is well worth going there for a few drinks just for the complimentary bar snacks.
Can Fortnum and Mason win a cheese straw competition? Theirs is made with cheddar cheese and hints of mustard and is perfect to enjoy alongside a tipple or two.
Piccadilly Piccalilli Pantry Jar
I like English mustard, I like cauliflower, onions, and gherkins, carrots and green beans and I like piccalilli. It’s like an adult version of Heinz Sandwich Spread. And I think it pairs very nicely with ham so this is going in.
Walnut & Seed Crackers
Traditionally, British crackers have been a bit bland. I have a loathing for cream crackers. They always seem to emerge slightly stale from the tin. I would be excited to have these bold nutty, savoury biscuits.
Pork pie, cheese, piccalilli and crackers are the perfect park picnic – just add grapes.
Jubilee Blend Tea
A special blend of tea brought out to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee.
In 2012, Queen Elizabeth had her Diamond Jubilee and we were invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace.
On arrival, we received a wicker hamper containing chilled country garden soup, jubilee chicken, smoked salmon, cheese and chutney, bread and cakes with lavish servings of champagne.
It was a dreary and rainy afternoon but we feasted on blankets in the grounds, serenaded by a string quartet.
Fortnum and Mason marked the occasion by producing a special tea blend of Indian, Ceylon and China teas, creating a slightly smoky tea. Perfect for a Queen’s garden party.
Rose & Violet English Creams
Rose and Violet Creams are a London thing.Gifts inside the Fortnum and Mason hamper have their pretty signature turquoise packaging.
Growing up, I liked parma violet sweets which came in a thin tube and tasted artificial and violetty. But how much better it would be to have chocolates made with real flower essences suspended in fondant cream and enrobed in dark chocolate with their pretty crystallised flower decorations.
Floral creams are beloved by royalty. Fortnum and Mason Rose & Violet English Creams are proclaimed to be their signature chocolates.
Very English. Very Royal. Very London.
Burlington Breakfast Marmalade
No food hamper would be complete without a marmalade.
Many years ago, I was stumbling about exploring a local park in Chiswick and came across a tiny neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by sphinx statues and filled with priceless antiquities.
Chiswick House
It was Chiswick House, Lord Burlington’s summer house and here I was on a glorious Summer day overcome by the urge, not just to visit, but to work there, surrounded by the beautiful treasures that he acquired on his Grand Tour.
And each day for that summer, I sat on a carved, mahogany chair in one of the upstairs interconnecting rooms reading books about Lord Burlington.
Lord Burlington’s London residence, Burlington House (the Royal Academy) is opposite Fortnum’s which is why they decided to name a marmalade in his honour. They believe that there is a parallel between his love of 16th century architecture and the fine construction of this marmalade of pale golden jelly mixed with fine cut peel.
Who knows? But I think I would be every happy with a jar of anything with his name on it.
Blackberry Preserve
Make sure that your Fortnum and Mason hamper has Blackberry Preserve. It would be nice on fresh hot scones.
Jam used to be something that was made in every kitchen. As kids, we used to go foraging in late August for blackberries in the local fields. Then my mother would mix them with apples to make a dense, treacly jam with cellophane paper lids held firm with a rubber band. It was like a blue-blooded murder in the kitchen, all of us stained with blackberry juice.
Stirring the berries with the sugar for jam making.Jars of home made blackberry jam.Fresh scones with blackberry jam and clotted cream.Blackberry jam making
Fortunately, in the 2020s we don’t need to go to all that trouble. Fortnum and Mason Blackberry Preserve is described as “juicy and fragrant without being too sweet”. This would be amazing on warm, home-made fruit scones with a thick layer of clotted cream.
Rose Petal & English Honey Jelly
Rose petal jelly for those who like the finer things in life.
My father used to have an Egyptian friend who was addicted to the finer things in life and one of his peculiar penchants was for the Fortnum and Mason’s Rose Petal Jam. I’m still trying to get my head round this! Being curious, I ventured into a local Asian area and bought some rose jam which has been languishing in my cupboard untried for a year or so.
But I’d be keen to try this honey jelly with a fragrant rose scent. It would be memorable. Really, how many people have tasted a rose petal honey jelly? A dinner table talking point.
Lemon Curd Biscuits
Lemon Curd biscuits a Fortnum and Mason hamper staple.
This is a classic lemon curd buttery biscuit and would be moreishly delicious with a zesty flavour created from real lemon-curd. This is going in!
London gin perfect for difficult days. It’s everyone’s favourite tipple.
As I learned at a pre-lockdown gin tasting at Ronnie Scott’s, gin doesn’t have much flavour until botanicals are added. This information was gleaned before I over-tasted and things became a blur. The botanicals for this gin include bergamot, nutmeg and juniper…and it tastes citrussy and spicy. Nothing quite hits the spot after a difficult locked down day than a gin and tonic with a few nibbles.
Blanc de Blanc
A bottle of Blanc de Blanc premium champagne.
A few years ago, I went to a show at the Hippodrome Casino, an adult themed musical, hilarious in its vulgarity, called Blanc de Blanc. It ended with a semi-naked man (with very tight speedos) cavorting in a glass of champagne. It was at that precise moment that I realised that there was champagne and champagne, and that the Rolls Royce of champagnes was Blanc de Blanc.
The Fortnum and Mason Cook Book
A Fortnum and Mason Hamper must have a Cookbook.
I have been the privileged attendee at many of the events in the Fortnum and Mason kitchen shop on the first floor. Dishes are frequently demonstrated from the Fortnum and Mason Cook Book. Everything (and I mean everything) that comes out of the oven is mouth-wateringly divine and served by uniformed staff on silver platters.
This book is written by Tom Parker Bowles, a London based food writer broadcaster and restaurant critic for The Mail on Sunday and Food Editor of Esquire magazine. I like its old fashioned logic (Breakfast, Morning Tea, Lunch etc.) and simple quintessentially British recipes covering all the important things in life like how to cook kippers, boil eggs, and pair blueberry scones with stilton…old fashioned food at its best.
Pickled Brussel Sprouts
Pickled Brussels sprouts are clearly a Fortnum and Mason Hamper essential
I’ve got to be honest this statement by Fortnum and Mason is something I somewhat doubt,
“Deliciously crunchy and oh-so-British, we’re sure these glorious Pickled Brussels Sprouts will win over even the most ardent of sprout naysayers.”
but I’d be prising the lid off with alacrity to try them.
I could be one of the handful of people in London who has eaten a pickled Brussel sprout. Surely, it’s worth a shot?
You may also be interested in our blog post on less upmarket popular London snacks.
Where to buy a Fortnum and Mason Hamper
A Fortnum and Mason hamper and other delectables can be purchased online from www.fortnumandmason.com
As soon as I set eyes on the ENO’s Gilbert and Sullivan walking tour I pounced. There was everything to like about it…free tickets, curated by my favourite bass baritone John Savournin and an opportunity to hear great opera sung outside of a traditional auditorium.
ENO’s Gilbert and Sullivan Walking Tour
The ENO’s Gilbert and Sullivan walking tour started at the entrance to the Savoy Hotel. This was my very first surprise. I have been basking in the misapprehension that the Savoy entrance was on the Strand next to the Savoy Theatre. Who would have thought that an even grander hotel entrance with floral gardens existed behind the other grand hotel entrance?
In the midst of the flora and foliage are monuments paying homage to the combined talents of Gilbert and Sullivan.
Monuments and statues to Gilbert and Sullivan grace Victoria Embankment.
John Savournin kicked things off wearing a black topper and giving an equally stylish rendition.
John Savournin kicked the opera tour off in style.
We were then whisked away to meet a handcuffed Ruairi Bowen singing a sad lament while dolefully awaiting his execution.
A doleful performance from a singer about to be executed.
Zoe Drummond convinced us of her prim and ladylike virtues with melodic voice, all the while dancing demurely with a parasol. She wasn’t even fazed when an elderly old crock like myself tripped on the grass in front of her. Next time I hope she chooses a younger and more agile audience participant.
Prim ladylike and ultimately unfazed vocal performance.
Trevor Eliot Bowes made a fine copper with his menacing Victorian gestures and his cartoonish antics. His truncheon holding and silly walk was straight out of a silent movie accompanied by a lively yet stern vocal performance. He was a proper “job’s worth”.
A comically stern vocal performance from a Victorian policeman.
On our travels down Whitehall we came across an overheating Ossian Huskian in full bear skinned hat regalia who entertained us royally. He caused much consternation to bemused strolling tourists.
A Royal opera treat from a singing soldier.
We met Sir Joseph (Richard Suart), “The Ruler of the Queen’s Navee” outside Admiralty Arch. It was a perfect moment, the magnificence of Trafalgar Square and the Admiralty buildings, an eccentric and exquisitely attired admiral in his embroidery and feathers singing the most famous of Gilbert and Sullivan Songs “When I was a Lad”.
The spendors of Admiralty Arch and Trafalgar Square contributed to the tour.Meeting the Ruler of the Queen’s Navee was the highlight of ENO’s Gilbert & Sullivan Walking Tour
We ended the tour back at the London Coliseum where we were met by two dancing and singing faeries, so sweet they looked as if they had been plucked from the pages of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales.
The creative and office team who had masterminded this wonderful tour were there to wave us off and we were each presented with a beautifully illustrated book of Jonathan Miller’s production of The Mikado.
It was a perfect day…perfect opera, perfect weather and perfect logistics. It is productions like this that make the ENO such an important cultural asset to London.
If you are a fan of Gilbert and Sullivan you may enjoy our review of the ENO’s HMS Pinafore.
