Laura's Tea Room On A Day Out: Fortnum & Mason, London

(Fortnum & Mason, London. Photo sourced from Google).

On Saturday I had the most amazing day. I met up with a friend in London and we were fortunate to visit the wonderful store, Fortnum & Mason.

Kirsty, my friend, lives in Cheshire and this year we will have known each other for twenty years. But life, as it tends to do, takes you on different paths and it's been over 15 years since we saw each other. In the past year we had re-connected and have become very close so we decided to meet up in London.

Due to the fact that we had such a short time together we decided not to stray too far from Euston, and thanks to Kirsty's Dad, who told us about Fortnum & Mason we decided to pay it a visit!

After a extremely happy reunion at Euston we headed off on the tube to Green Park, the station closest to the shop.

Saturday was a wonderful day. It was warm, sunny and breezy, but not too hot. A stifling day in London can be extremely unpleasant. (I had encounted a really hot London day last Wednesday when I went to see The Woman In Black at the Fortune Theatre with my brother and nephew and it's REALLY tiring in that kind of heat).

Arm in arm we almost skipped along Piccadilly. We walked past the London Ritz and had a nose at the prices of their breakfast. Needless to say it was slightly out of our price range, but still, at the same time, it was great to see this really famous hotel. Even in the morning sunshine seeing The Ritz lit up was amazing.

Fortnum and Mason didn't open till 10am and we got there quite early so decided to head into their restaurant for a cup of tea. We were greeted by a really polite young woman who led us to a table  which was decorated with fresh flowers and wonderful cutlery. However, we opted only for tea.

The restaurant was already fairly busy with families, couples and lone people enjoying the breakfast on offer. I noticed that the jam, for instance, was brought out in mini hampers, it was incredibly stylish. Looking around the dining room I noticed how elegant and simply it was decorated. Being a tea lover, of course, I spotted the wonderful display of tea sets and tea caddies they had. This was going to be a really fun shopping trip.

Kirsty and I opted for a pot of tea for two and we chose a English Breakfast blend. The waiter brought the tea in a wonderful silver teapot which he poured for us into the cutest cup and saucer which bared the Fortnum and Mason colour scheme.

The tea was absolutely gorgeous. As readers know I'm not overly keen on English Breakfast but can drink it with milk. However, sipping on the blend without milk I really enjoyed it!

Of course Kirsty and I had a lot of catching up to do, but the experience of drinking tea in the wonderful environment was something really special and I think that both Kirsty and I were slightly overcome with it all.

And most of all we were surprised by the price. A pot of tea for two, with each of us getting roughly two and a half cups each from the pot cost just under £6.00. I know that does appear expensive, but, actually it was not much dearer then two drinks in Marks and Spencers cafe, for instance. And recently I found myself at St Pancras station in London and paid £3.00 for a Jasmine Green Tea so in my opinion it was by no means overly expensive.

By the time we had finished up our tea the store was fully open and Kirsty and I were off in full on shopping mode. Kirstly looking for gifts for her family, me, looking, quite naturally, for tea!

But, like most ladies, the first place we needed to visit was the toilet, which, was called, rather cutely, the powder room! On the same floor as the powder room was where Fortnum and Mason kept their tea sets. I saw the cutest selection of mugs, teapots, plates, silver ware, tea strainers, tea spoons, cup's and saucers and milk jugs I've ever seen in one place.

The range varied from modern plain white mugs with Fortnum and Mason printed on to elaborate tea sets and silver tea pots. It was like a wonderland for tea lovers and I was beyond excited.

There was one item that totally caught my eye, and then my heart. It was a 1930's vintage cup and saucer in a buttercup colour. It was just beyond pretty. It was stunning and if I were rich I would of brought it. I kept going back to have a sneak of it. Something about the dainty cup and saucer just caught my eye and I loved it.

I have to admit we spent ages just looking around and seeing what tea sets we could buy, and there were probably about six sets I could of purchased. It was just stunning.

We decided to walk down the sweeping staircase that has wooden handrails and luxuriously thick carpeting. That alone was something lovely! We were back on the tea floor!

The tea floor was divided up into sections. The tea section was large. It comprised of tea in boxes, caddies, gift boxes and in addition there was tea on sale that was loose. Huge jars of tea lined the shelves on the back wall that was filled with every tea possible. White, black, green and probably red! And on the wonderful counter stood several sets of weighing scales.

Another clever addition were glass teapots that held small amounts of tea. You could pick the pot up, take off the lid and have a good sniff of the tea inside. A quirky but really practical addition.

Also on sale on the tea floor was coffee, but in tins and boxes and loose, biscuits, ranging from wafers to shortbread, and chocolate. There was also a large selection of sweets and jams, preserves, cheeses and biscuits for cheese. I was honestly just staggered at how lovely the shop was, how varied the selection of items available to buy was and how friendly and helpful the staff were.

The tea selection is huge and I mean huge. The choice varies from black tea's through to green and white. They of course have the traditional tea's such as Earl Grey and English Breakfast through to Jasmine tea and even blends from Prince Charles's Highgrove Estate.

I had already browsed their online shop and had narrowed down to three tea's I wanted to buy and they were all tea's related to my other hobby - royalty. There was Wedding Breakfast, which was created for the 2011 Royal Wedding, Christening Blend, blended to commemorate Prince George's Christening in 2013 and Jubilee Blend, for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.

Naturally I browsed all the tea but I wanted something that extra bit special. The Wedding Breakfast tea was a blend of strong Kenyan tea's, the Christening Blend was a twist on Earl Grey and the Jubilee a mixture of tea's from China and India.

What did I opt for? Well, you probably have guessed - The Christening Blend. I will be reviewing this tea later on in the week but I did go all out and purchased the lose blend in a caddy. 250g's cost £9.95. Nice and affordable.

Kirsty brought some wonderful gifts for her family and we enjoyed browsing the sweets and biscuits but thankfully we resisted temptation. We must of spent hours in this shop, but, for me anyway, it was a little bit like stepping back in time.

Fortnum and Mason is effortlessly chic, stylish and traditional. The decor is tasteful, not glitzy and tacky. The staff are warm and welcoming, and look so elegant in their uniforms. Shopping in Fortnum and Mason is a experience in itself. And one I will never forget.

Our day went by too quickly and before we knew it there was tearful goodbyes at Euston. This was a day that we had waited for for months and it flew by in seconds.

Just before Kirsty headed back up North, she handed me a present. A box of Fortnum and Mason's Countess Grey - a feminine twist on Earl Grey. Such a lovely thought from a wonderful woman.

So, that was my day out. It was a joyful day out filled with happiness and much laughter and it is one that I will never ever forget.

If you ever find yourself in London, don't just head to Harrods - the store everyone knows. Head to Fortnum and Mason, too. It's a magical land full of lovely goods with traditional British values flowing through it's every being.

You will be left astounded. I was. And it takes a lot to make me feel like that, that's for sure.