Tea at the Unicorn Wine Guild

Well, the news is finally out. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and wife of Prince William is pregnant. Her stomach has been the most watched since William’s mother, Diana, married Prince Charles. Her pregnancy is not an easy one, however, with a hospital admission for dehydration from “morning, noon and night sickness”, as William said. And her pregnancy cravings have been revealed. English Breakfast Tea and Lavender Shortbread biscuits, also known as cookies in the States. She also craves scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream.
It has been claimed that the lavender has stress relief and sleep-aid properties. Others worry it will hurt the baby, the third in line to the throne of the British Empire. No studies have proved that it is but some worry it upsets the hormonal balance of a pregnant woman. Catherine has been quite ill so I would assume her nerves and hormones are already upset.
English Breakfast Tea is a combination of several black teas from Assam, Ceylon and Kenya. It is a full-bodies, robust tea that stands up well to milk and sugar. It, too, is supposed to aid in relaxation and reduces stress through the ingredient L-theanine which increases alpha waves in the brain. If I were being watched every minute of the day I think I might need the stress reduction.
As for the scones, pronounced “scon” as in “con” by 99% of the Scots or Scone, as in cone, but those of us in the States, no mention of a flavor was mentioned, so I will assume a traditional cream scone. Recipes abound. You may find a video from Joy of Baking to be most helpful. Clotted cream is difficult to find in the States due to the FDA restrictions on unpasteurized milk. Joy of Baking also has a recipe for a mock Devonshire cream, a type of clotted cream. However, a second source for making your own can be found at Cupcake Project.
Strawberry Jam is easy enough to find. There’s good ol’ Smuckers’ or, if you want to continue the homemade thing, Ina Garten will show you how.
Back to the tea. English Breakfast tea is best made with boiling water and brewed for five minutes (but you knew that, didn’t you?) It may be served with milk (Not cream. That’s too heavy for tea) and sugar. Or sugar and lemon. Remember, milk and lemon do not get along, so do not serve them together or you will have clotted tea instead of clotted cream.
As for the lavender shortbreads, apparently her father-in-law, Prince Charles, and stepmother-in-law, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, keeps her well stocked. In looking at the listed sources from the news, Charles’ own organic food company and a ritzy store, neither have the biscuits on their websites. They must be saving them all for Catherine. Camilla supposedly recommended the biscuits as she used them to help her through her pregnancies. So, here’s a video for you from WRAL. I do remind you to use culinary lavender. These cookies can also be decorated with a bit of the lavender on the top, perhaps with a bit of sugar.
It does sound like a lovely afternoon cream tea, doesn’t it? I may have to try it out.

Posted in Social Teas