Afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason & creating my own tea | Best Christmas afternoon tea in London

It all began when William Fortnum convinced his landlord, Hugh Mason, to start a business with him. Together, they founded the first Fortnum & Mason store in St James Market in 1707, one of London's oldest department stores and an iconic destination for afternoon tea. As suppliers of tea for over 300 years to many of England's royal households, the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, who formally opened the room in 2012, where afternoon tea is hosted. In 1902, King Edward VII requested for the finest tea in all the land, to where Fortnum's travelled around the world and gifted him the Royal Blend, a recipe that remains unchanged and is the most famous blend. So I'm getting the Royal Blend. And Raymard's getting the black tea with strawberry. Hello. Thank you. Thank you very much. Yes, please. Perfect. Thank you very much. Thank you. Do you like it? Since 2008, on top of their Piccadilly rooftop, their bees have been producing their own honey, so delicious that there's a waiting list for their produce, harvested once a year in September. There's nothing like tea at Fortnum's, but if it inspired you to recreate your own version at home, you can head downstairs to buy the teas, treats and teaware straight after. So the sugar pot was £60. This tea set that we used upstairs is £3.95. I would have loved the gold one. So here's the Royal Blend that we had upstairs. £4.95. Raymard's getting the decorative one for £10.95. And Raymard's going to get his black tea. So this is me, guys. Yay, he's getting both of them. Fortnum's also have a bespoke blending service where their tea roosters help you create your own unique blend with five different steps. First, you choose your tea type, then your flavour note, the flavour strength, your choice of petals, and then to finish, you can name your blend. You also get to add some flowers. They don't taste of anything, but they look really nice. Instead of saying, I want two flowers. And you can see them there, all packed in. Very nice choice. So this is a salad for a present. Nice. I always love this. I like something a bit smoother. You re-encounter so many teas. It means you try so much. I rarely want to have to say anything every day. So, you get 16 carats. The top line is all yours. The bottom line will always say tea blend. Obviously, you get 16 carats in there. But yeah, have a mess around if you want. You can add emojis. It will be capitalised. And if I print it and you don't like it, I can print it again. So there's no pressure. Perfect. There's my sticker. Just your cup of tea, Jays. The tea blend. Is that okay? Future reference. This tea goes really well with our chocolate caramel biscuits. Wild, very amazing. I love the chocolate flavour. It really compliments the chocolate with caramel. We are signing this caramel. No one could have been over it. Really? Thank you. The biscuits. What did she say was complimentary to your tea? First things first, the afternoon tea at Fortnum's did not disappoint. The food was delicious, especially the sandwiches. And they replenished everything since we finished it so quickly. Apart from the scones, which were just a tad bit cold. The teas, however, brilliant. My cousin and I ordered two different teas and we tried each other's. So we tried four different teas in total. But you can try as many teas as you wish. It's a beautiful and elegant establishment. Although it is just a bit more casual compared to the Ritz. Which is understandable since it's on the top floor of a department store. There's no strict dress code. So people came in jeans and a t-shirt with trainers. And there's no clerk room either. So we had to put our belongings on the back of our seats. People also had big suitcases by their tables and their bags on the floor. Which didn't bother me. But it's just something to keep in mind. Considering the price you pay for £75 per person. Excluding service charge. Speaking of service, it's the staff that make your time there worthwhile. Our waitress, Basmata, was very informative. Quick to offer refills and overall a very lovely lady. Any leftovers you have can also be taken away in their little blue boxes. Besides the classic afternoon tea. They also have multiple menus for different dietary requirements. Such as the savoury afternoon tea. High tea. Gluten free afternoon tea. And a vegetarian afternoon tea. Overall, a very pleasant and luxurious experience without being too pretentious. Afterwards, we went downstairs where I personalised my own tea blend. Which put the cherry on top for me. And on that note, please do let me know where you would like to visit for afternoon tea. Or whether you've been to Fortnum and Mason before. Thank you for watching and hopefully see you in the next one.