 Ah, a New Year, a fresh start? Well actually, if you are a tea drinker then, you may well have already been benefitting from drinking tea!
A lot of people are aware of the health benefits of Green Tea, but apparently all tea is good for you.
Tea is calorie-free and, after water, it is the most widely-consumed beverage in the world.
Tea has a third less caffeine than coffee and releases it slowly throughout the day, rather than the caffeine rush that coffee gives.
Have you ever taken the time to find out what tea actually is? It’s the leaves of a plant, most know that, but did you know that all tea comes from the same type of plant?… Camellia Sinensis… which is closely related to the rose and garden camellias.
Another fact is that Herbal teas, although infused like tea, aren’t actually tea, they are infusions, or ‘Tisanes’! Only the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis can make true tea.
There are five main types of tea, those being white, green, oolong, black and Pu’er. I will go into more detail about the different types in another blog post.
The history and origins of tea can be most fascinating. The names of the tea, Assam for instance, are taken from the region in which it is grown. And like wine, exactly where it’s grown, ie the elevation, the local environment and how it’s processed, all determine the specific flavor.
Getting back to the health side, tea contains a unique amino acid (L-theanine), which has been proven to help with focus and concentration, at the same time promoting relaxation. Apparently, some research also suggests that it may also enhance learning and lower blood pressure. Drinking tea is also supposed to boost your body’s immune system.
So, New Year’s Resolutions or not, if you’re a Tea Drinker… keep on drinking because you’re already on a winner!
 Our Christmas menu is proving popular this year as it did last year, however, this year we are offering even more dishes and this is all In Addition to the Autumn/Winter Menu, so there is plenty to choose from here at the moment.
We have served a number of groups already for their festive ‘get togethers’, catered for a Private Evening Christmas Party and Christmas Eve looks set to be a busy day with a number of tables booked too!
Christmas Eve is our last day open (10am till 5pm) this year and we re-open on Tuesday 3rd January 2012. And the Evening Lectures Start again in January too (10th January).
So there are only a few days left to enjoy a Warm Christmas Punch (with the benefit of being non-alcoholic!) and something from our festive menu.
A lot of people have taken advantage of our Gift Certificates as Christmas Presents and they are great for those who ‘already have everything’. They can be assured of a warm welcome and good food all year round. (certificates valid for 1 year).
 Last Saturday, we had the pleasure of hosting a ’significant’ birthday party here at the Tearooms.
Yes, it was no ordinary birthday… It was a 90th Birthday Party!
Everyone was dressed in Victorian costume and Irene and her family arrived in style in a stretched limousine.
Enjoying a Gold Buffet Tea, friends and family wished Irene a very happy birthday, as did all of us at The Tearooms… with our usual little gift for the birthday lady.
We thank Mrs Ing and her sister for choosing The Tally Ho Tearooms to host their Mother’s very special celebration.
 Well our first year’s participation in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning in aid of the Macmillan Cancer Support Charity went really well.
I was doing some late night icing on Thursday night, but over 100 cupcakes later we were ready to open the door last Friday morning (30th Sept) with all the cakes on the display. The flags and flowery toppers you can see in the pictures are from the Vintage style partyware we stock here in the Tearooms.
 We had vanilla, and chocolate sponges and vanilla and chocolate buttercream, but I also made some Apple and Cinnamon muffins with vanilla buttercream and some Red Velvet cupcakes with a cream cheese topping with a piped orange rose in buttercream.
Actually the Apple and Cinnamon muffins were gorgeous and are good even without a topping, and I am planning to attempt to use the same recipe to see if can make one larger cake. I’m just not sure when!
Anyway, we raised just over £150 from the sale of cupcakes and some donations, So thank you to all who took part. And I leave you with a few more photos from last Friday.
Below is a close up of the piped roses on the Red Velvet cupcakes. Red Velvet is an American favourite, it has a deep, deep red sponge which has a light chocolatey flavour… yum!
 Yes, The Tally Ho Tearooms is supporting the Macmillan Cancer Support charity by taking part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning!
It takes place on Friday 30th September 2011 from 10am till noon and You Are All Invited !
We are making cupcakes especially for the event, which is something we don’t normally sell as we make much larger cakes and sell ‘by the slice’, but for this I thought it would be good to have some fun colours, and hopefully flavours too.
We have chocolate and vanilla flavours, of course, but I shall be making some ‘Red Velvet’ cupcakes and am currently experimenting with some other flavours!
 All proceeds of the Cupcakes will go to the Macmillan charity, so come along for one of our coffees, or a pot of tea and enjoy a special cupcake. Of course all our usual menu will be available all day too, as always.
We will be selling the cupcakes to take home at the end of the morning.
I have to say this is a fantastic excuse, if you ever needed one, to know that you are helping a charity by EATING CAKE!!!
It’s not the first time I have attended the Beccles Duck Race with my daughter! In fact I think this was our 4th possibly 5th year. But this year was slightly different as I entered a “Corporate Duck” for The Tally Ho Tearooms! Sounds very posh and CEO and all that, but really it was just a bigger duck! The duck’s broach is made from a photograph of the one I wear in the Tearooms! And we use the little cup and saucers for serving espresso here (although not this one… obviously!)
 Last year’s entry was a little smaller! You know the type you put in the bath! (pictured right)
I managed to get the duck there just in time for the judging of the best dressed duck! I didn’t even realise there was a competition! So we squeezed her on to the bottom row as you can see… just!
I think the “Where’s Wally”-based “Where’s Ducky” Duck won the best dressed!
Fortunately, although rather windy, the weather stayed sunny and dry… although those dark clouds in the picture below were getting closer and closer all the time we waited for the Corporate Duck Race to begin (whcoh was after all the other ducks!) It’s so popular now that there have to be heats and then a final for the smaller ducks! Unfortunately though, in the Corporate Duck Stakes our duck didn’t win! Still there’s always next year, as the say goes!
More information regarding the Beccles Duck Race can be found here.
Taken recently when we had every table in the building occupied… the above picture shows the front of the Tearooms. This is the older part of the building and has lower ceilings. This is also where the Gift Shop area is.
The Caption on this photograph says it all really, apart from the fact that the side and rear of the Tearooms is the most recent addition to the building. By recent, I mean about 40ish years ago! Although that’s rumour as we have no paperwork to show the history of the building, which is a shame.
With regard to group bookings though, we have recently (and this time I mean only a couple of weeks ago!) had the rear fire exit doors removed and refitted into an existing doorway on the side of the building. We have had kind permission of the Church and the Mettingham Bowls Club to cross their adjoining land (only in emergency mind). This means that we can now easily seat much larger tables at the rear of the Tearooms and still have clear access to an exit at all times.
I don’t believe there are that many establishments, such as ours, in this area, that can accommodate such large bookings.
And Finally a photograph showing the fresh flowers on display. I will admit to having ‘a play’ with this photograph slightly to bring ‘forward’ the vase of flowers and recede the customers enjoying their lunches and cream teas behind.
We were delighted to welcome 37 people from the Co-Op Ladies Choir of Ipswich (and friends) last Tuesday 26th July. Everyone arrived via coach, all the way from Ipswich, just to enjoy our Buffet Victorian Tea.
Everyone enjoyed their sandwiches, cream and jam scones and sponge cakes… some taking leftover Lemon Drizzle Sponge and Chocolate Brownie home in our ‘Doggy Bags’ !
Mrs Quinton, the organiser of the ‘Surprise Afternoon Treat’ for her group took a photograph of myself and my daughter Honey (school’s out for Summer!) and kindly sent me a copy.
I took a photograph of everyone returning to the coach as it was parked in our back car park which is fairly huge and can easily accommodate the largest of passenger coaches. So this is just to give a bit of perspective as what you can see is merely the entrance to the rear car park!
We welcomed the local Red Hatters to The Tally Ho Tearooms last week, and didn’t they look fetching in their bright red hats and headdresses?! This is what Afternoon Tea is all about… a sense of occasion, togetherness, fun!
Not forgetting the elegant china (which many people agree, makes all the difference to a decent cup of tea, and is a welcome and pleasant change for our coffee drinkers too). And rather fitting that the only bright red flowers in the Tearooms at the moment are on a New Guinea Impatiens (a brilliant Busy Lizzie) which was (and still is), coincidentally, at the end of the ladies’ table on the window sill in full bloom!
Thank You ladies for bringing a delightful splash of vibrant colour!
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Tally Ho Tearooms Customer Comments
There is a “Customer Comments” page on the Tearooms Website, but I have decided that it will be easier to keep the Customer Comments up to date using the blog here!
I will just say that I am only posting about 5 comments at a time, as we have a collection of hundreds and so I am posting only a small selection.
But I am posting the comments as actually handwritten by customers themselves.
Thank you to those who take the time to leave their comments with us.
More Comments Coming Shortly… I need to catchup!