Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea

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I recently went to Suka at Sanderson's hotel off Oxford Street (near Tottenham Court Road) to indulge in afternoon tea with an Alice in Wonderland theme for my birthday. The afternoon tea is known as "Mad Hatter's" to mimic the tea party scene in Alice in Wonderland. There were several surprises along the way, and this is certainly one of the most unique afternoon tea experiences that I have been to in London.

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Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea

Our afternoon tea experience started out with choosing our tea from a selection of four small bottled samples placed on the table in front of us. (You can start out with one type but can switch this later on with another type.) The types of tea were all infused with a different flavouring, including: mint chocolate chip, strawberry and cream, apple pie, and rhubarb and custard. I tried the rhubard and custard first and had the apple pie one later, and these were both delicious. My partner stuck with the mint chocolate chip tea.

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Flavours of tea

The first item we commented on when we arrived was the unique designs of the glassware. These were developed by London design agency Luna & Curious, and the plates and teacups completed the image when placed in the correct position. My plate included circus arobatics jumping to catch each other. My partner's had a circus zebra, and other table settings included a clock and an old-fashioned birdcage. The teapots were also designed; they reminded me of playing cards. One side contained an image of a king, and the other side contained an image of a queen. 

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Tableware by Luna & Curious

The napkins were also wrapped with riddles, but we got two of the same one. I won't spoil it for anyone, though. 

To add even more of a quirky surprise, the menu for the afternoon tea was placed inside an old book. The menu is stuck behind two pages and placed in the middle of the book.

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Menu in an old book

We ordered champagne first. Our tea came in the decorated teapots with paper crowns on top.

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Afternoon tea

Another surprise awaiting us was the white box placed on the table. This is, in fact, a music box that plays the song "Over the Rainbow". The little ballerina twirls around as the music plays, and the box is filled with sugar cubes. The music played each time we got a sugar cube out. I really liked this idea.

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Music box sugar cube holder

After a short while, our afternoon tea stand came, piled with sweet and savoury treats over three tiers.

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Afternoon tea

The savoury snacks included the following types of sandwich: smoked salmon on dark rye, ham and mustard on a tomato and herb bread, egg on lemon bread, and cucumber on spinach bread. In addition, there was a mushroom quiche and a sweet scone and a savoury scone. The savoury scone included olives and came with a herb butter to spread on it. The normal scones included a small pot of strawberry jam and clotted cream.

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Savoury treats

The sweet treats included Victoria sponge cake decorated like a clock, a mango cheesecake with white chocolate coating, and a green tea and dark chocolate mousse. These tasted nice, but neither of us care for cheesecake, so we did not finish them. I noted that the mango sauce inside the cheesecake looked like an egg yolk and egg when dipping into the white cheesecake, and the mango portion of the dessert did taste nice. My favourite was the green tea and dark chocolate mousse.

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Sweet treats - Mad Hatter's afternoon tea

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Sweet treats - Mad Hatter's afternoon tea

After the second tier was finished, we braved the top one. The mushroom marshmallows were nice and light, and the meringue carrots were similar. The meringue carrots were nestled inside a teacup with peashoots so it looked like they were growing in a garden.

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Mushrooms and meringue carrots

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Mushrooms and meringue carrots

And last of all, we had a "drink me" potion in a little brown bottle to consume. This tasted of cream and passionfruit. 

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'Drink me' potion

At the end of the afternoon tea, visitors could help themselves to jelly from old moulds. Pineapple, pear, and strawberry were the flavours on offer.

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Jelly moulds

Have you been to Sanderson's Hotel and had the Mad Hatter's afternoon tea? If so, what did you think of it? Leave a comment.

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