Stars of the team room show they are real cup-winners

The Black Swan Hotel – The Tearoom & Patisserie in Helmsley, and Swinton Park, in Masham, have been awarded an “Award of Excellence” in The Tea Guild’s new and highly coveted Top City and Country Hotel 2011 Awards.

Eight tearooms in the county won Awards of Excellence in the Top Tea Places category.

They are Elizabeth Botham & Sons, Whitby; Little Bettys, York; Bettys Cafe and Tea rooms (in Harrogate, and at RHS Harlow Carr, Ilkley, North Allerton and York); and Bullivant of York.

Achieving an Award of Excellence in The Tea Guild’s Top Tea Awards, now in their 26th year has the best tea venues in the UK competing for this hugely coveted honour as recognition of their outstanding quality, and consistently high standards in tea service.

The Tea Guild team of tea experts have taken tea in hotels and tearooms across Britain to find the finest tea experiences and all visits have been anonymous to ensure the results are fair and accurate.

The anonymous judges awarded points for the variety, flavour and knowledge of the teas offered, together with the quality of food, service, décor, ambience, and presentation.

With 125 points to be lost or gained on the judge’s scorecard, only those tea establishments achieving the very highest standards across a number of categories can make it to the top. The Tea Guild has now presented the 2011 awards to The Top Tea Place – Rocke Cottage Tearooms, in Clungunford, Shropshire. The Top London Afternoon Tea award has gone to Claridge’s.

In addition to these awards, a total of 16 Awards of Excellence for The London Top Tea Place and 12 Top City and Country Hotel Awards of Excellence have been awarded to tea rooms and hotels throughout the UK.

Irene Gorman, Head of The Tea Guild said: “Each year, the standard of entrants for the awards continues to scale new heights, making the judges’ task of choosing those who achieve an Award of Excellence extremely challenging and this year’s competition was no exception.

“The standard of entrants this year was incredibly high, with many excellent entries from across the UK.

“The judges’ task of choosing those establishments which achieve an ‘Award of Excellence’ is always extremely challenging and this year’s competition was no exception.

“The tradition of afternoon tea has never been stronger, with Tea Guild members busier than ever. More and more people are taking time out to enjoy afternoon tea – it’s affordable, fun and very rewarding”.

“Afternoon tea is the perfect way to catch up with friends, family or even business colleagues, celebrate a special occasion or enjoy a romantic date.”