London wins 22 prestigious Tea Guild Awards of Excellence this year

9th April 2013

The Tea Guild has bestowed 22 Awards of Excellence in this year's Top London Afternoon Tea Awards 2013 to leading establishments in the capital.

The venues achieving this coveted Tea Guild award for recognition of consistently exceptional standards of quality and tea service are: Brown’s Hotel, Claridge’s, Corinthia Hotel London, Four Seasons Hotel Park Lane, Fortnum & Mason, Grosvenor House, Sofitel London St James, The Athenaeum, The Capital Hotel, The Chesterfield, The Connaught, The Dorchester, The InterContinental London Park Lane, The Lanesborough, The Langham, The Park Lane Hotel, The Montague on The Gardens, The Royal Garden Hotel, The Royal Horseguards Hotel, The Savoy, The Ritz, and The Wolseley.

Taking afternoon tea is a cherished experience steeped in British tradition. Now in its 28th year, the acclaimed Tea Guild Awards are considered the Oscars of tea world. To seek out the finest tea experience in London, The Tea Guild’s secret inspectors have assiduously been searching the capital to seek out the finest tea experiences to see who is deserving of an “Award of Excellence” and who should win the Top London Afternoon Tea.

As well as judging London’s top tea rooms and hotels, The Tea Guild judges travelled across Britain to find the winners of the Top City and Country Hotel Tea Award 2013 and the Top Tea Place 2013 Award. All visits have been anonymous to ensure the results are completely 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 establishments achieving the very highest standards across a number of categories can make it to the top.

The Tea Guild has now also presented the 2013 award for the Top London Afternoon Tea, which was received by The Goring Hotel in Belgravia. The rest of the Awards are yet to be announced.

Head of The Tea Guild Irene Gorman said: “Each year the judges’ task of choosing those who receive an Award of Excellence gets more challenging, as standards within The Tea Guild continue to reach new levels and this year’s London competition was no exception.

“Afternoon tea is an increasingly fashionable activity in the capital with couples, business workers, friends, family and tourists alike enjoying the ritual.”

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Notes to editors:
The Tea Guild is part of The UK Tea Council Ltd (www.tea.co.uk), which is a non-profit making, independent organisation dedicated to raising the profile of tea in the UK.

21 establishments across London venues have received a coveted Award of Excellence.

For more information / a full list for details of winners please contact:

Emma Sanderson on 020 7052 8853 / emma.sanderson@nexuspr.com
Nicky Smith on 0207 0528850  / nicky.smith@nexuspr.com
Bonnie Williams on 07971 583 444