The Vintage Tea Emporium, Uttoxeter

Yesterday I hopped on a bus to Uttoxeter to meet my lovely friend Sara for charity shop wandering, much nattering and a delicious afternoon tea. It was my first real visit to the small market town and it is a magpies paradise -  there are so many charity shops crammed into a relatively small area - I came home having spent very little yet had filled my sizeable cotton shopper to bursting with finds.

The undisputed highlight of our visit was the luxurious hour we spent in The Vintage Tea Emporium. I had done some pre-emptive googling ahead of our Uttoxeter meet-up and spotted this wonderful place via their Facebook page, I promptly booked us in at midday - a little early but there is something indulgent about afternoon tea for lunch! We arrived to a table for two in the window made up with lovely linens and set with extra-special vintage crockery (a perk of making a reservation!). A pot of Assam for me, Earl Grey for Sara and we were down to the serious business of chatter between sips while taking in the airy, pretty surroundings and in my case checking out the china patterns (once a vintage china obsessive, always a vintage china obsessive). When our three tiers of mouthwatering treats arrived we were immediately ravenous, they had happily catered to my request for vegetarian finger sandwiches and the selection was very tasty! On to the scones - one sultana which was quickly bagged by Sara as she hates cherries, and one cherry scone which worked out perfectly since I love them, mine had a great texture and the accompanying pot of cream was the perfect consistency. The top tier was home to miniature eclairs, miniature strawberry tarts and compact slices of carrot cake. Death. By. Dessert. The tiny eclair and tart were each light and yummy but by this point we were stuffed and couldn't quite polish off the carrot cake so instead washed everything down with yet more tea and some Fentimans Rose Lemonade. 

If you are anywhere near Uttoxeter I'd definitely recommend a visit to such a dreamy tearoom, the service was so friendly and prompt, but we were also left to relax and enjoy ourselves rather than hurried out of the door the moment we had finished. To channel Arnie; I'll be back.