Tipsy Tea

Welcome back, tea enthusiasts. And London enthusiasts. And gin enthusiast? My High-Tea Crawl through London continues. However, in this blog, we’re not sipping tea in a stuffy tea room but rather onboard a double-decker bus. And not just any old double-decker bus, but a retrofitted, vintage one.

Oh yeah, and we’re not sipping tea.  

In my search for high tea, I discovered London offers double-decker tea tours. How fun! 

A few companies are operating these tours. I chose Bridget’s Bakery Bus because Bridget has a bakery in Covent Gardens, so I figured the food would be good -especially the scones. I was right.

I also chose the Gin Lover’s Tea option because our flight landed in the afternoon, and this tea was the latest departure I could book. 

As it turned out… no tea was actually served on this tea tour. 

This was probably for the best because I had to fight back every dish and piece of cutlery from dumping into my lap at every sudden stop. I can’t imagine trying to manage a hot cup of tea simultaneously. No worries. No tea. Instead, we were served gin cocktails. Three, in fact.

We started with a botanical gin and tonic. The Brits love G&T’s, and this one was pretty classic, apart from the garnish of an orange slice, cinnamon stick, and star anise. This was followed by a tropical gin drink made with pineapple soda and orange juice. The food was served all at once: tea sandwiches, scones, and a tray of tasty desserts, many of which were made using gin as an ingredient. 

But the food was more like an afterthought. To be honest, so was the tour. Sure we drove around some of London’s iconic landmarks like Big Ben and the London Eye over the river Thames. But we barely looked out the windows because the main attraction was inside the bus. This bus tour should be re-named the Sing-a-Long (At the Top of Your Lungs) Tour. Because that’s what my fellow female passengers (and one poor boyfriend) and I did. We drove around sipping gin, belting out ABBA, Neil Diamond, BeeGees, and a bunch of British pop tunes unfamiliar to the two American flight attendants onboard. No worries; after the first chorus, we got it. 

Roughly two hours after departure, they sent us on our way with one last (spicy ginger and rhubarb gin) cocktail served in a complimentary sippy cup. Which was perfect for the tube ride back to the hotel. Yet another mode of tipsy transportation. How thoughtful.  

This “tea” was not at all what I expected, but it was a great time and a very unique way to tour the city. Should you decide to book a gin lovers tour, I can’t guarantee the chemistry on your bus. Perhaps I just got lucky to board the party bus. I mean, I thought English people were supposed to be reserved? But just get a little gin in them…