It's the kind of story that would have Britain's anarchists boarding the next train to Berkshire - standing in tall defiance of the 'we're all in this together' ethos, is the latest wheeze from Cliveden Hotel, which has just launched an afternoon tea so expensive and extravagant that they've applied to the Guinness Book of Records to have their chef's efforts recognised.
The tea for two in question costs £550 per couple and features white truffles, Beluga Caviar and Da Hong Pao Tea, which is harvested from one thousand year old plants and is so rare that it costs over £2,000 per kilogram. Of course it wouldn't be a proper afternoon tea without an accompanying glass of fizz, in this case Dom Perignon Rose.
Other features of the eye-wateringly expensive tea include Cliveden House Chocolate Cake with Gold Leaf, which uses the most expensive chocolate in the world, Amedi Porcelana.The cake is paired with the most expensive coffee in the world, Kopi Luwak (yes that's the one that's been through the digestive system of civets). There's a Platinum Club Sandwich in minature form (the full-size sarnie costs £100) which is made from 30-month air-cured Ibérico ham, poulet de Bresse, white truffles, quail eggs, semi-dried Italian tomatoes and 24-hour fermented sour dough bread.
“We wanted to create the best afternoon tea experience in the world,' says James Parkinson, Executive Head Chef at von Essen hotels group and I think with this selection, we have achieved our goal”.
