These days you can go on any type of afternoon tea, can’t you? There are traditional ones, cocktail ones, Disney-themed ones, there are seriously a massive range of these things available to the tea connoisseurs among us.
But one I hadn’t heard of before? A chilli afternoon tea.
Until Josh’s sister Georgia bought us a Virgin Experience Days voucher at Christmas to give it a go!
To be honest I was a bit nervous about going because even though I like my food to have a kick, I’m not a total hothead like Josh. I don’t know about the Scoville rating and all that malarkey but I can tell you that when we go to Nando’s, bae gets Extra Hot and I get Medium. I think that says it all.
So anyway last weekend we trotted off to Edible Ornamentals, just outside of Bedford, to give this experience a whirl.
Chilli Afternoon Tea With Tasting Session
Arriving at Edible Ornamentals, my first thoughts were that this place was not the type of place I would usually go for afternoon tea. There were no fancy tablecloths or glasses of bubbles here. It’s more of a modest, low-key cafe. Kind of like the type you get in quaint little towns when you’re on a road trip.
But before we got around to the afternoon tea part, first up was a chilli tasting session!
Owner Shawn talked through the history of the chilli nursery and how they ended up created their own products. He then took us through all of the gourmet marmalades, sauces, salsas, chutneys, jams and spice rubs they offer, as well as the stories behind them. It was actually pretty interesting.
Then we were encouraged to dig in!
Luckily there were a good mix of products to try at various spice levels. From a very mild sweet chilli sauce right up to “extreme” hot sauces that I was too much of a wuss to try. But I tell ya, I tried like 80% of them and they were all within my spice range. SCORE.
What I loved though was how varied everything was. From red onion chilli marmalade to peanut butter with a bit of heat! Who knew that was a thing?
My favourites though were peachapeño (a jalapeño and peach sauce) and Thunderbirds tequila hot sauce. Oh and chipotle caramel which is apparently delicious on vanilla ice cream. Wow. Insert heart eyes emoji here.
They were definitely not stingy either, you can have your fill of these top notch sauces and jams. There are even some fresh chillies to try but there were only a couple when we visited – apparently the chilli season doesn’t really start until April.
Edible Ornamentals do a range of chilli experiences so they do this tasting part with everyone and then you split up to do your chosen activity. So on the day I visited the afternoon tea crew were there with the chilli growers workshop gang (which also sounds pretty cool).
For the chilli afternoon tea, we took a seat and was served our chosen hot beverage with a selection of sandwiches and sweet treats.
And I hear ya bro, so what makes this chilli-themed?
Well, I’ll tell you.
In our tiered stand we were served salad wraps with chillies in them, nachos with a sweet chilli dip, sandwiches with ham, cheese and red onion chilli marmalade and chilli cheese sandwiches with hot sauce. All were really good.
The sweet treats didn’t have chilli but they were SO AMAZING. The hazelnut cannolis tasted just like Bueno and the chocolate Sicilian pastries were a delight. Top marks.
To top it off we were served sipping chocolate with chilli flakes. Although you can get sprinkles instead if you so desire.
Oh and of course I purchased half the hot sauces in the joint before I left. They were just too good.
Overall it was a nice afternoon tea and definitely a novelty. But I have to say the highlight for me was the actual chilli product tasting. It was so interesting to try all the different flavours, and like I said, wasn’t too spicy for me. So I think a lot of people might be into this experience.
You can find more info over on the Edible Ornamentals website or book your own chilli afternoon via Virgin Experience Days.
What do you think of this experience? Would you do it?
Let me know in the comments below, tweet me at @HeelsInBackpack or find me over on Insta at @Heels.In.My.Backpack!
How cool! I love quirky afternoon teas and not heard of one like this before!
It’s pretty unique, isn’t it!