Cost – £18.00 (April 2016)
Background – Sheene Mill is in a beautiful setting in Melbourn near the Hertfordshire border of Cambridgeshire.
The mill itself is an attractive looking building with pretty gardens and the mill pond to the rear of the building. It would be an excellent venue for a wedding and, in fact, two were being planned whilst we were there!
There is a conservatory building to the rear which is where teas were being served when we visited.
Contents – 4 finger sandwiches (ham, cucumber, egg mayonnaise, smoked salmon). 1 fruit scone, a small dish of strawberry jam and a small dish of clotted cream. A piece of carrot cake, a piece of vanilla sponge, an almond profiterole and a mini Eaton Mess in a shot type glass. The tea was loose leaf.
Comments – We were seated in a pretty conservatory with views over the stream and a large cast iron heater in the centre of the room to keep us nice and warm. The glass topped table was laid with white china and linen napkins.
As usual, the teapot arrived first. It was a large white china teapot with a jug of milk and a tea strainer. The tea was of a good strength but became quite strong over time. When we asked for a refill we asked for a smaller teapot, which we received.
The Afternoon Tea arrived on a three tier stand with round white plates.
The sandwiches were fresh and well filled and were on mixed brown and white bread.
The scone was tasty and fresh, though a little crumbly. There was a good amount of fruit in it. It was of an average size. Unfortunately there was barely enough jam and definitely not enough clotted cream.
The cakes were tasty with moist sponge though the profiterole was a little bland. The mini dessert was good but was small and difficult to get out of the glass. We had to ask for teaspoons to eat it with. I’m not sure how they expected us to eat it without!!
There was a limited choice of teas. We were able to get a refill but had to ask for it.
| Sandwiches | 1.5 |
| Scone | 1.5 |
| Jam | 1.0 |
| Cream | 1.0 |
| Cake (variety) | 1.5 |
| Cake (quality) | 1.5 |
| Tea | 1.5 |
| Presentation | 1.5 |
| Service | 1.0 |
| Value | 1.5 |
| Total | 13.5 |
Sarnies Scones and Cakes 