Tea players

IT HAS often been noted that there is nothing more quintessentially English than afternoon tea. There are plenty of other clichs that seek to define our national character - the stiff upper lip, the sound of leather on willow, the chocolate box village with its country pub. But somehow none of them says quite as much about who we are as afternoon tea.

Our fondness for tea is legendary. You only have to look at how much of the stuff we drink - an average of three cups a day each or, as a nation, 60 billion cups a year.

That's an awful lot of tea. Afternoon tea, however, is about much more than a nice cuppa. At its best, it is an institution: a small, ritual celebration of Englishness, the perfect focus for a day out and often a last oasis of calm and tradition in increasingly hectic modern lives.

Luckily, our corner of Yorkshire isn't short of wonderful places to go and enjoy this most English of treats.

A dozen Yorkshire tea rooms make it into a new AA guide to the country's best places to go for afternoon tea - most of them within easy reach. As you would expect in this part of the world, they offer traditional teas with a Yorkshire twist: delicious, sticky parkin; fruitcake served with Wensleydale cheese; sandwiches made with Yorkshire ham: and, of course, full-flavoured Yorkshire Tea itself.

Being a national guide, space in Britain's Best Afternoon Tea is strictly limited. So if there is a criticism to make, it is that it has tended to go for the obvious destinations. Bettys accounts for five of the 12 Yorkshire tea-rooms that make it into the guide's pages. There is Betty's Caf Tea Rooms and Little Bettys in York; then Bettys branches in Harrogate, Ilkley and Northallerton.

Bettys founder Frederick Belmont drew inspiration for his tea rooms from the luxury liner Queen Mary, on which he travelled for its maiden voyage in 1936. Set tea prices at the caf tea rooms in St Helen's Square, York (telephone 01904 659142) range from £5.85 for cream tea to £10.25 for full afternoon tea. Masham sausages, Yorkshire rarebit and a wide selection of cakes and patisseries feature on the menu.

Bettys is a favourite with tourists and locals alike, and no one who has ever been there for tea would begrudge its inclusion in a guide such as this. But it is nice to see other entries, too.

Prominent among them is Bullivant of York (01904 671311), a delightfully traditional tea room in Blake Street. Its chintzy decor (pink tablecloths, pale green wicker chairs, clean white china with lacy doilys) and friendly, welcoming service make it a great place to unwind in the middle of an afternoon's (or indeed morning's) shopping.

I can testify to the quality of the scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast - a perfect mid-morning treat to set yourself up for the day, especially when washed down by a pot of select blend tea.

Bullivant specialises in a range of teas and coffees plus good, home-cooked fare throughout the day - including the usual scones, teacakes and crumpets for tea, or rich fruitcake with Wensleydale for those who want a Yorkshire flavour. Set tea prices range from £3.75 (traditional cream tea) and £4.25 (chocoholic heaven) to £8.95 (High Tea, a three-course treat).

Owner Carolyn Haynes is thrilled to have made it into the guide. So what, for her, is the secret of a good afternoon tea? "Good service, the care that we take - the whole ritual of it," she says. "It's a time and a space to relax in. People come in here sometimes and they are fed up, but they always go out thinking 'that was lovely'."

What more could you ask for?

Other Yorkshire tea-rooms featured in Britain's Best Afternoon tea:

u The Georgian Tea Rooms, High Street, Bridlington, tel: 01262 608600. "Quintessentially English tea rooms in one of the country's most complete Georgian streets."

u Aldwark Manor, Aldwark, tel 01347 838146 (set teas £4.95 and £9.95). "19th century mansion with inbuilt style."

u Clarks Caf, Long Street, Easingwold, tel 01347 821285. "Family-run bakery and caf."

- Clarks Tearooms, Market Place, Easingwold, tel 01347 823143. "The Clarks' second tea room in town-centre Easingwold."

- Botham & Sons, Skinner Street, Whitby, tel: 01947 602823 (set teas £2.80 and £5.65). "Famous tea rooms specialising in Victorian recipes and fine teas."

- Judges Country House Hotel, Kirklevington Hall, Yarm, tel: 01642 789000 (set teas £10.50 and £15.50). "Gracious mansion set in landscaped grounds."

Britain's Best Afternoon Tea is published by the AA in association with Taylors of Harrogate, priced £9.99.

Graeme's best

Evening Press 'Quick Eats' reviewer and teahouse connoisseur Graeme Robertson makes his own off-the-beaten-track recommendations:

- Banks Caf, Lendal, York.

- Lewis & Cooper's Centenary Tearoom, Market Place, Northallerton.

- The Bothy, Deans Garden Centre, Stockton Lane, York.

- The Farmer's Cart, Towthorpe Lane, Towthorpe, near York.

- R&R Country Tearooms, Hemingbrough.

Graeme Robertson's Quick Eats column is published every Saturday in the Evening Press. You can read any of his reviews within the leisure channel of this website.

Updated: 16:25 Friday, April 23, 2004