PEACOCKS Tearoom in Ely has been awarded an Award of Excellence in The Tea Guild s highly coveted Top Tea Place 2010 awards. This prestigious award is now in its 25th year and is seen as the Michelin star of the tea world, with tea rooms and hotels aroun

PEACOCKS Tearoom in Ely has been awarded an Award of Excellence in The Tea Guild's highly coveted Top Tea Place 2010 awards.

This prestigious award is now in its 25th year and is seen as the Michelin star of the tea world, with tea rooms and hotels around Britain competing for the coveted honours.

The UK Tea Council's team of Tea Guild inspectors have travelled the country to seek out the annual winners of the Top London Afternoon Tea and Top Tea Place awards and, New for 2010, the Top City and Country Hotel award.

The Guild's team of experts have taken tea in hotels and tearooms in London and across Britain in their quest to find the finest tea experiences and all visits have been anonymous to ensure the results are fair and accurate.

The judges awarded points for the variety, excellence and knowledge of the teas offered, together with the quality of food, service, d�cor, ambience, and presentation.

The judges said they were so impressed with the quality of the afternoon tea served at Peacocks Tearoom that they awarded them high marks in every category.

With 125 points to be lost or gained on the judge's scorecard, only those tea establishments achieving the very highest standards across a number of categories are awarded a coveted Tea Guild Award of Excellence.

Tea Guild members were assessed on the quality and selection of teas offered, plus flavour, strength and temperature. In addition, the judging system also reviewed the care, knowledge of tea and attentiveness of staff, the overall ambience and the standard and presentation of the food offered.

Commenting on Peacocks Tearoom in Ely, Irene Gorman, head of The Tea Guild said: "Each year the standard of entrants for the awards continues to scale new heights, making the judges' task of choosing those who achieve an Award of Excellence extremely challenging and this year's competition was no exception.

"This Award of Excellence to Peacocks Tearoom was presented in recognition of consistently high standards of tea making and customer service, evident in the care and attention to detail with which afternoon tea was prepared and served."

Irene adds: "Across the UK, the tradition of afternoon tea has never been stronger, with Tea Guild members busier than ever. More and more people are taking time out to enjoy that 'very special afternoon tea moment'. It's the perfect, both fun AND affordable, way to catch up with friends, family or even business colleagues, celebrate a special occasion or enjoy a romantic date."

The Tea Guild is part of The UK Tea Council Ltd which is a non-profit making, independent organisation dedicated to raising the profile of tea in the UK.

53 establishments around the UK and 16 London venues will also receive a coveted Award of Excellence. For a full list for details of winners in your area please contact us via: