December's Tea of the Month: Winter Mulled Spice

Our tea of the month is always a little easier on your purse and usually has great health benefits. Can we can tempt you to try something a bit different today?

What is it?

Winter Mulled Spice

If Christmas could be captured in one warm Beatons blend, Winter Mulled Spice Tea is it! 

This flavoured black tea comes from the mountain of Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Its festive tones come from the cinnamon and cloves, subtly blended to give a warming robust tea to revive. 

A perfect choice for cold winter days, perhaps unsurprisingly, we’ve discovered it goes well with poultry. It’s also a great accompaniment to our Afternoon Tea, our lemon polenta cake and our festive Cream Tea!

December's Beatons Bod: Jack!

Each month we dedicate a section of our monthly Bulletin to a new member of staff, our Beatons Bod. We like to do this as it introduces them to you, our customers and we all get to find out a bit more about them. This months Beatons Bod is Jack, a member of the team in our Tisbury location. 

What's your role and what do you like best about your job?

Hi, I’m Jack and I’m a waiter here in Tisbury. I thoroughly enjoy my role and in particular enjoy conversing with our regular and new customers!

What's your favourite drink or item from our menu?

By far, my favourite drink is a flat white as it never fails to deliver, whatever the time of year.

And how about your favourite book from our shelves?

My favourite book on our shelves at the moment has to be ‘Death & Co’, which is eye-catching to say the least! Despite the ominous name it is a really classic cocktail guide with a good selection of drinks.

Which of the ways we like to go about things at Beatons means the most to you and why?  

For me, the personal relationships built between staff and customers is what I like most, as it’s not only nice for the customer to feel welcome but it also makes the job much more enjoyable for us too.

Finally, if you were an animal, what would you be?  

The animal I would be is a chimpanzee. Like me, they like to be sociable and around other people. They also can be very active, again, just like me!

Perfect Gift Giving at Beatons

It’s the run up to Christmas and we’ve got some wonderful titles on our shelves that we think you’ll love and will make the perfect gift!

For ‘little bookworms’

‘Milo Goes to The Seaside’ by Rachel Jane. Though we highlight ‘Milo’ here, we cannot   recommend Rachel’s other books ‘Lil’s Cupcake Delivery’ and ‘Tallulah Goes to The Festival’ enough. With a captivating story written in rhyme, we follow VW Campervan Milo on his adventure to the seaside with the help of his campervan friends. It’s fun, easy to follow and enjoyable, and we have no doubt it’ll be a hit with children!

For ‘the kitchen lover’

Next, we have ‘Simple’ by Yotam Ottolenghi.  Bursting with colourful photography, Ottolenghi SIMPLE showcases Yotam’s standout dishes that will suit whatever type of cooking you find easy – whether that’s getting  wonderful food on the table in under 30 minutes, using just one pot to make a delicious meal, or a flavoursome dish that can be prepared ahead and then served when you’re ready.

Thought provoking…

‘Brief Answers To The Big Questions’ by  Stephen Hawking. Wide-ranging, intellectually stimulating,  passionately argued, and infused with his characteristic humour, Brief Answers, the final book from one of the greatest minds in history, is a personal view on the challenges we face as a human race, and where we, as a planet, are heading next. Hawking takes you on a journey of answers to some of the biggest questions answering them in his usual easy to understand way.

For nature lovers

‘Wilding’ by Isabella Tree. Isabella Tree tells the story of the ‘Knepp experiment’, a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope.

October's Beatons Bod: Florence!

What's your role and what do you like best about your job?

My role is front of house and I love working with my friendly co-workers, as well as chatting and getting to know our lovely customers. I also enjoy making our different teas and coffees, especially our Chai Latte.

What's your favourite drink or edible from our menu?  

My favourite dish on the menu has to be either the spicy tuna melt or the mushroom medley.

And how about your favourite book from our shelves?

My favourite book on the shelves has to be ‘Off Her Facebook’ by Robert Windsor. It tells a deep story of the real life tragedies some families deal with when a member of the family is faced with addiction.

Which of the ways we like to go about things at Beatons means the most to you and why?  

I really love greeting customers at the door and seating them where they’re most comfortable. It’s lovely to know that each customer gets treated with respect and elegance.

Finally, if you were an animal, what would you be?  

If I were an animal, I would definitely be a house cat! I find a lot of the situations I go about in my day-to-day life is handles the way a house cat would. I am loving and cuddly, however, like a cat, they know how to handle tough situations well.

Seasonal Changes at Beatons

Menus and market research go hand in hand here at Beatons. Hopefully they create that ‘Mmm’ which means delicious! We thought we’d give you a bit of insight as to what and who is behind our menus this month. Last month we gave you a glimpse into some upcoming menu changes and we’re pleased to say that they have arrived and are full of flavour. The brains (and the brawn when it comes to mixing quantities of scone dough or preparing meat) behind our menu changes is Ben.

Ben – our highly trained chef who loves the challenge of producing hot and cold canapés for a hundred people at our launch soirées – is at the heart of menu selection and creation. He draws on ideas from outside and within the tearooms, some of them from you! You’re always welcome to add suggestions and comments at the bottom of our feedback cards. We read every one and suggestions are given back to Ben ready for when he considers the next set of seasonal changes.

Our central team also contribute, as well as our growing number of Franchisees. Naturally, all the Beatons Central team – Ben in particular - are on the look-out for new developments and inspiration externally.

If Ben thinks he's found something, he’ll then apply his creativity to give the dish a dash of Beatons originality. After that? It’s trialling, recipe writing, and testing, testing, testing!

So, what new additions do we have to our menu this month? 

Brunch

You’ll notice we are now serving our breakfast as brunch and you are now able to enjoy it until the later time of 11:30am! 

Firstly we have our granola bowl — Greek yoghurt topped with granola, fresh fruit, chia seeds and a drizzle of honey. A delicious bowl with which you start your day. Next we have the addition of our waffles and pancakes, all available with one of three different toppings: American (two slices of bacon and maple syrup), fresh fruit (blueberries, strawberries, Greek yoghurt and chocolate sauce) and Banoffee (banana, Belgian chocolate chips, Greek yoghurt and toffee sauce). Finally, we have our ‘Beatons Baked Beans’. Ben has created a delicious three bean recipe that we know you’ll love, served on toast. 

Lunch

Autumn calls for warm, comfort foods but this doesn't mean it should lacking in flavour. Ben has created some amazing dishes that will keep you warm over the colder months!

Our first addition is our Lamb Hotpot, served with green beans and crusty sourdough, perfect for those chilly days. Next we have a Three Bean Salad, served with roasted vegetables, basil pesto and Greek feta— a light lunch that will still keep you full and satisfied. A firm favourite on our menu was our Mushroom Risotto, however with the change of seasons and new produce available, we have replaced it with a warming  Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto! Our risotto is also gluten-free and vegan friendly. Finally, we have a Ham Hock Terrine with spicy tomato chutney, toasted sourdough bread and fresh salad. 

Don’t worry, we still have our classic rarebits, croques, sandwiches and jacket potatoes on our menu, but there are some additions  there that we think you’ll love - so keep an eye out!

You can let us know what you think of our new menu items by filling out our feedback cards.

November's Tea of the Month: Classic Royal Tea

Our tea of the month is always a little easier on your purse and usually has great health benefits.
Can we can tempt you to try something a bit different today?

What is it?
Classic Royal Tea

Classic Royal Blend certainly lives up to its name. Full bodied with a wonderful depth of flavour, Classic Royal harnesses toasty notes from the Darjeeling, true malty flavour from the Assam and a bright, lively flavour from the premium Ceylon tea, producing one of the most exquisite blends you'll ever taste.

A delightful tea that that’ll compliment many items from our menu. We recommend trying it with your cream tea of afternoon high tea.

Tea of the Month: Caramel Cream

Our tea of the month is always a little easier on your purse and usually has great health benefits.

Can we can tempt you to try something a bit different today?

What is it?

Caramel Cream

Enjoy the delicious melt in the mouth taste of butterscotch blended with the natural flavour of creamy caramel, a hint of vanilla and premium Ceylon black tea. A tea blend that can be enjoyed anytime, Caramel Cream is a favourite with many as an after dinner tea and works well with milk and sugar if desired.

For a perfect pairing, try with our Apple cake or for a gluten free option, our Apple and Almond.

An Autumn Change...

The time has come where we have to say goodbye to summer and hello to autumn. No longer do we have bright blue skies with a beaming sun and  glorious heat; but rather a crisp   morning, with a breeze that makes you feel refreshed and energised. 

Though the thought of potential rain and gloomy days are ones that we may not look forward to, something that I feel helps us all feel a little better is the fresh produce we’re about to get. 

Over the next few weeks you may notice that our menu will be having an upgrade; the seasons are changing and we feel our menus should reflect this and make use of all the delicious produce coming into season. From our classic oven-cooked baked potatoes with various toppings, to our daily homemade soups and our ‘on toast’ and ‘croque’ dishes, we see the return of the popular Warm Chili Chicken Salad; perfect for a chilly day. Ben our ‘in house’ chef and Operations Manager has also come up with some great new additions to add to our menu, perfectly showcasing all our local produce, all of which we’re very excited about here at Beatons and believe you’ll love, so keep an eager eye out as they’ll be appearing soon!

Guest 'Poet's Post: For the love of Wellington!

One of the greatest pleasures of being a poet is when a commission comes along! Particularly so when an enterprise embraces poetry as part of its brand.  

Since Beatons opened I’ve been asked to write a poem in honour of the location of each of its tearooms. It involves going to the town or village ‘incognito’ and spending the day teasing out what the place is like at heart, from residents and traders.

Wellington in Shropshire was a bit of a hike from my writer’s retreat in Berkshire, but what a find when I got there…

I’d already been briefed that the town had got behind a regeneration and revival process. I’d heard of the ‘Love Wellington’   initiative created by local businesses. But I discovered a lot more thanks to the extremely friendly strangers who were only too willing to chat, and a large dose of serendipity as to who I found myself talking to. 

First up, I discovered it hasn’t got a bookshop, so the carefully curated selection of new books to purchase will surely go down a treat when Beatons Wellington opens. But of course, I had to hold my tongue, so I didn’t let the cat out of the bag as to who my client was!

 I parked on the outskirts of town and popped into The Glebe, home to many of Wellington’s Voluntary organisations. Miriam gave me a few leads and I headed down Tan Bank to discover Shropshire’s Fish and Chip Shop of the Year lives here – The Silver Fish 

At the apex of the two main streets I found Love Mobility perfectly situated opposite Age Concern Wellington. Both Scott, Manager of the former, and Helen who was volunteering at Age Concern confirmed what I suspected, that once people move to Wellington they tend to stay.

Next stop The Public Library. But on the way serendipity interrupted me. At a tiny garden remembrance bed, a veteran and his carer were planting up crosses in honour of those from the Commonwealth Nations who had served this country. Clifton, the veteran, said ‘before Telford came along, everything was ‘Wellington’…’  He then shared stories about the town’s history explaining that there was a lovely story about a Giant getting lost which explains how The Wrekin, Wellington’s famous hill, came into being. It’s told in an illustrated children’s book by Dave Weston, illustrated by local artist Sian William  

Since Beatons Wellington was still enjoying the last stages of its shop-fit, I headed to the café in The Orbit, Wellington’s new 64 seat cinema. There I met many enthusiastic culture lovers and was charmed by volunteer Rob who’s a poetry fan like me. Despite it being not being a market day and dreary weather-wise, everyone seemed remarkably upbeat and as one lady said, ‘Wellington’s got soul.’

With a blossoming station, newly painted shop fronts and a Community Clock that begged to have a mention in the poem, Wellington seems just the town in Shropshire to boast a Beatons Tearooms.

As for the poem which emerged? You’ll have to wait until Beatons Tearooms and Bookshop Wellington opens to pick up your free postcard!

Liz Darcy Jones

Tea of the Month: Young Pu-erh

Our tea of the month is always a little easier on your purse and usually has great health benefits.

Can we can tempt you to try something a bit different today?

What is it?

Young Pu’erh

This tea is classed as a young Pu-erh as it’s only one year old, however it has the wonderful earthy, musty flavour associated with many older Pu-erh black teas. Like wines, young Pu-erh's are considered less valuable than older teas (some five years or older), as indeed the taste of Pu-erh becomes more mellow with age.

Broken up from tea cakes which contain tea leaves that have been picked, rolled, withered in the hot sun and then steamed and pressed. It is the steaming process that generates the moisture that is responsible for the musty and earthy characteristics of the Pu-erh tea.

Generositea at Beatons

As you may know, when a Beatons Tearooms first opens we partner with a chosen charity, local to the area, to work with and support for the year. Each charity chosen is one that resonates greatly with the Beatons FBO (franchise business owner) and who’s ethos aligns perfectly with our own.

How we help

You may have noticed on our menu that we have ‘community’ drinks, well, these are in fact our charity drinks. When you purchase our ‘Community Chai Latte’, the extra 25p it costs gets donated to the tearooms’ chosen charity. We at Beatons then match this amount and at the end of the year donate all of the money. This also applies when you purchase our ‘Community Charlton Soda’; for the extra 25p it costs, we match it and the 50p gets donated to the charity. As well as this, we also host a number of events with or in aid of each charity throughout the year. These vary from donating cakes to events hosted and/or organised by the charity, to book launches and events where a percentage of the money generated by ticket sales gets donated.

We are very pleased to be working with the charities that we do and look forward to continuing our work with them! As a reminder, here are the charities that each tearoom is working with at the moment...

Beatons Tisbury— Julia’s House

Based in Dorset and Wiltshire, Julia’s House is an award winning charity dedicated to bringing comfort and care to families where there are children who have very serious medical conditions, across the two counties.

Beatons Blandford

We’re in the midst of choosing a new charity for Blandford, so keep an eye out on our blog and social media platforms to discover who it is when we announce it!

Beatons Crowthorne— First Days

They provide everyday essentials to families who are living in poverty across Berkshire (and further afield) by distributing clothes, toiletries, school uniforms, equipment, furniture, toys and books.

Beatons Petersfield  - Petersfield Counselling Service

A friendly and professional organisation based in Petersfield, Hampshire. Offering short and long term counselling to people 18 years and over, their aim is to offer affordable and helpful counselling to clients facing a range of difficulties.

Beatons Moreton-In-Marsh -  Cotswolds Friends

Well and truly rooted locally, founded by and serving the local community, it aims to support its older local residents − especially those feeling isolated and vulnerable.

We would like to thank all of our customers who have contributed by choosing to buy our community drinks and also by putting dentations into the charity tins. We look forward to continuing raising funds for all our chosen charities!

Meet our Beatons Bod, Georgia!

Each month we dedicate a section of our monthly Bulletin to a new member of staff, our Beatons Bod. We like to do this as it introduces them to you, our customers and we all get to find out a bit more about them. This months Beatons Bod is Georgia, a member of the team in our Tisbury location. 

What's your role and what do you like best about your job?

I am new cook here in Beatons Tisbury. I thoroughly enjoy baking everyday as I am a keen baker at home, and I also enjoy serving quality food to our customers.

What's your favourite drink or edible from our menu? 

I really like the passionfruit soda and the cheese scones.

And how about your favourite book from our shelves? 

I think I’d have to say ‘Guittard Chocolate Cookbook’ by Amy Guittard as I love cooking, baking (and mostly eating) chocolate. This book also contains a lot of interesting recipes, both old and new that I can’t wait to try.

Which of the ways we like to go about things at Beatons means the most to you and why?  

I’d have to say the vision here at Beatons of always putting the customers first and ensuring that they have a pleasant stay with us and a fantastic experience. 

Finally, if you were an animal, what would you be?  

A bit unusual but I would be an ant. I’m hardworking, a team player and you would usually find me nibbling on some food!