Recipe: Earl Grey tea sorbet

We thought we’d share with you another recipe. This is particularly good on hot summer afternoons…

We’re told that the secret to a good tea sorbet is the infusion. Recipes usually tell you to add boiling water but this recipes warns against this! It recommends soaking the tea in cold water overnight instead. This should give a good flavour and none of the bitter tannin. It also suggests experimenting with teas and various fruits as the tast combinations are a revelation!

Ingredients (to make approx. 1l or 4 cups)
3 tbsp Earl Grey tea-leaves*
625ml water
300ml Sugar Syrup
Juice of 1 lemon, strained

* If you use tea bags rather than leaves, use 4.

Tea tin from the collection at Tyntesfield © National Trust

Charlecote’s timeline

If you’re a regular visitor to Charlecote, you may have notice that the downstairs room in the Gatehouse has been closed for a while. This has been because we wanted to create something special…

The Gatehouse was build in the mid 1500s and is Grade I listed. When you’re visiting, it is pretty much the first building you come across. For this reason it is the perfect location to give you an introduction to the site.

Our team wanted to use this space to give the long history of Charlecote. But there are so many stories to tell. How on earth do we share them all?

‘Capability’ Brown and Charlecote Park

2016 is a special anniversary year for two people we are particularly fond of…

William Shakespeare – who died 400 years ago. Quite a local celeb and, as I am sure you are aware, reputed to be a bit of a law breaker in his youth…

But the other chap, a fine Georgian fellow, is Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. He was born in Northumberland 300 years ago. Name sound familiar? Here is a little introduction…

‘Capability’ Brown played a role in landscaping the park here at Charlecote. His influence can still be seen in the parkland when you visit.

Say it (secretly?) with flowers

Flowers are often given to Mum’s on Mothering Sunday. Who doesn’t love a bunch of blooms?! But did you know that the flowers you choose have hidden importance. Read more to find out whether you’ve sent the right ones…

The Victorians believed flowers had meanings. So whatever flower you were given was a secret message of feelings. For example, take Tulips – a good Spring flower.
The colour of the tulip is important. A pink tulip means caring, purple is Royalty,
red a declaration of love, white is forgiveness and yellow is hopelessly in love.

Mixed messages in the parterre?