The stuff from before on NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown ...

Huntley & Palmers resurrected

After an absence of more than ten years the Huntley & Palmer brand is once again to found on our shelves. Huntley & Palmers of course dates back to the early part of the nineteenth century and is one of the pillars of the British biscuit industry, with a whole museum devoted to their past in Reading their birthplace. The brand had passed on to Jacobs, who had effectively wound it down although continuing to make many H&P originated products such as Iced Gems.	Nice new logo
Huntley & Palmers' products became famous in 137 countries and, even today, their reputation for baking unique, top-quality products, such as Milk & Honey, Breakfast Biscuits and Chocolate Olivers is fondly remembered. The brand's packaging also achieved unsurpassed standards of excellence with its presentation tins and promotional posters. Many of these can still be seen today at the Reading Museum. The new MD of H&P Nigel McCrea acquired the Huntley & Palmers name whilst working as a director at Jacobs, and is relaunching the new H&P as a luxury brand. The company is exclusively targetting the speciality and fine-food sector, including delicatessens, major food and department stores, airport duty-free, food-service, hotels, mail-order, hampers and internet sales. Initial products include "When Taste Matters", an assortment of bite-sized sweet biscuits. "Not Just For Cheese", an assortment of biscuits and wafer-thins. "Chequers", a box of mint crisp chocolates, wrapped in two different colour foils, with a board designed into the pack, so you can enjoy an after-dinner chocolate whilst playing a light-hearted game of draughts and "Brandy & Walnut Christmas Pudding", described simply as the richest traditional pudding you can buy. Of course we put in a plea to Nigel on behalf of all those NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown readers who long to see the Milk & Honey, and maybe the Chocolate Bath Oliver resurrected too.

Classy Orange Innovation

Well here at NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown we have just got our hands on the new Orange flavour Choco Leibniz, which should start appearing in stores in the second week in December. Bahlsen has chosen the UK to launch this product. Presumably this is such a radical make over on a well an established biscuit that the home market of Germany would be stunned. However, I'm sure the British public will rise to this little challenge, and the launch of Orange flavour After Eight chocolates this Christmas will help raise the profile of Orange flavoured things even further, we expect. To find out what we thought of them take a look at Biscuit of the Week.

Look closely for the little orange segment on the pack

Triumphant Cornish Tea Tour

Well if you wondered why NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown had gone a bit quiet, we've been taking a much earned break down in Cornwall on another of our Celtic tea tours. The Cornish consider themselves to be Celts and have their own Celtic language, Woo. However, to most visitors what is more important is the uses to which they put prodigious amounts of clotted cream produced in the county. Sticking it in a scone with jam works for us, although the younger members of staff were impressed by its addition to strawberry and chocolate ice cream.

We based our stay in the delightful south coast village of Fowey, and not just because its close to the Eden project but because its about the loveliest bit of Cornwall there is. To find out more about our Cornish Tea Tour and which important tea time plants we found at the Eden project see our monthly newsletter.