Manchester is the European City of Science this year; a worthy title for the home of graphene and Alan Turning. There’s a tonne of high brow stuff going on but Cloud 23 at the Hilton have created a science themed afternoon tea! Yup scones just got geeky! 
There’s no denying it’s a good looking treat but really the science is in the names (some of which I didn’t even understand!). 
The savouries were all really tasty. 
Elmer salmon: beetroot salmon in a brioche roll.
Logarithmic spiral: feta, spinach and pesto puff pastry. Galileo: peppery rocket and bresaola. (not pictured)
Archimedes: mini bagel with tasty salsa and mozzarella.
Let’s face it people love afternoon tea for the sweet stuff!
Lunar ‘moon rock’ scone. Not at all rock like it was a lovely lightly fruited scone served with jam and clotted cream. We all agreed that we’d rather have had butter than cream though.
Bauersfeld planetarium battenburg. This little cake certainly looked the part with a ring of creamy white chocolate. But the problem with the rainbow food fad is that the food colouring dried the cake out. And it wasn’t battenburg – no marzipan!
Dalton minted macaroon. Was supposed to have a pipette of syrup but they were out of pipettes. I’d say that if you’re having a science themed menu, stock up on pipettes…
Einstein’s brain shot! A mini cocktail of Baileys, grenadine and some brain goo in the bottom!
Vesuvius: a chocolate volcano with a creamy white chocolate interior. Disappointingly there was no sign of the advertised crackle candy (I assume popping candy) and if the red ‘eruption’ had chilli in it we couldn’t taste it.
There’s a really good list of teas, coffees and hot chocolates to enjoy with the meal and there is an option to have a cocktail as well – science themed of course! My sis is modelling hers here! 
If you don’t know Manchester, Cloud 23 is on the 23rd floor of the Hilton so has some great views if you’ve a head for heights. The science tea costs quite a bit more than the standard one, and even more if you add a cocktail, and to be honest I’m not sure it’s worth the extra. Sure there’s a couple of cute looking desserts but the traditional tea there looked really nice and with more savouries on it. 
One for science geeks with muchos disposable income.
So tell me, where should I be going for my next afternoon tea?
