Turquoise Thistle, the restaurant and bar at Hotel Indigo on Edinburgh’s York Place, has extended its afternoon tea menu.

The rather elegant venue already offers an indulgent afternoon tea which is served with or without a glass of Prosecco.

They have recently introduced a more unusual spin on the afternoon treat: a Mad Hatter’s afternoon tea.

Queen of Hearts cupcakes

Taking its cue from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, this special afternoon tea features many intriguing twists such as Queen of Hearts cupcakes served by staff in tophats.

Unconfirmed rumour has it that some of the Eat Me cakes may even cause diners to grow bigger.

Regrettably, cakes that cause those who eat them to shrink are still under development.

Unconventional cocktails

There is also the option to combine the Mad Hatter’s afternoon tea with some unconventional but intriguing cocktails.

Just so that young ‘uns don’t feel left out, The Turquoise Thistle has also devised a Peter Rabbit afternoon tea for kids.

Would-be Mad Hatters are advised to give the hotel 24 hours notice when booking a special afternoon tea.

It takes time to put together those special cakes and potions.

Big Deal on afternoon tea

If the idea of the Mad Hatter’s tea, or its more conventional cousin, has whet your whistle, then check tomorrow’s Big Deals.

Turquoise Thistle is offering afternoon tea for two at £16. Alternatively, for £26, two people can enjoy the Mad Hatter’s afternoon tea plus a cocktail each.

The vouchers are valid until the end of March 2015 so they would make fun Christmas presents. They can be bought here.

Tea trade tales

Consisting of five townhouses, Hotel Indigo has history with the tea trade. Before it became a hotel, one of the townhouses was home to a company called Wm. MacLeod’s of Edinburgh Tea.

Tea importers and blenders, they originally conducted their business from Frederick Street before moving to York Place in the 1950s.

It looks as though they went bust in 1961.

When the buildings were being renovated for Hotel Indigo, the workmen found two of the company’s old tea tasting spoons under floorboards.

They have now been polished up and hung on the walls of the hotel as mementos of the building’s past.

Incidentally, Scots played a large part in the formation of the global tea trade. The first British-built clipper ship was constructed in Aberdeen.

There is more info here.