PEACOCKS Tearoom in Ely has won an Award of Excellence in The Tea Guild’s coveted Top Tea Place Awards.

Now in its 28th year, the awards are considered the Michelin star of the tea world, with the best venues in Britain judged on their quality and standards of tea and service.

Peacocks, in Waterside, has won an Award of Excellence on seven occasions from the guild and, in 2007, was voted the best tea place in the country.

Owners Rachel and George Peacock opened the tea rooms about 10 years ago in their home overlooking the River Great Ouse. The business has continued to grow since then and now occupies the family kitchen, front garden, living room and hall.

Head of The Tea Guild, Irene Gorman, said: “Each year the standard of entrants for the awards continues to scale new heights, making the judges’ task of choosing those who achieve an Award of Excellence extremely challenging and this year’s competition was no exception.

“This Award of Excellence to Peacocks Tearoom was presented in recognition of consistently high standards of tea making and customer service, evident in the care and attention to detail with which afternoon tea was prepared and served.”

The Tea Guild’s inspectors have spent the last 12 months travelling the length and breadth of the county searching for the nation’s top tea places.

All visits are anonymous and the judges awarded points for the variety, flavour and knowledge of the teas offered.

With 125 points to be lost or gained on the judge’s scorecard, only those tea establishments achieving the very highest standards across a number of categories can make it to the top.