A great, British tradition, afternoon tea was supposedly first introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in 1840.
Though many consider this story to be more of an old wives’ tale, The Duchess of Bedford (a close confidant of Queen Victoria) was said to often become hungry by around four or five o’clock in the afternoon. She therefore required a light, fulfilling snack to delight the senses until a fashionably late dinner was served at approximately eight o’clock. According to Historic UK, the Duchess would promptly be brought a tray of tea, bread and butter.
Other sources suggest that the concept of afternoon tea was brought back to England by Queen Victoria following a visit to Germany in 1845, when she visited Queen Elizabeth of Prussia, though many English spa towns have recorded serving the meal as early as the 1750s and 1760s.
Whichever story tickles your fancy, we can be sure of one thing: afternoon tea has distinctly regal connotations. It’s no wonder, then, that children across the country would choose teatime as their primary context for a game of make-believe, with a selection of teddy bears and dolls as their rather distinguished guests.
Traditional afternoon tea platters consist of finger sandwiches with delicate fillings including smoked salmon, cucumber, tuna and egg mayonnaise. Many consider scones with jam and cream to be an afternoon tea essential, and small cakes are also often served. English Breakfast Tea and Earl Grey are perhaps the two most common blends for afternoon tea enjoyers in England.
As the March Hare says to Alice at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, “If you don't care for tea, you could at least make polite conversation!”
Keep scrolling for a selection of delicious afternoon tea bites and tablescaping accessories to host the perfect, dainty celebration at home.
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Afternoon tea platters and delightful snacks
Mini Salmon Tartare – 5 pieces
Delight and impress your party guests with a selection of mini salmon tartare dishes which are made to order from Harrods. Ready-to-eat with a two-day shelf life, on the off chance that you end up with leftovers, you can enjoy one of these delicious canapés for lunch the next day.
Buy now £15.00, Harrods
The Caviar and Crisp Tin Selection
A luxury option for the most special of occasions, treat yourselves and your guests to some Baerii fresh caviar from Fortnum’s alongside some delicious Patatas Fritas, which are packaged in a lovely ceremonial tin, for serving.
Buy now £230.00, F&M
Multi Bagel Box
No brunch party is complete without a selection of delicious bagels, and Gail’s rules the roost in the realm of made-to-order bagel platters. This selection box comes with 10 smoked salmon bagel halves and 10 pastrami bagel halves to feed all your hungry guests.
Buy now £31.00, Gail’s
Best Of The West Cheese & Charcuterie Selection
Though technically marketed as a gift set, why not share in the fruits of your spending alongside your party guests, instead of sending a box of goodies straight to their door? Available in two variations – Christmas and standard edition – this incredible charcuterie selection includes vintage Godminster cheddar and award-winning cheeses from Bath Soft Cheese and White Lake Cheese made in Shepton Mallet. It’s also filled with award-winning bits from Somerset Charcuterie including cider nduja, air-dried free-range duck and so much more.
Buy now £125.00, The Newt in Somerset
Mini Tartelette Platter - 56 Pieces
Celebrate any festive occasion with a selection of artisanal sweet treats from high-street favourite pâtisserie, Paul. This 56-piece platter consists of seven different types of Paul’s iconic tartelettes, including eight chocolate ganache, eight lemon cream, 24 crème pâtissière topped with either fresh strawberry, fresh raspberry, or fresh blueberries, eight caramel and eight almond frangipanes topped with toasted almonds. These bite-sized desserts won’t leave an awkward crumbly mess, so your guests will certainly flock to them at the end of a meal.
Buy now £59.95, Paul
Morrisons Raspberry Mini Sponge Sharing Patter
Save yourself the hassle of asking each of your guests exactly what size slice of cake they’d like and avoid the task of cutting a ‘slither’ for that picky partygoer with a selection of mini dusted Victoria Sponge Cakes from Morrisons. Filled with raspberry jam and fresh cream, these delectable cakes are sure to go down a treat.
Buy now £9.50, Morrisons
Ladurée Pink Intemporel raspberry and rose macarons box
Though you might not have thought it, macarons are actually considered to be a type of biscuit. Two fluffy, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside meringue biscuits are sandwiched together with a creamy ganache filling to form everyone’s favourite sweet French treat.
What could be more luxurious than that? For a set of 12 delicious macarons housed in a beautiful box fit for royalty, we couldn’t recommend Ladurée more. This set features just the household favourite raspberry and rose flavours, but you can pick up an assorted box as pictured for the same price.
Buy now £36.00, Selfridges
Belgian Chocolate Profiterole Stack (30 pieces)
Whether served with a hot chocolate sauce or as they come, profiteroles are a fan-favourite snackable dessert to be enjoyed over the holiday season and beyond. Sainsbury’s is offering a whopping 30 perfectly puffy profiteroles filled with sweetened cream and topped with Belgian chocolate sauce for just £9 this winter.
Buy now £9.00, Sainsbury’s
Mixed Mini Cupcake Box
Egg-free, halal-friendly and all-natural, these mini cupcakes from Cutter and Squidge are sure to elicit squeals of admiration from all of your party guests. Choose between a box of 12 or 24 cupcakes in four different flavours: strawberry and vanilla, pistachio and lemon, chocolate birthday (vegan) and chocolate hazelnut (vegan).
Buy now £17.99, Cutter & Squidge
Madame Valerie’s Afternoon Tea
Available for parties of two or four, Patisserie Valerie’s Madame Valerie Afternoon Tea set includes delicious bites such as Mini Madame Valerie Slice (V), Mini Strawberry Gateau (V), Mini Double Chocolate (V), Mini Black Forest (V), Mini Strawberry & Cream Choux (V), Mini Chocolate Éclair(V), Mini Plain Scones (V), Mini Plain Fruit Scones (V), Mini Clotted Cream, Mini Jam, and Loose-Leaf Tea.
Buy now £54.95, Patisserie Valerie
Waitrose Premium Sandwich Selection, 16 pieces
No afternoon tea is complete without finger sandwiches. Pre-order a selection of Waitrose’s 16 best sandwich quarters which are generously filled with smoked salmon and cream cheese, tender steak and caramelised onion, coronation chicken and salt beef with mustard.
Buy now £20.00, Waitrose
Afternoon tea accessories
Bordallo Pinheiro Geranium Serving Platter
What table couldn’t benefit from the presence of extra greens? Make your setting feel wholesome - even if you’re tucking into guilty pleasures like fried chicken - with Bordallo Pinheiro’s plates. The iconic look riffs off geranium leaves (one of Portugal’s national flowers, where the piece was made) manifested in earthenware.
Buy now £75.00, Fortnums
VBC Lemon Teapot
Perfect for summer tea parties in the garden, this lovely lemon teapot has been hand-painted and finished in Italy. The high-fired earthenware vessel is realised in a characteristic lemon shape which is sure to delight the esoteric Taurus in your life.
Buy now £70.00, Liberty
Polspotten Grandpa Tea Set of 4
Delightfully higgledy-piggledy, this set of four contrastingly colourful teacups and saucers would help to create the perfect, eclectic-style tea party aesthetic. Crafted from delicate glazed porcelain with subtle gold detailing, they also have a distinctly regal feel.
Buy now £140.00, Fenwick
Halcyon Days Castle of Mey Shell Garden Teacups & Saucers, Set of 5
If you’re in the market to invest in a heritage set of teacups and saucers, there’s no better place to browse than Fortnum & Mason. We couldn’t adore this pastel, flower-adorned bone china set by Halcyon Days more. It was created in collaboration with the Castle of Mey Trust, which was the beloved holiday home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and represents her favourite flowers which could be found in the castle’s walled gardens.
Buy now £350.00, F&M
Spode Blue Italian Dinnerware Set, 12 Piece, Blue/White
A set worthy of displaying proudly in a cupboard, Spode's old-school design is perfect for conservative couples who love to host. The durable 12-piece set is made from earthenware and will fare well in dishwashers, microwaves and even the freezer while it can handle temperatures of up to 180 in the oven. There's enough here to lay a dinner party table for four, or for the happy couple to reserve a few plates for their future family.
Buy now £162.00, John Lewis
Bed Threads Lavender & Petrol 100% French Flax Linen Scalloped Placemats
Scallop trims are everywhere at the moment, from cushion hems to wallpaper borders. Bed Threads has channelled the trend into placemats with a contrast trim that brings a cheerful pop of colour to the table. Sold as a set of four, the designs are crafted from 100 per cent French flax linen with six other colour combinations to choose from. A real conversation starter.
Buy now £55.25, Bed Threads
John Lewis Decorative Flower Water Hyacinth Woven Placemats
Need greens for the table? Add a splash of the lush hue to your tables with this set of two woven placemats made from water hyacinth strands. Sporting a fancy petal-like trim, the design is both elegant and rustic. Perfectly suited to round plates and green toile tablecloths.
Buy now £6.00, John Lewis
Matilda Goad & Co
Dopamine-boosting style has skyrocketed in recent years, with kaleidoscopic colour palettes becoming the norm within both the fashion and interior spaces. Matilda Goad & Co certainly got the memo with this brilliant stainless steel and acrylic cutlery set. Available in curated colourways as well as mix-and-matchable options, your cutlery drawer is set to be the most stylish space in your home.
Buy now £110.00, Matilda Goad & Co
Taper candles and candlestick holders
The tablescaping trend shows no signs of wavering. Dressing our tables has become as vital as the food itself so you can’t go wrong with gifting attractive candle stick holders and candles to be their centrepiece. Anna + Nina offers a range of tinted glass holders with vintage-inspired designs. Embellish them with different taper candles that now come in a rainbow selection of hues and in weird, wacky and wonderful shapes. Koibird has some of our favourites. Go wild.
Buy now £29.95, Liberty
Mushrooms Large 300x150cm Linen Tablecloth
Perfect for lovers of all things cottage core, this linen tablecloth by Avenida Home is adorned with an intricate mushroom design filled to the brim with discrete details – from bumblebees buzzing around flora and fauna to the delicate posey border. We’d drape this over a chest of drawers to ensure it remains a permanent fixture in our interior design scheme.
Buy now £184.00, Liberty
Bright Rainbow Taper Candles Set of 12
The host in your life should never be short on tapered candles for the dinner table. This set of gorgeous pastel-hued candles from Fairholme Studio should keep them going for the next few mood-lit dinners and cocktail parties.
Buy now £60.00, The Conran Shop
Morris & Co 3 Tier Cake Stand Strawberry Thief, Honeysuckle, Golden Lily
This gorgeous, three-tiered cake stand reminds us of the many varied tea party accoutrements featured on the Mad Hatter’s tea table in Wonderland. Featuring three of Morris & Co’s iconic floral prints, we couldn’t think of a better way to display one’s baked goods.
Buy now £59.00, La Redoute
Flowerstation
Best for: speedy stems
Order by: 6pm
Need horticulture in a hurry? Flowerstation rescues the forgetful with a same day delivery service on selected bunches. Place your order by 6pm and they’ll handle the rest. The company also does celebration balloons and potted plants if you’re looking for something in addition to or instead of your chosen flowers.
Buy now, Flowerstation
