When it comes to afternoon tea, finger sandwiches and scones usually come to mind. While that is indeed part of the tradition, Love Food’s article on afternoon tea discusses its humble beginnings. In the early 19th century, dinner was served at 8pm, leaving a huge gap after lunch. This led to Anna the Duchess of Bedford ordering a tray of tea and bread with butter to her room every afternoon. When she went to London, she introduced the idea to Queen Victoria. Eventually, their small gatherings became bigger, until afternoon tea became a social event.
This cultural love for tea is still very much alive today. In fact, research by Gala Bingo shows that at least a third of people in the UK drink more than five cups of tea a day. Plus, many Brits start drinking it when they are as young as five-years-old. To this day, afternoon tea very much remains a social event for anyone and everyone. Of course, with the ongoing pandemic, you’ll need to take some extra precautions if you’d like to host afternoon tea at home. That being said, here are some tips to help you out.
Send the invites!
The number of people you’ll want to invite will depend on your budget and how intimate you want the event to be. Since afternoon tea is an occasion, consider putting in effort to make an invitation and send it through email or even snail mail, if you’re feeling extra fancy. It will also make your event feel more personal, and your guests will surely appreciate the gesture. There are plenty of free templates on the internet that you can customise to your liking. As mentioned, just make sure to emphasise hygiene and safety protocols.
Go virtual
Until we return 100% back to normal there will be many guests who won’t want to physically attend. One way to ensure everyone is accommodated is to consider hosting your tea party virtually so that more people can attend. Over the pandemic, virtual hangouts have become quite popular — be it birthday parties or even hen-night events. You can certainly do the same for your afternoon tea. Consider platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and good old Skype for your digital affair. The only downside is that your virtual guests will have to provide their own tea and food.
Plan the menu
The drinks, of course, will be tea! This would be the perfect time to introduce the teas you love, especially if they’re not quite as common. But it would also be good to put out the more popular teas, such as Earl Grey and English Breakfast, so that there are some familiar options.
As for food, there aren’t exactly any rules on what to serve, but a typical afternoon tea would have finger sandwiches, cakes, and scones or teacakes. But you can include pastries, petit fours, and biscuits too, for some added variety. Remember to have a nice balance of savoury and sweet among your selections. And if you’re not confident in making them, you can always order from your go-to bakeries and groceries.
Get ready!
Decorations will ultimately depend on your own preference or if you’d like to have a specific theme. For starters, you can decorate the tea table with a tablecloth and some centrepieces, like flowers or pumpkins if it’s autumn. Don’t forget to put out the silverware and plates, a milk and sugar set, and arrange your food properly. If you’re going virtual, you can opt to have your guests’ food and tea delivered ahead of time, so you can all “eat together.”
A home or virtual afternoon tea might not be as fancy as enjoying it at an afternoon tea establishment, but you can still enjoy its social benefits and the comforting feeling of a warm cup.
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