What do I need for an afternoon tea at home?

This is Part 1 of my full guide of what you need to create a perfect afternoon tea at home. While it is still unknown for when most of us will return to normal, we can bring some joy to our own homes by treating ourselves to afternoon tea. Remember, an afternoon tea should be a bridge between lunch and dinner so if you’re making it at home you don’t need to go ‘all out’ with the food. Unless you want to of course! I would say, don’t feel under pressure to have absolutely every item listed below. Afternoon Tea is something you can recreate over and over again, so plenty of time to build to your collection.

The utensils you will need include:

• Tea cups (a mug is fine if that’s what you have but cup & saucer is ideal) ️

• Tea pot

• Small plates for the food (ideally multiple to change as people’s plates begin to get crowded)

• Tea spoons for tea

• Pastry fork or small fork

• Butter knife

• Tea spoons for the jam and cream

• Napkins

• Sandwich plate or square tray

• Extra plates to serve the food

• Table cloth

• Place mats

• Tea Strainer (for loose leaf)

• Cake plate

• Tiered stand

• Sandwich platter

• Linen tablecloth

• Linen napkin

• Water glasses

• Menu

• Name cards

• Milk jug

• Jam and cream pots

Depending on how fancy you want it to be you can use as many of these as you’d like. Remember - the most important ingredient is good conversation and fun. Enjoy and please do tag afternoontealondon on social media so I can see your creations.