What tea to use when serving afternoon tea at home?

While having an afternoon tea party at home, you might consider using an alternative tea to the trusted English Breakfast or the standard Afternoon Tea blend. While both are lovely and firm favourites, it can be a nice touch to consider offering alternative teas to your guests. If you personally are a tea lover, it’s a great way to build on your tea collection. I can honestly say, in my home, I can cater to most tea requests! Coffee on the other hand, is hard to find in my house. Below I outline a traditional afternoon tea menu and pair it with a tea which I think works best. Before I go on, I will point out that afternoon tea at home is smaller than what you would find in a hotel, hence why I have a smaller selection of sandwiches and pastries here.

Sandwich course

For the sandwich course, I am having two sandwiches, cucumber and coronation chicken. For the cucumber sandwich, which is a lovely light, refreshing sandwich with lemon butter so I have decided that I would like to pair it with a jasmine green tea. Jasmine green tea is a beautifully flavoured green tea and the way it is made with such care is really remarkable. A good quality jasmine will be made by plucking the jasmine flowers during the day while they are closed and mixing them with the tea overnight so that the blooms open releasing the beautiful fragrance. Delightful with a cucumber sandwich. Next is the coronation chicken sandwich, which is totally iconic when it comes to its place on the afternoon tea table. Specially invented for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, it is no wonder that it makes a regular appearance on traditional British afternoon tea menus across the country. For this sandwich, I have paired it with an Earl Grey tea. While there is the obvious curry flavour, it is a creamy sandwich and we want a black tea to really hold its own against the creamy taste. An earl grey tea is perfect for this and the bergamot really compliments the flavour.

Scone course

For the scones, I have included a plain scone for my guests as it caters to all. Also, if you are making everything from scratch there is quite a lot to do so I think one type of scone is sufficient. Of course, if you’re an experienced baker and host then do have as many types as you please! For the plain scone, I will be serving it using traditional clotted cream and strawberry jam. I thought for this course, it would be lovely to serve this with an English Breakfast tea. While it is nice to have a mixture of teas, when it comes to the scone, why fix what’s not broken and serve it with a beautiful English Breakfast. Or if you are feeling adventurous, then I would suggest using an Assam.

Pastry course

A classic for the pastry course has got to be the Victoria Sponge. Queen Victoria was definitely a fan of the strawberry sponge cake which later acquired her name so if it is fit for a Queen then it will be perfect for your guests. For this course, I’m not going to suggest a tea but rather a herbal infusion. I think a delicate pink rose tea would work beautifully with this course. It is also known to be good palate cleaners so perfect for your guests to finish off with.

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