Afternoon tea delivered to your door: Everything you need to do it ‘Bridgerton’ style at home
If you’ve been an avid fan of the Netflix hit show Bridgerton, where the characters seem to regularly enjoy a spot of tea, cake and gossip, you may have developed a hankering for the classically English tradition of afternoon tea.
But with a third lockdown well underway, and hotels and restaurants closed, outings for this pastime just aren’t an option right now.
We know that lots of people love a cream tea: in May 2020 the BBC reported that searches for the words “cream tea” and “afternoon tea” along with the word “delivery” shot up by 750 per cent and 650 per cent respectively on Google.
But the good news is that retailers seem to have responded to the increased appetite for high teas, and there are now plenty of options to order a complete hamper online, straight to your door.
This is a meal that tends to have lots of different components, so if you’re not keen on sourcing all the elements yourself, ordering in will limit that stress. It will also give you more time to focus on “staging” your tea, and everything you’ll want to use to style it up.
Afternoon tea delivery options will often include a variety of cakes and drinks, and a few have some good savoury options too. Do be sure to check they deliver to your area when you’re deciding which one to go for.
You can trust our independent round-ups. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
High street hampers
This well-priced ultimate afternoon tea selection (£20, M&S) includes all you could want for a sweet treat.
It comes with a Victoria sandwich cake, all-butter Viennese raspberry creams, chocolate brownie mini bites, cherry bakewell tarts, shortbread fingers and ground coffee and tea. You won’t need to eat again for the day once you’ve got through this.
Best eaten on the day
This brightly coloured hamper (£29.90, Cutter & Squidge) is sure to a inject some cheer into your day.
It features two brownies, two lemon drizzle cakes, two scones with jam and clotted cream and loose-leaf tea, and is best eaten on the day it’s delivered. Not that that’s a problem: it won’t hang around long!
Savoury options
For savoury fans, this afternoon tea for two (£30, The Piglets Pantry) includes sausage rolls and scotch eggs as well as the more traditional scones, and earl grey tea to drink.
And if you like this idea but are looking for a meat-free option, worry not: Piglets Pantry offers vegan and vegetarian options too.
Famous tea room hampers
This teatime favourites gift box (£20, Bettys) features Bettys Tea Room teabags, a chocolate shortbread box, a Yorkshire tea loaf and Yorkshire gingerbread.
Anyone who’s visited a Bettys Tea Room will know just how much this brand delights in serving afternoon fancies, and while you might not be able to do it in quite the same breathtaking space, a box of the brand’s goodies will do nicely.
Luxury hampers
If you’re ready to go all out on a seriously spendy tea, this mid-afternoon tea hamper (£150, Fortnum & Mason) will tick all the boxes.
It comes in a wicker basket and has lots of treats from the famous store, including buttery biscuits, classic teas and confectionary.
Kids’ hampers
It’s not just adults that love cake. If you want to spoil the little ones, this Hello Kitty hamper (£37.50, Cutter & Squidge) is designed especially for kids.
It includes jam, clotted cream and scones, chocolate caramel cakes, blondies, loose-leaf tea and a limited-edition tea towel with Kitty on it.
While it’s best eaten in the day it arrives, Cutter & Squidge advises you can pop the cakes in an airtight container to prolong their life, taking them out roughly an hour before serving.
Gluten-free hampers
Good news: you needn’t miss out if you need to avoid gluten in your nibbles. This gluten-free cream tea for two (£13.95, Devon Hampers) includes scones, locally sourced jam and clotted cream.
Teapots
Once you have the food and drink in for your afternoon tea, you’ll want to stage it as prettily as possible, and, of course, you’ll need some basic equipment.
Great tea requires a great teapot, and you can’t get much more classic than this lovely Mary Berry signature teapot (£25.96, Harts of Stur).
It’s made from fine china and holds enough for three cups. Our reviewer of the best teapots said: “With a timeless beaded design and subtle grey trim, [this teapot] would be at home in formal or informal dining situations.” It’s dishwasher safe too, and keeps the water hot through tea time. Perfect.
For something quirkier, this star teapot (£59.95, Emma Bridgewater) holds four mugs of tea and is one you’ll use again and again.
Our tester said: “With a robust, solid earthenware pot and lid, this pot is built to last, pours beautifully and doesn’t drip. We’ve had ours for ten years and it’s still going strong despite dishwashing and frequent use.”
Cake stands
Amazing nibbles deserve an amazing place to sit, and we don’t think you can get much more luxe than this paeonia two-tier cake stand (£90, Wedgwood).
“It weighs in at just over 1kg, so it feels very sturdy and won’t topple over easily in spite of its height,” said our tester of the best cake stands – so it’s functional as well as stunning to look at.
Elegant cutlery
While this Goa cutlery set (£340, Amara) doesn’t include cake forks specifically, we think the regular forks or even the dessert spoons would work for an afternoon tea while really adding a bit of “wow” to the table.
Reviewing the best cutlery sets of 2020, our tester noted: “The utensils are beautifully crafted from top notch 18/10 stainless steel and a pale pink resin. We loved the elegant shaping: perfectly round spoons, slender-necked forks, and an angled, scalpel-like knife.”
Table cloths and flowers
If you’re going classic with the table dressing, you can’t beat a simple white covering like this Seville table cloth (£75, The White Company), which our tester of the best linen table cloths said could be “dressed up for special occasions or down for more everyday use”.
And if you want to add some flowers, these roses and foliage (£29, Stems by Tineke) look timeless.
Reviewing them in our round-up of the best letterbox flowers, our tester said: “The foliage is generous and thoughtfully considered to complement the roses, the colour of which is a surprise unless you request one.”
Bubbles
For a more adult high tea, you can add bubbles in the form of prosecco or champagne, especially if it’s to celebrate a special occasion.
This prosecco rosé DOC (£6.49, Aldi) has a “distinctive floral peachiness we know and love” according to our reviewer of the best proseccos, and we reckon it will go nicely with cake too.
Perhaps champagne’s a must: then this bollinger (£45, Sainsbury’s) is worth a look.
“Apple and pear flavours combine with floral and spice notes and undertones of walnuts and honey to make a rich, delightful and long-lasting drink,” said our reviewer of the best champagnes, also commenting that “apart from being a royal favourite, it’s also James Bond’s champagne of choice, although it’s best to have it not shaken or stirred, just lightly chilled”.
Extra cakes and brownies
While you might already have an afternoon tea hamper on the way, more options couldn’t hurt. After all, the high tea experience is all about variety.
These deluxe fashion letterbox cookies (£28, Baked By Steph) offer something a little special and will brighten up any dining plates.
You can get customised options for any occasion, and our tester of the best letterbox cakes also said: “All the cookies have a one-month shelf life, but we’ll be mightily surprised if they last that long.” We give it 20 minutes, max.
We’re not entirely sure that brownies were around in the Bridgerton days, but they certainly are now. If you want to add them to your high tea assortment, we love these family favourites (£14.50 for 12, Bad Brownie).
They come in flavours that include Maltesers and Oreo pieces, and our tester called them “divine creations”. Enough said.
For more delicious food delivered to your door, check out our round-up of the best fine-dining takeaway options
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