The Ultimate Guide to Hosting an Afternoon Tea

Here you will find all of my tips on how to host an afternoon tea party. From the recipes for tea sandwiches, scones, cakes, and pastries to what tea to serve, when to serve it, and a timeline this is your go-to for how to throw a tea party!

We love to throw tea parties for special occasions like a bridal shower, birthday party, or baby shower, but also enjoy hosting a tea party just for fun. Who doesn't love an elegant affair filled with delicious treats with your friends!

scones with clotted cream and jam on a white plate on a blue napkin and a cup of tea in the background

What are the different types of afternoon tea?

Cream Tea. This is when only scones with cream and jam are served with tea.
High Tea. A heavier meal is served at night time with hearty meals like jacket potatoes and meat pies. Traditionally this was a working-class tea served on high chairs. Now you might find some fancy hotels or restaurants advertise it as high-tea but they are really serving more of an afternoon tea meal.
Afternoon Tea. Also known as low tea this is served in the mid-afternoon at a dainty table with low chairs. Afternoon tea usually consists of tea sandwiches, cakes, and scones.
Royal Tea. This is an afternoon tea that is served with champagne or fancy cocktails.

When the weather is ideal an afternoon tea party in the garden is idyllic.

What are the staple recipes for afternoon tea?

A three-tiered tea usually starts with finger sandwiches and savory bites at the bottom, scones, cream, and jam in the middle, and cakes and pastries at the top.

I would serve this list below if I was doing a basic tea. I would suggest printing the recipes out for ease. I prepare as much as I can ahead of teatime.

Bottom

Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwiches
Egg Salad Sandwiches (Prepare the filling the day before)
Coronation Chicken Sandwiches (Prepare the filling the day before)

Middle

Traditional English Scones
Real Clotted Cream or Faux Clotted Cream (prepare 2 days ahead of time if making real clotted cream or one day if making faux clotted cream)
Good-quality store-bought raspberry jam or strawberry jam

Top

Scottish Shortbread (Prepare the day before)
Mini Fruit Tarts (Prepare the pastry and cream the day before but assemble the day of)

Keep in mind you can go as wild or as basic as you want. I would start by doing a basic tea and building from there. When you are preparing your afternoon tea menu make sure you think of the different colors of the food and textures to create a well-balanced and exciting menu.

Prep recipes ahead of time

Whenever I host a party I try to plan ahead, but especially when I host afternoon tea I want to get as much done as possible ahead of time! There are lots of components, but with planning ahead it won't feel as much!

The egg salad, coronation chicken, and carrot cheddar sandwich fillings can be made ahead of time, even up to the day before but do not fill the sandwiches until a couple of hours before serving. Cucumber sandwiches are best prepared the day of. When you prepare the sandwich fillings store them in an air-tight container in the fridge.

The scones are best made the day of, but the clotted cream can be made ahead of time. In fact, if you are making the real clotted cream recipe you need to prepare that two days ahead of time as it has a very long but low bake time.

Timeline for preparing an afternoon tea party

2 Days Till Afternoon Tea

Shop for food
Start cooking the clotted cream
Make the sweet shortcrust pastry dough for the mini tarts

1 Day Till Afternoon Tea

Roll out and bake the sweet shortcrust pastry tart shells
Make the pastry cream for fruit tarts
Make the Scottish shortbread
Make the egg salad filling
Make the coronation chicken filling
Finish the clotted cream

Afternoon Tea Day

Make scones in the morning
Set the table, place sugar cubes in the sugar container and fill the milk jug with milk and store it in the fridge. Add jam and clotted cream to serving dishes, cover, and store the cream in the fridge. This could also be done the night before if you have the space.
Prepare sandwiches 1 ½ hours before guests arrive, place them on a tray, and cover the sandwich slices with a damp tea towel to help prevent the bread from drying out.
Fill the fruit tart shells with pastry cream and top with fruit. Store in the fridge.
Boil kettles and set teapots and tea selection out.

smoked salmon sandwich triangles on a white plate on a pink linen

afternoon tea sandwiches on a white plate, two cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches stacked on a white plate on a white marble surface with a green linen

Afternoon Tea Recipes

To create a larger afternoon tea menu I've compiled some recipe options that we have served at teas before. I've labeled what recipes I would prepare ahead of time so there is less to do/ stress on the day you host afternoon tea.

Sandwiches

Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwiches
Egg Salad Sandwiches (Prepare the filling the day before)
Coronation Chicken Sandwiches (Prepare the filling the day before)
Smoked Salmon Sandwiches
Carrot & Cheddar Sandwiches (Prepare the filling the day before)

Nibbles

Sausage Rolls (You can make them and store them in the fridge and bake them the day of)
Tomato Tart

Scones

Cakes and Pastries

Coffee Layer Cake (Make frosting a day or two ahead of time but bake the cake day of)
Chocolate Biscuit Cake (Ideal to prepare a day ahead of time)
Sherry Trifle or Mini English Trifles (Ideal to prepare a day ahead of time)
Mini Fruit Tarts (You can prep the tarts and filling a day ahead of time but assemble them the day of)
French Lemon Cream Tart (You can prep the tart and filling a day ahead of time but assemble the day of)
Sticky Toffee Loaf Cake (Ideal to prepare a day ahead of time)
Easy Lemon Loaf Cake (Ideal to prepare a day ahead of time)
Cream Puffs or Chocolate Cream Puffs
Eton Mess
Banoffee Cupcakes

Biscuits, Cookies, and Bars

Scottish Shortbread (Ideal to prepare a day or two ahead of time)
Viennese Whirls Recipe
Carmelitas (Ideal to prepare a day or two ahead of time)
Orange Crinkle Cookies
Lemon Bars

Show-Stopping Desserts

Discover all of my British recipes.

What tea should be served at afternoon tea?

There are thousands of different types of teas available. You can go in any which direction you want. You could serve strawberry tea alongside strawberry preserves for the scones. Or stick to a basic English tea like English Breakfast, Earl Grey, or Darjeeling. It is traditional to serve loose leaf tea versus tea bags.

Keep in mind:

Each tea is different but as a rule of thumb, tea should brew for 3-6 minutes, and each tea should be served at different temperatures.
If you are serving a loose-leaf tea in your teapot then make sure to use a strainer over each teacup as you pour it.
It is best to warm your teapot before brewing tea in it. Add a bit of hot water and swirl the teapot to warm the whole teapot then discard the water.

You could serve a few different pots of tea to the party if you want or keep it simple with one type of tea. While not traditional green teas and herbal teas have become quite popular.

scones on a light pink plate with tea and cream in the background

english sherry trifle served in a trifle dish on a floral linen

How to set the table for afternoon tea

Afternoon tea is often a delicate and elegant event so use your best linens, cutlery, and serve ware. This alone is a good excuse to host afternoon tea!

Fresh flowers are always a welcome addition to the table. If you are in the States, Trader Joe's has an excellent selection of flowers for a reasonable cost.

Think of the colors of the food to complement what serving plates you use. Fresh herbs, fruit, and vegetables can act as decorations on the plates as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time do you serve afternoon tea?

Afternoon tea is normally served between 3 pm and 5 pm.

What to wear to afternoon tea?

You want to dress in a smart casual manner. This generally means no sports attire; no tennis shoes, shorts, or t-shirts. Gentlemen should wear a collared shirt but there is normally no need for a jacket or tie. Women should dr

How to cut afternoon tea sandwiches?

Use a serrated knife to cut all of the crusts of the sandwiches. You can then cut the sandwich into three rectangles or cut the sandwich in two diagonals to make 4 triangles. The sandwiches should be small in size so the normal sandwich cut in half is too large for afternoon tea.

What order do you eat your afternoon tea in?

You generally work from the bottom of the three-tier up. So you start with the savory afternoon tea sandwiches, then enjoy scones with jam and cream, then finally the cakes and pastries.

Do you stick your pinkie out when drinking tea?

No, this is a common misconception, you should use your index finger and thumb pinched together to hold the loop and handle then use your middle finger to kind of support the teacup. Never wrap your hands around a teacup like you would a coffee cup.

Does the cream or jam go first on a scone?

A debacle that divides the country! Traditionally the Devonshire way is to spread the cream first and then add the jam but in Cornwall, they spread the jam first and then add the clotted cream.

plate full of Scottish shortbread biscuits on top of a Christmas linen on a white marble surface with Christmas trees in the background

sausage rolls recipe served on a white plate on top of white and blue tea towel

Afternoon tea tips

You should only add milk, not cream, to tea after the hot water has been added.
When stirring your tea it is often that one stirs a spoon in circles but the traditional way is a gentle back and forth motion, think 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock.
You leave the saucer on the table, only carry both the teacup and saucer if you are walking around and have no table to set the saucer on.
While you may dunk your biscuits into tea at home it is not something you should do at a nice afternoon tea.
Cut your scone in half and add the cream and jam. Never sandwich the scone back togehter.