National cream tea day 2021: Everything you need to celebrate at home, from hampers to prosecco
Whether you like jam or cream first, tuck in with an at-home delivery
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Your support makes all the difference.We hardly need an excuse to enjoy the much-loved British tradition of a delicious afternoon tea. But since Friday 25 June marks National Cream Tea Day, it seems only right that we should indulge in a delicious feast to celebrate.
The cream tea has been enjoyed by the nation since 1662 but, according to the Cream Tea Society, the tradition flourished in the west country following the tourism boom in the 1850s, when visitors bustled south looking to relax and indulge.
Fast forward to 2021 and the sweet and savoury feast remains much the same, with cafés, tea rooms and restaurants offering hungry customers a spread of scones, sausage rolls and, of course, bubbles. But, as times have changed, so has the way we get our cream tea fix. Many retailers now offer the chance to order complete hampers online that can de delivered straight to your door.
Most afternoon-tea delivery options will include a variety of cakes and drinks, and a few have some good savoury options too. Just make sure to check they deliver to your area when you’re deciding which one to go for.
So, whether you’re a cream or jam first person, dive in with your chosen tea, scone and preserve this National Cream Tea, with our round-up of the best buys.
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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 hamper
This jam-packed ultimate afternoon tea selection from M&S (£20, Marksandspencer.com) includes everything you could want for a sweet treat.
It features a delicious selection of cakes, biscuits and sweet treats, along with classic ground coffee and red label tea. Indulge in a Victoria sandwich cake, all-butter Viennese raspberry creams, chocolate brownie mini bites, cherry bakewell tarts, shortbread fingers and more.
Best eaten on the day
This brightly coloured hamper from Cutter and Squidge (£29.90, Cutterandsquidge.com) is sure to inject some cheer into your day and is perfect for sharing.
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, Pigletspantry.co.uk) includes sausage rolls and scotch eggs as well as more traditional scones and earl grey tea to drink.
If you like this idea but are looking for a meat-free option, worry not because Piglets Pantry also offers vegan (£35, Pigletspantry.co.uk) and vegetarian (£35, Pigletspantry.co.uk) options too.
Famous tea room hampers
This teatime favourites gift box (£20, Bettys.co.uk) 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 doing 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 andmason.com) should be at the top of your shopping list.
It comes in a luxurious wicker basket which has lots of treats inside from the famous store, including buttery biscuits, classic teas and confectionery, like macadamia nut biscuits, earl grey shortbread and traditional shortbread fingers.
Gluten-free hampers
Good news: you needn’t miss out on a delicious afternoon tea if you need to avoid gluten in your nibbles. This gluten-free cream tea for two (£13.95, Devonhampers.com) 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, so 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 (£23.95, Hartsofstur.com).
It’s made from fine china and holds enough for three cups. Featuring in our round-up of the best teapots, our reviewer said: “With a timeless beaded design and subtle grey trim, [this teapot] would be at home in formal or informal dining situations.” It’s safe for the dishwasher too, and keeps the water hot through tea time. Perfect.
For something quirkier, this star teapot (£59.95, Emmabridgewater.co.uk) 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.com), which featured in our round-up of the best ones.
“Give afternoon tea a bit of that old razzle dazzle with this two-tier cake stand, perfect for small tea cakes, scones and sandwiches,” our tester said. “The bright red dishes are adorned with Chinese art-style peonies and other floral motifs, and the gold handle gives it a very festive look.”
Elegant cutlery
While this Goa cutlery set (£340, Amara.com) doesn’t include cake forks specifically, we think the regular forks and even the dessert spoons would work for an afternoon tea while really adding a bit of “wow” to the table.
The set featured in our review of the best cutlery sets, with our tester saying: “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 tablescaping, you can’t beat a simple white covering like this Seville table cloth (£75, Thewhitecompany.com), 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, consider this bunch of roses and lilies (£26, Waitroseflorist.com) that we think will look timeless.
The bouquet featured in our round-up of the best letterbox flowers, with our tester saying: “The flowers were all delivered in bud, ready to open (ours did so within 24 hours of arrival). Although the roses and lilies were the star of the show, the carefully chosen extras complemented the blooms especially well – we were particularly keen on the feather-like sprigs of greenery, which provided the perfect contrast to the weightiness of the heavier flowers.”
Bubbles
For an adult-only high tea, why not add bubbles in the form of prosecco or champagne.
This prosecco rosé DOC (£6.49, Aldi.co.uk) was highlighted in our review of the best prosecco and was chosen for having a “distinctive floral peachiness we know and love”. We reckon it will go nicely with cake too.
If champagne’s more your thing, this bottle of Bollinger (£45, Sainsburys.co.uk) 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, Bakedbysteph.co.uk) offer something a little special and will brighten up any dining plate.
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.
If you want to add something chocolatey to your cream tea setup, we love this collection of family favourite brownies (£14.50 for 12, Badbrownie.co.uk).
They come in flavours that include Maltesers and Oreo pieces, and our tester called them “divine creations”. Enough said.
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