What Tea Should You Drink with Afternoon Tea?

Teas for a British Afternoon Tea

This is the season for sunshine and vintage afternoon tea with traditional games in the garden such as quoits and dominos. Just like the royal family, the British love to drink loose leaf tea on the lawn. There’s something so special about dressing up ourselves and the tea table for a garden party to celebrate a special birthday, an anniversary or a wedding.

The British are great at finding a reason to celebrate big occasions in the sun, whatever the temperature. There is nothing like tables laid with vintage tablecloths and napkins, and the sparkle of an amber, perfectly brewed tea poured from a vintage teapot into delicate porcelain crockery. But which teas should you choose to grace your afternoon tea table?

It doesn't always have to be English Breakfast tea

Many Brits are known to steadfastly default to the familiar taste of an English Breakfast blend but, did you know there’s nothing British about it?  In fact this loose leaf blend is often Ceylon and Assam tea grown in Sri Lankan and Indian tea plantations.

Each tea manufacturer in the UK, combines the teas to a house recipe and so good old 'builder's tea', as we like to call it, is rarely a home grown or historical recipe. Save the builder's tea for other gatherings: you deserve to try something different and especially curated for your vintage tea party!

For me, the afternoon-tea bite-sized sandwiches, luxurious clotted cream and jam scones, and the range of petits fours are so filling that lighter loose leaf teas are better for digestion and enhance the flavour of the savoury and sweet treats.

I believe that the perfect afternoon tea should offer perfect tea pairings and these are my suggestions: 

Pairing loose-leaf tea with sandwiches

Sandwiches are the first course in afternoon tea and are often the favourite savoury course.  For this reason, it’s really important to concentrate on delicate sandwiches with delicious flavours. Here are my favourites:

Jasmine tea, a light tea - with avocado, pesto and pinenut pinwheels.

Ceylon tea, very weak and black - with Coronation chicken sandwiches

A malty Assam tea, brewed for just two minutes - with cheese and pickle

Pairing loose leaf tea with scones, clotted cream and jam

The best scones are warm and not too sweet for the rich buttery taste of clotted cream and a small helping of strawberry jam. 

Darjeeling and Earl Grey are excellent companions in this course. 

The scones are a sweet course so floral notes complement perfectly. 

Preferably use an infuser and decant the tea once it has achieved the right colour so that it doesn’t keep brewing.

Pairing loose leaf tea with sweet petits fours

By this point in the afternoon tea, everyone, without fail, is full - so I would suggest a digestive.

Fresh mint tea or dried mint leaves are excellent companions to chocolate desserts.

Dried chamomile flowers are a gorgeous tea, calming and easy on the palate. 

Loose leaf tea pairings for your afternoon tea

Let me know if you try any of these ideas for afternoon tea or if you have any other ideas for loose leaf tea pairings. When we create vintage afternoon teas for our clients, we provide opportunities for tea tasting and for you to choose loose leaf teas that you wouldn’t normally try.

If you would like to find out about tea party catering for your own celebration, get in touch with me, Mel, for a friendly conversation. You'll also usually find me at Ripley Farmer’s Market on the second Saturday of the month and at Old Woking Community Centre on the third Saturday of the month. I love to talk everything afternoon tea!