Afternoon Tea Mother's Day Gift Guide

In case you hadn’t noticed the influx of pink, florals and gin sets filling up the shelves on the high street, Mother’s Day is just around the corner (11th March, FYI). Nothing says “I love you” quite like tea and cake, so what better way to show the special woman in your life how much you care than with some afternoon tea-inspired goodies? Whether you’re looking for the perfect little something for your coffee queen or a bit of a tea adventure, our Mother’s Day gift guide has got you covered.

1. Clipper Organic Infusions | RRP £2.39 available to buy online here 

Florals, for Spring? Groundbreaking. If you did the flowers thing last year, maybe a floral tea could do just the trick? All made with pure ingredients and a clear conscience, Clipper's range of organic infusions and green teas are your go-to gift. Try Flower Power Infusion made with elderflower, hibiscus & limeflower or the wonderfully named, Calmer Chameleon Fusion with chamomile, honeybush & cinnamon which can be bought separately (20 bags per box) or as part of the Clipper's Tea Organic Infusions Sublime Selection which includes six different flavours presented in a neat gift box. 

2. Cake stand, teapot and teacup & saucer, Matalan | RRP from £4 to £10 available to buy online here 

If you fancy hosting your own Mother’s Day afternoon tea party, Matalan’s range of affordable teacups, teapots, cake stands and much more has everything you need to throw a party even the Hatter himself would be jealous of. Our favourite has to be this adorable gold polka-dot teapot but with pieces in the range starting from as little as £4 there’s something to suit every style and budget.

3. Elizabeth Shaw Luxury Biscuits | RRP £1.79 available to buy online here 

Tea and biscuits anyone? One is always better with the other so if tea is already on the cards why not try a selection of luxury biscuits from British chocolatier, Elizabeth Shaw. Choose from a variety of flavours including Raisin & Hazelnut, Coconut & Hazelnut, Raisin & Cocoa and Mint & Cocoa, topped with smooth milk or rich dark chocolate, available from all major UK supermarkets.

4. 'Queen of Caffeine’ bone china mug, Bespoke Verse | RRP £12 available to buy online here 

Most will tell you being a mother is the best job in the world but it’s also a busy one. So for those who like a good caffeine boost to kickstart the day, sip in style with this sweet bone china mug from Bespoke Verse. The website specialises in a range of poetry-themed gifts and homeware including a rather brilliant “Ode to Poldark” mug which we might have to steal for ourselves (sorry mum!). 

5. Personalised teacup and saucer, Find Me A Gift | RRP £14.99 available to buy online here 

The folks at Find Me A Gift have got Mother’s Day sorted with a dedicated gift section but we’ve done the searching for you (you're welcome) and our favourite has to be this personalised cup and saucer. Make mum the perfect breakfast in bed complete with a brew that comes decorated with your own personal message and mini cupcake print. Plus you can complete the set with a matching teapot. Beats any old card, don’t you think! 

6. Taste Tripper | RRP £19.50 (one person) or £35 (two people) available to buy online here

If you want to try something different, then this little yellow envelope may just have the answer. Taste Tripper takes you on a tour of some of London’s best cafes, bars and boutiques with a range of curated Explorer Packs created by people who just really love food. The Central London Explorer Pack includes four coffees, one tea and three chocolates to collect across Notting Hill, Chelsea, Soho and Covent Garden, plus recipes, fun facts and a map to help you navigate your guided taste tour. Get the two person pack and make a day of it!

What are some of your Mother’s Day afternoon tea-themed gift suggestions? Let us know in the comments and join in the conversation on Twitter and Instagram.

Photography: Caroline
Words: Laura

The Teapot Dude - Give the Gift of Tea

A few weeks ago, we were sent a lovely care package from the guys at Teapot Dude. Perfect for those times when only a brew will do, this novel little range will make an ideal stocking filler for the tea lover in your life

My first reaction when opening the box was how incredibly pretty everything was. Pleasantly designed, in a variety of cute motifs, including floral, moustaches and cakes, their greeting card selection has design nailed to a 'tea'. My favourite of the range, has to be the pretty florals (Tea'lightful Cuppa Rosie Lee) which complemented my new flower enhanced tea cups perfectly. 

Containing four tea pot mounted bags (traditional blend) and a pack of pegs to attach to your cup,, these cards are a great alternative to the usual birthday or thank you card. 

Time for Tea

Also included in the pack was a sneak peek at the brand's upcoming Christmas Collection. Again beautifully designed, with a selection of Xmas motifs, these winter warmers will be available soon in a festive cinnamon blend. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a spiced tea drinker, so on this occasion, handed the reviewing power over to my mum, who tried all four bags before describing the tea as 'A lovely full bodied brew, with a great zing of cinnamon on the taste buds' - sounds pretty good to me.

I've always thought of tea as being quite a dull gift, however Teapot Dude have definitely changed my mind. For more information or to buy one of their lovely greeting cards, visit their website here.

Will you be investing in a festive brew this season?

All items in this review were sent for our consideration, courtesy of Teapot Dude. However, as usual, all thoughts and opinions are our own! 

The Afternoon Tea Club Reviews: The Rosewater Bakery

For The Afternoon Tea Club, cakes and tea appearing in our mail is a bit of a regular occurrence  - and makes us incredibly popular amongst friends! However, the novelty has by no means worn off, especially when it’s as beautiful as the packages we received last week from the Rosewater Bakery.

Now, we don’t know about you, but there’s little more exciting than a huge pink box filled with cake - it's just a fact. Wrapped in luxury gold gift paper, the Rosewater Bakery’s delivered Afternoon Tea hamper is a winner from the get go and girly girls will absolutely love the array of rosy accents and ribbons. 

All care has been taken to make sure these hampers arrive in top condition and they are packaged thoroughly in an insulated hamper which keeps every section perfectly fresh.

Time for Tea

The presentation from the Bakery is enough to make these hampers a must try alone. From the Rosewater Bakery seal, to the gold foil lining the box, they haven’t missed a single trick.

On to the important stuff, the food! Inside is a selection of sandwiches, scones, mini cakes and tea time treats to give you the full experience of Afternoon Tea at home.

All of our favourite sandwiches were there including; salmon, ham and tomato, beef and horseradish and egg and cress – with plenty to go around too (To quote Laura’s dad during our test: How are you going to review this properly if you don’t share some with your dad? – nice try, nice try.)

There are four scones in each hamper, two sultana and two of the Bakery's signature Rosewater and passionfruit flavour. We always love when bakers have their own unique scone recipes so these were a real treat. Pop these in the oven for 10 mins and you’re ready to go. These are accompanied by portions of tangy blackcurrant jam and clotted cream. Just delicious!

Next, the mini cakes. There’s a perfect balance of tea time favourites and the Bakery’s own concoctions including peach cupcakes, red velvet, chocolate with mixed berries and cherry bakewell tarts. The peach cupcakes were our faves, an unusual flavour and the buttercream was delicious. But of course you can't beat a good red velvet cake too!

There’s even more cake to follow as the hamper comes with a bag of brownie miniatures and fruit cake. These are great for sharing a little later on when everyone’s had a bit of a cake overload.

If you're searching for a great gift idea that's a little bit quirky or perhaps just fancy Afternoon Tea in your pajamas then a Rosewater Bakery hamper might just be the thing. 

For more information and to order from the Rosewater Bakery you can visit their website here.

DISCLAIMER: As is common in the catering and leisure industry, we were provided with complimentary services for review purposes. However, all views and opinions are our own!

The Afternoon Tea Club Reviews: Fanny's Cream Tea by Post

As you know, we at The Afternoon Tea Club are partial to a couple of scones and a pot of tea so we were super excited when we received this yummy little package!

Afternoon Tea often conjures up images of grand hotels, perfect china and crisp white linen table cloths – which we highly approve of, of course! But sometimes there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to indulge in your favourite pastime, and after a busy day you might just want to curl up on your own sofa with a brew from your favourite teacup. Well, Fanny’s Farm makes that possible by bringing the best of Afternoon Tea to the comfort of your own home with their ingenious Cream Tea’s by Post!

Packaged to perfection in old fashioned brown paper and nestled rather creatively in a bed of popcorn, Fanny’s Cream Tea by Post has got your afternoon covered.

Tea for Two includes four fruit scones, a large jar Devon Clotted Cream of and two pots of homemade seeded raspberry jam along with two teabags, sweetly stamped with Fanny’s signature logo. There’s even a napkin each to complete the look – we loved the coordination.

There are handy instructions for tea too. The scones only take five minutes to warm in the oven whilst tea will take 3 minutes to brew for a cup that’s just right. The aroma from the oven was absolutely mouth-watering.

The jam and cream spread onto the scones very easily and there was a more than generous amount of both to go around. We loved that we each got our own jam jars and the labelling was extra cute with ingredient’s including ‘1% Fanny Magic’ – adorable.

The scones themselves were really lovely. We were anxious as to how the products would keep whilst in transit but they were extremely fresh and tasted great still warm from the oven. 

Cream Tea by Post would make a wonderful gift for any afternoon tea lover. You can treat yourself in your own time and have it exactly how you want it. It’s clear that a lot of love and care goes into each of these packages and that’s shown in the fantastic quality and faultless presentation. This really was a completely unique and very lovely experience – now who’s birthday is it next?...