Afternoon Tea Boxes Delivered
What could be more British than Tea and a delicious slice of cake?
The classic Afternoon Tea has been around since the mid 1800s and has been associated with high-end celebratory occasions. During recent years, afternoon tea ‘delivered to your door’ has become more and more sought after, especially after many of us have spent our birthdays, anniversaries and many other important celebrations in isolation. Despite the world returning to some sort of normality, afternoon tea deliveries are still very much enjoyed and in high demand around the country. If you are not already offering this service to your customers, fear not, you’re not ‘too late to join the party’.
The aim of this article is to inspire and guide you through designing your own afternoon tea box to entice your customers and for you to take advantage of this continually growing trend. So, let’s get started...
Sandwiches
Traditionally, Sandwiches prepared for an afternoon tea were intended to be eaten between lunchtime and dinner to prevent hunger until the main meal was served later in the evening. They can take a number of different forms, however they should be easy to handle and be capable of being eaten with a few small bites.
A selection of different types of breads can be used to add flavour and colour to your spread. Mini bread rolls can be added to add variety. It is very common to remove the crusts of your sandwiches, resulting in a more delicate finish. Just remember to use a clean, sharp bread knife to do this. Below, we have included our recommended Top 5 Afternoon Tea Sandwich Fillings:
When filling the sandwiches for your boxes, the key is to not overfill them. Overfilled sandwiches can look messy and are harder to eat. You also don’t want to fill your customers up too quickly; they have lots of sweet treats still to enjoy...
Tea Selection
Tea is just one of the many aspects of enjoying one of these delightful afternoon tea boxes and is essential when recreating and setting the scene at home. Teabags can be popped in for your guests to enjoy with their sweet and savoury treats. There is a large variety of teas available; below we have recommended our Top 5 Teas Suitable for afternoon tea:
Scones
What could be more iconic to the classic afternoon tea than freshly baked Scones. Whether you decided to make your own in house, or buy them readymade, Scones are a MUST. Throw in a pot of Clotted Cream and Jam; and your customers will be back for more. There are many advantages to making your own scones; they are cheap and easy to make, plus freshly baked Scones are just delicious and not easily forgotten. We’ve included our Scone recipe in a link below should you wish to bake your own.
Scone Recipe:
Ingredients
To serve
Method
Sweet Treats
Cakes, biscuits, tarts and pastries all are great additions to the sweet aspect of your afternoon tea box. We recommend adding sweet items which not only add flavour but also colour to your teatime spread.
It is important to remember that these afternoon tea boxes will need to be transported and delivered, meaning that whatever items you add to the box; do need to be sturdy and not too delicate. It is also important to bear in mind that fresh cream if used in cakes can be temperamental in warmer conditions, so try to avoid using if possible. Butter cream is slightly more resilient if need be. Below we have included some items that we believe are great additions to an afternoon tea box which is going to be transported and delivered. These can be homemade or bought in ready to serve:
A bottle of Fizz
Prosecco or Champagne are usually a fantastic addition to any afternoon tea, especially for celebratory occasions. Adding a small bottle of either of these can add a special touch to your boxes, also bumping up the value of each box, resulting in more profit for you. However, like many of us that don’t currently have a license to sell alcoholic beverages, other non-alcoholic drinks can be substituted. Adding bottles or cans such as fruity San Pellegrino or sparkling elderflower bottles work beautifully alongside the rest of the items. Perhaps give your customers a few choices when it comes to placing their order.
Packaging & Transporting
The main priority when it comes to packaging and delivering your Afternoon Tea boxes is to ensure that it is presented beautifully and arrives to your customer just as presentable as it was when it left your kitchen. We recommend *Colpac Platters and Sleeves* when it comes to this sort of food packaging, mainly because it’s been tried and tested in our shop The Sweet Life many times with 100% success. As mentioned above, the multiple compartments ensure that sweet and savoury are kept in their correct position and prevents cross contamination of flavours. These compartments also prevent items from sliding around the box during delivery, resulting in a complete mess on arrival; Every caterers WORST NIGHTMARE!
The outer window sleeve delivers on the aesthetic appeal, allowing your customer to visibly see the time and effort put into your product. The *Colpac Platter Box* is great for when you need to deliver multiple boxes, as they are sturdy enough to carefully stack in a delivery vehicle. The sleeve is fantastic for preventing food items from drying out when your customers need a little break in between serving.
Going the extra mile...
Set Up Instructions
Keeping It Seasonal
