A Simple Valentine’s Afternoon Tea
Some inspiration for a simple Valentine’s afternoon tea.
I don’t normally do anything for Valentine’s Day, but this year I felt a pull to celebrate in some way. I’ve always loved tea, and tea sets, and tea parties, so I decided to put together a simple afternoon tea for Valentine’s this year. One of the ladies I’m subscribed to on Youtube recently did a video on a vintage afternoon tea; and I was heavily inspired. I pulled out my thrifted lace tablecloth and the tea set my mom gave me, and set out to find tea-time recipes that were easy.
The Goodies
Quiche is one of the few things I can claim to make really well. It’s very easy to put together and lends itself to a variety of settings. For my afternoon tea I made Quiche Lorraine, which is a fancy way of saying it’s got bacon and cheese.
I had never made scones before, although I’d always wanted to. I found an easy recipe and set to work. They were honestly very easy to pull together and use basic pantry ingredients. The texture is lovely and I adore the flavor, especially paired with butter and cherry preserves. I’ll be honest, I fully intended on making clotted cream as well. However following some research I discovered that the cream cannot be ultra-high temperature pasteurized or it will not set correctly. The only way to get non-UHT cream here is to order it through Azure Standard. So that will have to wait for another day.
This is my first attempt at a pastry braid and I’m thrilled with how it turned out! I will be making these much more often, it was so easy to make and sooooo delicious! It’s literally a puff pastry sheet, half a brick of cream cheese sweetened with some sugar and a splash of vanilla, and berries. Blueberries in this case. Simply divine!
The Tea
For the tea, I used three bags of Yorkshire Tea in the pot. One of my husband’s co-workers gifted us a box for Christmas several years ago. Once that box was gone, I ordered a big box! Of the black teas that I’ve tried, this one is my absolute favorite. The flavor is so different from other brands, I’m totally hooked! I love their tagline, “Let’s have a proper brew”. I can’t help reading it in an English accent in my head. LOL.
After I finished making all the goodies, brewed the tea and set the table, I honestly took a step back and almost put everything away. I was tired and the thought of having to hand wash the china afterwards was daunting. I actually started to put stuff away before I even used it. My husband told me I was being silly. After my inevitable protests of “no, I’m not”, I realized I actually was. It was only a few dishes. And besides, if I don’t make occasions to use them, they will sit in the hutch and never get used.
So I sat at my dining table and drank my tea from the dainty, tiny little teacup and enjoyed my homemade scones. I felt a little silly using the fancy stuff for just me, and I was suddenly very aware of how often I set my elbows on the table, LOL. I’m glad I did it anyway.
I hope this will inspire you to use your fancy, pretty dishes. If you love them, don’t let them sit in the cupboard waiting for a “special occasion” to be used. Celebrate the everyday pleasures. Celebrate that you are alive and still breathing. It might feel a little awkward at first, but I really doubt you will regret it in the long run.
Takeaways
I am planning on scheduling afternoon teas for myself on the regular. I will likely keep it even simpler than this, maybe only tea and scones. But being able to pause and enjoy a tea break is lovely. I recommend it and I see why it’s a huge cultural staple in Great Britain.
I hope this inspires you to try your own afternoon tea. If you do, I would love to hear your experience!
Until next time,
Ariel
I really REALLY enjoyed reading this, this evening Ariel! I have to admit, you made me laugh out loud a few times. I can just see you getting self-conscious and nearly putting it all away. I can see the scolding you received. I’m glad he did it! After all that effort, it would have been a shame to not partake. Funniest and most heart warming was how often your elbows were on the table!