Five afternoon teas with quirky themes, including a Charlie & the Chocolate Factory offering
Five stirring afternoon teas with quirky themes, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to ‘Science’, with mousses shaped like planets and desserts in test tubes
- Tuck into snozzberry jam and fluffy floss as part of a Charlie & the Chocolate Factory tea at One Aldwych
- The inspiration behind The Ampersand Hotel’s Science Tea is its neighbour, The Science Museum
- Try pastries inspired by London traders like bakers and vintners in a Guilds of the City Afternoon Tea
When it comes to afternoon teas, the British are sticklers for convention.
But not all the time, as we show here, with a mouthwatering selection of amazing themed offerings including a Charlie & The Chocolate Factory Afternoon Tea at London‘s One Aldwych hotel and a science tea at The Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington that includes jams served in Petri dishes, freeze-dried dessert toppings presented in test tubes and mousses shaped liked planets.
Scroll down for a taster of the kookiest teas around…
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory Afternoon Tea, One Aldwych, London
One Aldwych in London has created an afternoon tea in partnership with the Roald Dahl Story Company. It describes its offering as ‘scrumdiddlyumtious’
The menu for the Charlie & the Chocolate Factory afternoon tea includes a swudge milkshake (pictured) and ‘fabulous fluffy floss’, which it explains playfully as ‘not for dentists!’
Pictured is the Juicing Room Mix cocktail that’s made with gin, pink grapefruit juice, elderflower liqueur, passion fruit, apricot liqueur and soda
One Aldwych describes its Charlie & the Chocolate Factory afternoon tea as ‘scrumdiddlyumtious’.
It’s been created in partnership with the Roald Dahl Story Company and the menu includes imaginative items such as a ‘not-quite-as-it-seems salmon and beetroot macaron’, Swudge milkshake mixed by waterfall, Violet marshmallow, scones with snozzberry jam and fluffy floss.
The drinks list, meanwhile, features the likes of chocolate noir tea and The Juicing Room Mix cocktail, which is made from gin, pink grapefruit juice, elderflower liqueur, passion fruit, apricot liqueur and soda.
Prices for the tea start at £49 per adult and £39 per child. Teas with fizz or cocktails included start at £60 per person.
Peggy Porschen Afternoon Tea at The Lanesborough, London
The Lanesborough has teamed up with the Peggy Porschen Bakery to offer a pink-tinged afternoon tea. The bakery has a reputation for creating pretty cakes
The Peggy Porschen Tea menu includes items like ‘Peggy’s pink pavlova’, lemon and elderflower tartlet, chocolate heaven cupcakes and strawberry and Champagne cupcakes
Pictured is the jolly gingerbread cupcake that will be one of the highlights of the Peggy Porschen Afternoon Tea when it’s given a festive twist on November 13
The Lanesborough’s current afternoon tea offering is a homage to all things pink. The hotel has teamed up with the Peggy Porschen Bakery, which has a reputation for creating exceptionally pretty cakes.
Up until November 13, the menu will feature creations like Peggy’s Pink Pavlova and lemon, raspberry and rose layer cakes.
After this, the menu will be given a festive twist and customers can expect the likes of turkey and stuffing finger sandwiches and jolly gingerbread cupcakes to appear on their tiered tea stands.
The Lanesborough’s festive Peggy Porschen Afternoon Tea is priced at £75 per person, including a glass of Champagne on arrival.
Science Afternoon Tea, The Ampersand Hotel, London
The inspiration behind The Ampersand Hotel’s Science Tea is its neighbouring attraction, The Science Museum
On a Science Tea tiered plate both savoury and sweet items give the nod to physics and chemistry. Customers can expect rockets, dinosaurs and planet-shaped treats
The inspiration behind The Ampersand Hotel’s Science Tea is its neighbouring attraction, The Science Museum. The Ampersand explains: ‘They experiment with sounds and visuals, making each experience interactive. We wanted to do the same with our food.’
On a visit here, you can expect surprises like jams served in Petri dishes, freeze-dried dessert toppings presented in test tubes, mousses shaped liked planets and chocolate soil that you can dust through to find dinosaur fossil biscuits.
The tea is available Tuesday to Thursday from 1pm to 5:30pm and Friday and Saturday from noon to 6:30pm. Prices start at £44.50 per person.
Guilds of the City Afternoon Tea, Vintry & Mercer, London
According to Vintry & Mercer, the Guilds of the City Afternoon Tea takes inspiration from the historic trades and guilds of the capital and the Great Fire of London
The pastries on the menu are all designed around a theme. There’s the Baker pastry, for example – a fruit loaf made with rum-soaked fruits
According to Vintry & Mercer, the Guilds of the City Afternoon Tea takes inspiration from the historic trades and guilds of the capital and the Great Fire of London.
The pastries on the menu are all designed around a theme. There’s the Baker pastry, for example, that’s a fruit loaf made with rum-soaked fruits, and a Vintner pastry that’s a dark chocolate barrel filled with homemade mulled wine. The Fire of London pastry, meanwhile, is a kirsch-soaked chocolate sponge with milk chocolate ganache, cherries and white chocolate.
The savouries on offer are a little more classic – think roast beef and horseradish sandwiches and handmade scones.
The tea is available every Saturday between 2:30pm and 5pm and prices start at £39.50 per person.
The Potion Room afternoon tea, Cutter & Squidge, London
The ready-made menu at the Potion Room afternoon tea includes a selection of sandwiches, a ‘proper pie’ made with a leek and potato filling, and a Yorkshire pudding with beef and horseradish
In addition to tucking into a tiered stand full of savouries and sweet items, visitors to The Potion Room have the opportunity to get hands-on to make a few ‘potions’ for themselves
The experience in The Potion Room starts with visitors taking a seat at school-style tables and awaiting the arrival of a ‘potions master’, who will teach them how to make edible and drinkable potions to go with their tea
The Potion Room afternoon tea at Cutter & Squidge was meant to come to an end in May 2020, but it was curtailed early due to Covid-19. As a result, its creators are giving it another run in the new year.
The experience starts with visitors taking a seat at school-style desks and awaiting the arrival of a ‘potions master’.
After this, the afternoon tea is served and visitors learn how to make their own drinkable and edible potions to go along with it.
The ready-made menu includes a selection of sandwiches, a ‘proper pie’ made with a leek and potato filling, and a Yorkshire pudding with beef and horseradish.
Prices start from £49.50 for adults and £39.50 for children.
