CELEBRATE AFTERNOON TEA WEEK 2022 WITH RICHARD BRENDON

Afternoon Tea Week is here, and with it, one of our favourite times of the year. As part of our week-long celebrations, we’ve delved into the world of tea with Be-oom Tea House, indulged in finger sandwiches and cake at some of the capital’s best hotels, and hosted our own Afternoon Tea picnic. Scroll to see our highlights.

Afternoon Tea in the City, with Corinthia London & Great Scotland Yard Hotel

London hotels have long been synonymous with Afternoon Tea, with thousands sitting down every afternoon across the capital to enjoy the British pastime. We are lucky enough at Richard Brendon to supply some of these hotels with the bone china pieces used to serve this great tradition and we enjoy any excuse we can to have a cup or two ourselves!

Served on a bespoke edition of our Superstripe Collection, Corinthia London’s Afternoon Tea is one of our favourites. Accompanied by a live pianist and served under a glistening chandelier in their Crystal Moon Lounge, there is even a cake trolley from which you can hand pick your preferred cake options.

There is little more we could want from an afternoon, topped off, naturally, by a glass or two of Champagne. Our Reflect Teacups nestled on Superstripe saucers, have rarely looked prettier than when mirroring the hotel’s signature Gugelhupf cake. The Gugelhupf changes seasonally but is always a striking centrepiece to Afternoon Tea at The Corinthia, and our preferred way to finish tea at the hotel.

We also found time to celebrate with Great Scotland Yard Hotel this week, proving that there really is no such thing as too much cake! Continuing festivities from Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, the hotel’s Platinum Afternoon Tea offers a bright and cheerful selection of delights. From dainty finger sandwiches to choux buns topped with miniature recreations of the Queen’s beloved hats, Afternoon Tea has rarely looked so good!

The tea is served on our River Collection, a delicate nod to the iconic meander of the River Thames that weaves through London. Flowing blue cobalt sits beneath Great Scotland Yard’s beautiful and scrumptious Afternoon Tea; a hint to the city in which the hotel calls home.

The perfect way to while away the afternoon, we’ll be booking in again for next week!

Tea 101 with Be-oom

We like to think we know a thing or two about tea, and one of our favourite places to enjoy it is at Be-oom, a Korean Tea House in Clerkenwell.

A tranquil space in the heart of bustling London, Be-oom focuses on naturally sourced tea from small farms that they know and trust. Aiming to create a mindful space in which tea can be enjoyed with purpose, Be-oom is a must-know respite from the busy city. Carrying a selection of speciality Korean teas and more well-known favourites, we enjoyed iced tea and a frothy matcha during our visit.

To find out more about the drink at the heart of our favourite traditions, we visited founder Sooji in store. You can watch our interview below, in which we discuss the importance of tea, how Be-oom works with small farms to hand pick the perfect cup, and why we should all adopt our own ‘tea philosophy’.

Tea in the Park... How to Host an Afternoon Tea Picnic

To end our week-long celebrations, we wandered down to Holland Park to enjoy a picture-perfect picnic of scones and sweet delights.

Our Line Collection of Gold Bread and Butter Plates and Dip Bowls offered the perfect foundation to build our picnic. With glistening gold flickering in the sun, we were ready to set up for tea!

As for the treats? We picked up various tasty morsels fresh from Harrods and Fortnum & Mason to build a truly exceptional Afternoon Tea. Starting with scones, clotted cream and jam is always a good way to go, and no matter which side of the jam or cream first debate you land, lashings of both are essential! We served ours fresh from Fortnum’s and with London Borough of Jam’s ruby red preserves.

For cake, we kept things traditional with mini Victoria Sponges bejewelled with raspberries from Harrods and vibrantly tiled Battenburg from Fortnum's. With both cakes being a favourite of Queen Victoria, who popularised Afternoon Tea and perfected the tradition that we love today, we couldn’t have selected better options for our afternoon!

To drink? Whilst we may go to extreme lengths for tea, we kept things flask-free and simple with the help of Fortnum’s Sparkling Tea. Adding a touch of glamour to our picnic and a much-needed refreshing drink, we served the tea in our Fluted Coupes.

Watch the video on our Instagram now to see the result.



We may have a full year before Afternoon Tea Week rolls around again, but we're sure we'll fit in a scone or two in the meantime. To join us, shop our bone china collections now for the perfect tea service every afternoon.