Afternoon Tea, quintessentially British, refined, and above all, delicious!

The tradition of Afternoon Tea started in 1840 when Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, would become peckish at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon and so would order tea with bread and butter to her private room. She soon started to invite her friends to take tea with her and so the tradition grew.

Today, Afternoon Tea typically consists of scones served with clotted cream and jam, sandwiches, often cucumber or egg mayonnaise with cress, and all served with a warm pot of tea. The type of tea can vary although most commonly Earl Grey, Assam or Darjeeling are served.

However, we feel the thing that sets Afternoon Tea apart and makes it the tradition we all love and enjoy is the beautiful china that it is served with. We have compiled a list of our favourite patterns to enjoy Afternoon Tea with.

5 - Wedgwood - Hathaway Rose

Hathaway Rose by Wedgwood was produced between 1959 and 1987 and is the first on our list. The elegant design of pink roses and green leaves combined with the gold gilding gives this pattern the class and refinement you expect when taking afternoon tea. 

4 - Colclough - Coppelia

Colclough has produced so many patterns that are beautifully suited to afternoon tea that we could have made a top 5 just for them! We have decided to pick just one for this list however and that selection goes to Coppelia. Pink and blue flowers give this design a cool, calming feel and the gold gilding again gives this pattern the elegance that you can always expect from Colclough.

3 - Duchess - Tranquillity

We couldn't mention Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford and not include a pattern by the manufacturer Duchess. Tranquillity features subtle, small pink and blue flowers in an almost continual design around each piece and, in what is becoming a recurring theme in this list, a gold gild to finish things off.

2 - Paragon - Belinda

Just being beaten to the number one spot, Belinda by Paragon is a very popular pattern even today and it's not hard to see why. Produced for just 2 years from 1988 to 1990 it features a multicoloured flower garland and fluted borders. Paragon produced many elegant patterns throughout the years but this has to be our favourite.

1 - Royal Worcester - Royal Garden

And finally, our number one spot goes to Royal Garden by Royal Worcester. This pattern features beautifully delicate white and pink roses with green leaves and is finished with both a thick gold gild and a gold inner ring. This particular variant of the pattern has the added intricacy of the inner ring consisting of both solid and dashed sections in the gold opposed to a solid inner ring featured in the pattern's other variant. Produced for just 11 years between 1974 and 1985 this pattern can still be enjoyed although is becoming ever rarer as the years go on.

All this talk of tea and scones has made us peckish! I think it's only fair as it's Friday we treat ourselves to a scone this afternoon!

What are your favourite china patterns to enjoy with your afternoon tea? Comment below and let us know and remember to share this post with your friends!