Luxury Afternoon Tea Delivered in Newcastle with After-toon Tea

This is an advertisement feature with After-toon Tea

When the reality of lockdown life began to sink in and I realised that we would probably be spending a lot of 2020 shut away in our house one of my first worries (after the state of the world, my sanity and my eyebrows of course) was afternoon tea. As an afternoon tea obsessive the thought of not being able to tuck into delicate sandwiches whilst sipping on a glass of fizz made me feel sad - we celebrate most special occasions with an afternoon tea. So I'm very happy to be able to share my new lockdown treat discovery - luxury afternoon tea delivered in Newcastle by After-toon Tea.

Although there are a few afternoon tea delivery services operating in Newcastle during the lockdown, After-toon Tea have created something a little different and are offering a more luxurious experience with a quality afternoon tea that you'd usually only find in the city's finest hotels. Created and prepared by Cal Byerley (best known for his time as Head Pastry Chef at Michelin-starred Forest Side in Cumbria), After-toon Tea is the perfect afternoon treat if you fancy something a little special whilst you're stuck at home.

In life before lockdown (remember that?) I loved the whole experience of treating myself to a luxurious afternoon and would use it as an excuse to put on a dress and spend a lovely afternoon in the beautiful lounge of one of my favourite hotels.  Of course afternoon tea at home is a little different but in some ways even more enjoyable.  The freedom to be able to dine in your best pyjamas from the comfort of your own home has to be one of the perks of this messy situation. 

I considered perhaps taking my tea on the coffee table in my lounge, outside on my garden furniture or maybe even in bed before deciding on the kitchen (it has become one of my favourite rooms since we started spending so much time indoors.) With no cakestand to hand I decided to get a little creative with my set up and muddle together a stand for my cakes using things from my kitchen cupboard.  As someone who isn't great at arts and crafts I'm pretty impressed with my efforts - who knew a wooden chopping board balanced on two empty coffee jars would make such a lovely stand.

My afternoon tea had been delivered to my front door the day before, conveniently boxed up and ready to pop into the fridge for up to three days, it gave me the freedom to enjoy it whenever I wanted over the weekend.  In all honesty if I'd been feeling lazy I could have just devoured the lot straight out of the boxes, but after the success of my makeshift cakestand I decided to rummage about my kitchen cupboards pulling out any decorative plate I could find to lay out my afternoon tea. If you want an excuse to use your finest china, mismatched plates or untouched wedding gifts this is it.

All set up and ready to go I tucked into my plate of delicately prepared finger sandwiches - Smoked Salmon & Cucumber, Egg Mayonnaise and Coronation Chicken, all afternoon tea classics and the perfect way to start off my experience, especially washed down with a glass of fizz.

I love when an afternoon tea has something extra as a savoury offering and my After-toon Tea also included a slice of Quiche Lorraine which was easily one of the loveliest slices of quiche I have every had.  It was so creamy and I found myself running about the house with a forkful eagerly looking for my husband just to make him try a bit.  So good!

After sandwiches comes scones and I had two to tuck into. I started with the Dale End Cheddar Cheese Scone which I was very happy to see on the menu. Perhaps not a popular thing to say, but I am such a fan of cheese scones I'd choose them over a traditional cream tea!  Unfortunately the afternoon tea didn't arrive with butter for the scone which was a shame because I love proper butter on a cheese scone and my low calorie margarine from my fridge didn't quite hit the spot. Still, it was a beautiful cheesy treat.

Feeling sorry for Simon that he was missing out on this experience I decided to let him tuck into the other scone - the Sultana Fruit Scone was served with Rodda's Clotted Cream and Strawberry Jam which he slathered on with great enthusiasm.  Anyone who's ever read one of my afternoon tea reviews before will know that my husband likes to really pack on his jam and cream! Gone in a matter of seconds I managed to get a quick bite and it was truly delicious.

Saving the best for last and the After-toon Tea cakes were the real star of the show with an impressive display of sweet treats.  Looking at them all laid out in front of me it was hard to believe that these had been delivered on my door step in a box, they were absolutely beautiful and the type of cakes you only ever see in the loveliest of hotels.

I started off with the Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Tart, deliciously sharp against the bitter chocolate, I was off to a great start and didn't really think it would get any better than that, until I slid my fork into the Glazed Lemon Mousse, the perfect hit of sweetness to follow the raspberries.

Having checked in advance about my nut allergy I was so excited to discover that the Layered Carrot Cake with Mascarpone Frosting was safe for me to eat.  I am the biggest fan of carrot cake but can't have it very often as it always seems to contain nuts. It's been years since I've last been able to enjoy one so I enjoyed every forkful of this beauty.

I'm sure we can all agree that the most eye catching treat of this afternoon tea is that stunning apple. Since posting a sneaky look on my Instagram I've been inundated with people asking about it. Would you believe that this perfectly crafted cake is actually a White Chocolate and Madagascan Vanilla Cheesecake? I really can't get over how beautiful it is, imagine being able to create something as perfect as that.  It was incredible and tasted just as good as it looked.

I am so thankful that local businesses like After-toon Tea have given us all a reason to get up in the morning and with every day beginning to feel a little like Groundhog Day it's lovely to organise something like this to give yourself something to look forward to.  

If you fancy ordering your own After-toon Tea to enjoy from the comfort of your house then you can order here.

What you need to know:

• Afternoon Tea costs £20.00 per person
• Afternoon Tea with a 200ml bottle of Prosecco costs £25.00 per person
• The menu is set, however can be amended to cater for vegetarians and pescatarians.  If you have any allergies or dietary requirements please enquire in advance.  
• Afternoon Tea is delivered every Friday and Saturday to NE1 - NE6 postcodes from 10:00 am.  NE13, NE15, NE18, NE20 and NE39-NE46 can also be included.  If your postcode is not mentioned please e-mail to enquire

Find After-toon Tea at:

after-toontea.co.uk/

aftertoontea@hotmail.com

I was treated to complimentary afternoon tea for one by After-toon Tea