Afternoon Tea
Catering
At Pearl Lemon Café, we pride ourselves on being as well versed in the most British of beverages, and tea, as we are in coffees of all kinds. Afternoon tea is something we offer at our Fulham café location, and now, afternoon tea catering has been added to our extensive off-site catering services as well.
Afternoon tea catering provided by Pearl Lemon Café is the ideal catering option for luncheons, business meetings, baby showers, wedding showers, and other personal events. It is also an increasingly popular option for businesses, especially those who want to stand out when entertaining clients or offering their employees a special perk.
What is Afternoon Tea?
Afternoon tea is the very British tradition of sitting down with friends (or family, or colleagues) to enjoy both excellent tea and a selection of finger foods, in, as the name suggests, the afternoon.
As a catering choice, Pearl Lemon Café’s afternoon tea catering services differ from the norm. While we can certainly provide a very traditional afternoon tea experience, we can also offer themed options, business branded options and even afternoon tea catering specifically for children. Contact us today to learn more!
The History of Afternoon Tea
Even though it’s a treasured British tradition, most people don’t really know how it all began. To truly appreciate the occasion created by our afternoon tea catering services, it’s helpful if you do. And as tea experts, we’re happy to be the ones to tell the story (briefly)
Early in the nineteenth century, tea in Britain, and across Europe, consumption skyrocketed, and it was at this time that Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, allegedly complained of “getting that sinking feeling” in the mid-afternoon.
At this time in history, people usually only ate two meals a day: an early breakfast and a late dinner, served at around 8pm. Modern nutritionists can tell us this was a terrible idea, and certainly explained the Duchess’ (and everyone else’s) afternoon malaise. Anna was ahead of her time, though, and solved the problem herself, by getting into the habit of drinking tea and eating small sandwiches and/or cakes at around 4pm.
What began as a solitary occasion soon became a very social one, and also soon became very popular among the ‘ruling classes’. Afternoon teas became a formal, but friendly, affair to which one invited friends. Like lots of fashionable things, the idea of afternoon tea was quickly adopted by the ‘working classes’ too.
Afternoon tea has been enjoying a renaissance in recent years, and as tea lovers we’ve been delighted by that fact. And we are really enjoying providing afternoon tea catering services that are introducing even more people to one of our favourite things.
Afternoon Tea Catering: The Pearl Lemon Café Difference
As the resurgence of the afternoon tea continues, and afternoon tea catering becomes more commonplace, an increasing number of companies are offering it. So why choose Pearl Lemon Café as your afternoon tea caterer? There are many great reasons, but here are some of the most important.
Afternoon Tea Variety
As the tradition is over 200 years old at this point, it’s no surprise that the idea of what an afternoon tea should be has evolved. Pearl Lemon Café offers a wide range of afternoon catering options that can, if you want them too, go far beyond a simple tea and cake set-up.
We can provide traditional afternoon teas with a variety of expertly chosen and high quality teas and gourmet cakes and sandwiches, a traditional cream tea, an afternoon tea centered around a theme – thinks fairy teas, Mad Hatter’s tea party, character themed teas and more – or, for businesses, afternoon tea catering that ensures your brand stays top of mind all the time without being overtly over promotional.
Our afternoon tea catering specialists will work with you to create the bespoke tea party of your dreams, for almost any occasion, and ensure that you and your guests enjoy every minute of it.
Attentive and Expert Staff
What good is planning a tea party if you don’t get to enjoy it yourself? As full service afternoon tea catering providers, we offer onsite set up and take down of all the elements of your tea party, attentive friendly and expert serving staff and take care of all the cleanup, so that you can get as much out of your event as your guests do.
International Tea Celebrations
While tea is often thought of as a very British thing, and by extension afternoon tea, most of the world drinks tea – tea is second only to water as the most consumed beverage in the world – and many other cultures have their own versions of tea occasions that can be included as part of our bespoke afternoon tea catering services.
From the greater formality – and heartier fare of a high tea – no, high tea and traditional afternoon tea are not the same thing – to a relaxing and fascinating tea ceremony inspired by the traditional Japanese custom conducted, as it should be, using only the finest ceremonial grade matcha teas or the newer concept of a bubble tea party, our afternoon tea catering services can offer it all.
Unique and Bespoke Afternoon Tea Catering Services
At our Fulham café, we make a big deal about giving our customers exactly what they want, which means our baristas and servers go out of their way to ensure that beverages are served just how the customer likes it, even if that calls for more effort and ingenuity. We extend that to our afternoon tea catering services.
Some afternoon tea catering services offer a small set of set menus and catering options and don’t build in room for change. We don’t do that. We can take our base services and customise them for each client so that their afternoon tea experience is created especially for them. Furthermore, we can even help you decorate, and for businesses, the marketing and branding experience of our parent company, the Pearl Lemon Group, can be tapped to ensure the occasion is as beneficial to their image and bottom line as it is to the attendee’s taste buds!
Ready to learn more about afternoon tea catering services from Pearl Lemon Café? Contact us today and let’s chat about just what we can do for you.
Our Marketing Edge
Pearl Lemon Cafe has a lot more to offer than just amazing coffee and tea. We were created by the proprietor of Pearl Lemon, one of London’s most successful marketing firms, and we can draw on the staff’s expertise and experience to deliver coffee branding services for both personal and professional occasions.
This means that your guests and visitors will remember not just the amazing coffee, but also who served it to them, producing long-lasting memories for guests at private events and a brand boost for businesses that will continue long after the last sip of our extraordinary espresso has been consumed!
Contact Pearl Lemon Cafe today to learn more about our coffee catering services, we can’t wait to discuss just how we can help you.
Want to add gourmet coffee to your catering order? Or indulge your guests with a traditional British afternoon tea? Maybe you would like to try offering matcha or bubble teas – especially as both are very trendy right now – or even some hot finger foods too.
As a full-service caterer, Pearl Lemon Catering can offer you all of these things and more. We can even tap our colleagues at Pearl lemon, the leading digital marketing agency that’s the foundation of the Pearl Lemon Group we are a part of to theme or brand your sandwich platters to order, which is a popular choice for both our corporate customers and those throwing special parties.
Hungry yet? Good. Contact us today to discuss how our sandwich platters to order can make your next gathering, whatever it may be, a delicious success.
FAQs
We pride ourselves on providing the highest-quality afternoon tea catering services since our employees are all skilled and passionate caterers, who are committed to creating an unforgettable experience for each of our guests.
We are only using fresh and high-quality ingredients to prepare delicious foods, we have a variety of options for different dietary needs, and we have attentive and friendly staff who are knowledgeable about the menu and can provide excellent service to guests.
We can ensure you that you will get the best quality experience when you hire us for your next event. Book a call now!
We typically serve a variety of sweet and savory treats for afternoon tea at weddings. Some common options for food are finger sandwiches, scones, petit fours, cakes, fruits, tea, and coffee.
However, the menu can be customized to cater to the different dietary requirements and preferences of the guests.
The advance payment required for booking our afternoon tea catering service can vary depending on the scope of the service.
You may contact us to clarify the payment terms of our catering service. We will discuss the payment schedule, cancellation policies, contract, and other terms and conditions.
Quick Links:
Company Address:
Pearl Lemon Catering Ltd.
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct
London, EC1A 2BN
United Kingdom
Contact Details:
UK: +44 207 183 3436
US: +1 650-278-4421
We’re an awesome bunch of Catering experts! Book a Call With Us.
Pearl Lemon Catering is a part of the Pearl Lemon Group which is comprised of: Accounting, Corporate Consulting, Event Management, Golden Visas, Legal, Public Relations
© All Rights Reserved | Company Number: 10411490 | VAT Number: 252 7124 23