One of the first friends I made when I entered the tea world was LuAnn of The Cup of Life. It’s been amazing to have been able to collaborate and see what she’s done over the years!

The most recent project is a new EBOOK! LuAnn has written a guide to afternoon tea with information about hosting and preparing for afternoon tea!

I asked a few more questions about the guide, check out the interview below!

Here is the link for the guide: https://theteacupoflife.gumroad.com/l/theafternoonteaguide

I’m also sharing a discount code for 15% off: afternoonteatime15

Can you give an intro to the Afternoon Tea guide and what people can expect from it?

I’ve been labelling The Afternoon Tea Guide as your new bestea because it takes readers by the hand and guides them through each step when preparing and hosting afternoon tea at home.

In The Afternoon Tea Guide you will learn about traditional afternoon tea — the history and the different types, how to prepare a full afternoon tea service from scratch and host with zero frustration, the proper etiquette when attending afternoon tea and much more.

This digital guidebook is over 60 pages of afternoon tea information featuring 13 recipes for a full afternoon tea service (4 tea sandwiches, 2 scones, 3 scone accompaniments, 4 sweets) and 12 interactive printables such as an invitation template, place card, menus, planning checklist, grocery list, guest list and more.

How long have you been celebrating/engaging in Afternoon tea?

I’ve been a lover of Afternoon Tea almost as long as I have loved tea itself. My first introduction to afternoon tea was when I was younger and enjoying tea time in play tea sets with snacks as well. Of course, I didn’t really know that was a form of afternoon tea then!

It wasn’t until I was older that I actually attended my first afternoon tea service and fell in love with the entire idea of dressing up, gathering with loved ones over a pot of tea, bites and delights with great conversations. That moment was something I wanted to experience regularly.

What inspired you to write this guide?

My inspiration for this guide has always been to make hosting afternoon tea fun and stress-free all while educating others on proper afternoon tea etiquette, table setting and much more.

I have been a big fan of afternoon tea for many years and, especially these last few years, I have been experimenting with preparing and enjoying afternoon tea at home. Once you decide you would like to experience afternoon tea at home you’re hit with a huge list of things to do! There are so many small details that keep popping up as you go along during the planning stage.

I’ve been there many times, forgetting tasks, preparing scones too far in advance or even just not knowing where to begin when I needed to set a menu. The menu, aside from the tea, is a very important step that should be a priority. I always found myself stumbling at this step, so lost on what to serve for food.

Not only do you need to make sure everything looks and tastes good, you want to make sure you are not constructing a menu that repeats too many flavours. You also don’t want the menu to be filled with heavy items only. After several menu attempts over the years I have found a favourite that is not only delicious, but it looks super fancy, without all the fuss!

The Afternoon Tea Guide was created to help others take their afternoon tea at home to the next level. Plus, keep them organized during the planning stage with the checklists and other printables included!

What was your favorite part about writing the guide?

Getting to enjoy afternoon tea several times haha.

Writing any book is incredibly hard with long hours, but add recipes and oh my gosh!!! I think they made me push back the release date a few times because recipes need to be tested and tested again and again until they are perfect.

Also, because all of the recipes were for afternoon tea, which all the food is served together, I had to make just about everything together more than once.

Recipes needed to be tested individually to make sure they actually work, but then I also needed to test if all of the food actually pairs nicely together and if the entire process was do-able. However, that was a good test and made me feel more confident that the afternoon tea menu I was creating was beginner friendly.

Needless to say, I had afternoon tea at home quite a few times this year and I’m not mad about it haha.

I had a lot of fun designing the guide as well, including the invitation, place cards and menu templates!

Do you have a favorite recipe or part of the guide?

I have quite a few favourite recipes so I’ll narrow it down by course!

Savoury: Radish & Chive Tea Sandwich, crisp radishes are layered on chive butter. This tea sandwich is served open-faced. I love the presentation!

Scone: Classic English Scone, this has been my go-to recipe for a few years. It’s one of the recipes I’ve shared on my blog previously and a favourite of many. Best served with cream and jam…which brings me to my next favourite…

Scone Accompaniment: Faux Clotted Cream, I went back and forth on adding this recipe to The Afternoon Tea Guide. It’s not real clotted cream by any means, but if anyone has tried to find authentic clotted cream in North America they know it can be tricky!

It’s fairly simple to make a more traditional clotted cream at home, however it takes over 12 hours and I found that just wasn’t feasible when making everything else for afternoon tea, too.

The quick and easy faux clotted cream recipe in The Afternoon Tea Guide is a cheater recipe that is a great substitute. It’s thick and slightly tangy. Even if you don’t think it tastes like real clotted cream, it tastes so good!

Sweet: Jasmine Panna Cotta, infused with a jasmine green tea, this is an easy sweet that is sure to impress! It’s silky, creamy and floral. It’s a nice change from heavier cakes and tarts that are often served at afternoon tea.

Do you have any advice for someone who finds Afternoon Tea a bit intimidating?

Get The Afternoon Tea Guide! hehehe.

In all seriousness, try not to worry so much about getting afternoon tea “right”. Whether you are preparing and hosting afternoon tea or just attending, the most important thing is that you enjoy the experience.

I’ve definitely been there though. I always find that preparation helps me feel more confident and less intimidated. I kept this in mind while creating the digital guidebook. That’s why I outlined an entire planning checklist starting from 2 months until the day of. Preparing as much as you possibly can before the day of the afternoon tea party will make you feel better. That way all that’s left to do is get dressed and enjoy the time with your family and friends!

I also like to brush up on my afternoon tea etiquette before attending!

What tea are you reaching for most these days?

Hojicha! I drink it year round, but since fall is near it is something I have been reaching for even more. I make a lot of hojicha lattes, my salted caramel hojicha latte recipe (https://theteacupoflife.com/2021/01/salted-caramel-hojicha-latte.html) is my fave at the moment, so I’ve been drinking hojicha powder more than loose leaf right now!

Also, if you have any other projects upcoming and want to share please do!

For the last few years I have been creating a tea lovers wall calendar. The 2023 Tea Lovers Calendar will be releasing sometime in October this year! You can follow my tea blog to know when it launches: www.theteacupoflife.com