Sweet Valentine's Afternoon Tea - My Island Bistro Kitchen

Afternoon teas are a splendid and relaxing way to spend an afternoon and catch up with friends. Teas are perfect for special events such as birthdays, Easter, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day. For me, though,there doesn’t have to be an occasion or an event to have afternoon tea – I love the experience at any time of the year. That said, Valentine’s Day is a great time to host an afternoon tea for friends. It’s a gorgeous girly treat! So, come along and have a peek at my afternoon tea before my guests arrive.

My color theme for this year’s Valentine’s Tea is pink and yellow, both cheery colors in the mid-winter. These beautiful tulips were grown here in PEI in the Vanco greenhouses in Mount Albion, not far from Charlottetown.

I am centering the afternoon tea around the coffee table in front of the fireplace. Cozy sofa and chairs invite a relaxing afternoon of conversation while sampling some of my home-baked treats.

I have chosen to use my Royal Albert “Lavender Rose” china for the tea and I love, love, love three-tier servers!

For an afternoon tea, it is not necessary to have several kinds of sandwiches, though that is quite lovely. Two to three varieties are just fine. Traditional tea sandwiches for my event today include tomato and shaved turkey, and ham and Havarti cheese. I like to use different breads for the sandwiches because it adds variety to the tea plate. Sometimes I cut the sandwiches into different shapes but, today, I have simply used the traditional fingertip sandwich.

Fresh scones straight from the oven are always divine, especially with a light dusting of sugar.

I picked up the jams on a recent trip to England – I am always on the lookout for items suitable for one of my afternoon teas!

Clotted cream and lemon curd, two staples on the tea table! I could eat a jar of lemon curd just on its own!

Tender and flaky scones make a great base for the lemon curd and red berry jam.

The fresher the scones, the better!

The tartness of the lemon curd plays off well against sweet jam.

And, on the sweet plate: Simple custard with a dob of lemon curd served in small stemmed liqueur glasses, lemon spritz shortbread cookies, and pink macarons.