Afternoon Tea Essex: The Best Places To Go

There’s a huge range of places to go for an Afternoon Tea in Essex! From cafes, to hotels, to garden centres, they are spread out all around the county. In this post, I’ll share some of the best places to go for an Afternoon Tea, including recommendations from some of my Essex friends!

Afternoon Tea Essex

Cream Tea vs Afternoon Tea

For those that may not know the difference between cream teas and Afternoon Teas:

Cream Tea = scones with cream and jam or butter with tea or coffee

Afternoon Tea= same as above but with the addition of a section of finger sandwiches and cakes/mini desserts

When it comes to treating yourself to a cream tea or an Afternoon Tea, Afternoon Tea’s usually require booking in advance. They may have certain days or times that they are served. However many cafes will offer cream teas for drop-in customers!

Afternoon Tea Delivery/Take-Away in Essex

With the current situation, some places in Essex are offering Afternoon Tea boxes for home delivery. They aren’t completely the same experience, often the drinks aren’t included and there are less food choices, but it’s something if you feel like a treat!

A couple of companies offering delivery Afternoon Tea are:

Tiptree (based in Tiptree, Essex): The Tiptree Afternoon Tea Box costs £25 and serves 4 people. It includes; 4 fruit scones with 4 little pots of clotted cream and 4 jars of Tiptree jam, 4 slices of lemon drizzle, 4 carrot cake slices, 4 brownies and 4 flapjacks

Afternoon QTea (based in Witham, Essex): Afternoon QuaranTea offers several different Afternoon Tea delivery boxes. The box for two includes; 9 finger sandwiches (3 different fillings, 2 of each), 2 scones with clotted cream and Tiptree jam, 2x Battenberg cake, 2x cupcakes, 4x macarons, 2x Viennese Fingers for £28. For extra you get a ‘tipsy’ box which includes cocktails or Prosecco or the smaller box for one costs £16. There’s also a children’s and a dog’s version!

Mrs Salisbury’s (based in Maldon, Essex): For £60, Mrs Salisbury’s offer an Afternoon Tea hamper for 2 which sounds awesome. It includes; 4 sandwiches with different fillings, 2 scones with clotted cream and strawberry and champagne preserve, 2x lemon drizzle, 2x flapjacks, 2x bluebell Bakewell slice, 2x salted caramel brownies, a 30g tin of English Breakfast loose leaf tin, a tea strainer and a little ‘pinch tin’ of Maldon Sea Salt!

Tiptree Jam & Tea Rooms

We can’t talk about Afternoon Teas in Essex, without talking about Tiptree Jam! I’ve already mentioned it several times within this post! Wilkin & Sons (now Tiptree) have been making jam in Essex since 1885 and is a staple for both cream and Afternoon teas served in Essex! Their products can be found all over the country and around the world. Tiptree Jam is even served with the Afternoon Tea service on British Airways flights!

The ‘Little Scarlet’ (strawberry) is their signature but the apricot and morello cherry preserves are also really good on scones! They now make a whole range of products including various liqueurs.

The Tiptree factory is located in the village of Tiptree and smells AMAZING on ‘cooking’ days! Once I saw some works up in the fruit trees in full hazmat suits, they looked like Oompa Loompas from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! You can’t go into the working part of the factory, but there’s a small museum that is free to visit and during the summer they offer 45-minute tours of the fruit farm for a small fee.

They have 9 Tiptree tearoom locations spread across Essex (plus a 10th in Suffolk): Tiptree Jam Factory, Dedham, Heybridge Basin, Writtle, Saffon Walden, Cressing Temple, Billericay, Chelmsford and Osea. I’ve visited 5 of the locations and I’m always impressed with the service. Of course, they serve both cream teas and Afternoon Teas, along with other breakfast and lunch items.

Perrywood Garden Centre

I loved my Afternoon Tea at Perrywood Garden Centre, also in Tiptree. It’s quite expensive at £18.99 per person (minimum booking of 2 people) but it’s really nice and you are able to take away anything that you don’t finish! You get 8 finger sandwiches, 4 scones with cream, jam and butter, and 8 sweet treats. They have a huge selection of tea (I had Rooibos Vanilla) and you also get a choice of Tiptree jam flavours too. Along with the traditional Afternoon Tea, Perrywood also have savoury tea which has savoury treats instead of cakes, and cheese scones instead of fruit!

Afternoon Teas are available Monday to Saturday (not Sundays) at 2.50pm, 3.00pm and 3.10pm. 2 days minimum notice is required for bookings as they are made to order. You can also get a takeaway option too for £15.

*On The Bucket List*

Mad Dogs & Englishmen (Leigh-on-Sea)

Mad Dogs & Englishmen in Leigh-on-Sea host themed Afternoon Teas throughout the year (Wednesday – Sunday). They are expensive, costing between £30 – £40 per person, but you have to expect it for something which is themed! Some of the themes include; The Chronicles of Narnia, Mary Poppins, ‘Harry Potter’ and Alice In Wonderland. The next theme is Breakfast At Tiffany’s, which restrictions dependent, will run until the end of March.

Mrs Salisbury’s Tea Room & Restaurant (Maldon)

I’ve heard good things about Mrs Salisbury’s Tea Room in Maldon! I was actually booked to have breakfast in one of their SKI GONDOLAS, but lockdown had other ideas! Afternoon Teas are available in the ski gondolas too during the winter. There are both traditional and savoury Afternoon Tea options served from 2.30pm Monday to Fridays and from 3pm on Saturdays. It looks like a really cute little tea room and I really wanted to experience dining in a ski gondola!

Have a Spa Day with Afternoon Tea

There are several spas in Essex that offer spa days which include an Afternoon Tea. I think it would be really relaxing! Some of the spas reopened but I want to wait until the swimming pools and saunas are allowed to open too, that way I can have the full experience! So far I’m looking at Prested Hall (Feering, Colchester), Afternoon Teas are available without being part of a spa package too.

Recommendations From Essex Locals

Braintree

The Glass House Tea Room: 118 High St, Braintree CM7 1LA

Braintree Garden Centre: Cressing Rd, Cressing, Braintree CM77 8DH

Tiptree Tea Room at The Barns: Braintree Rd, Cressing, Braintree CM77 8PD

Chelmsford

Patisserie Valerie: 27 High St, Chelmsford CM1 1DA

Tiptree Tea Room at Bond Street: Bond St, Chelmsford CM1 1GH

Colchester

Prested Hall: Feering, Colchester CO5 9EE

Jacqueline’s Tea Room: 14 Short Wyre St, Colchester CO1 1LN

Halstead

Hyacinth Tea Room: 8 Bridge St, Halstead CO9 1HT

Heybridge Basin

Tiptree Tea Room at The Lock: Basin Rd, Heybridge Basin, Maldon CM9 4RS

Leigh-On-Sea

Mad Dogs & Englishmen: 1349-1353 London Rd, Leigh-on-Sea, Southend-on-Sea, Leigh-on-Sea SS9 2AB

Maldon

Sophie’s Kitchen: 2 King George’s Place High Street, Maldon CM9 5BZ

Mrs Salibury’s Tea Room & Restaurant: 63 High St, Brights Path, Maldon CM9 5EP

Tiptree Tea Room at The View: Osea Leisure Park, Osea, Goldhanger Rd, Heybridge, Maldon CM9 4SA

Southend-On-Sea

La Petite Petanque: Cambridge Square Gardens, The Bowling Green Pavilion, Cambridge Road, Clifftown, Southend-on-Sea SS1 1EY

Stock

Greenwoods Hotel & Spa: Stock Rd, Stock, Ingatestone CM4 9BE

Tiptree

Perrywoods: Kelvedon Road, Inworth, Tiptree, Essex CO5 9SX

Tiptree Tea Room at The Jam Factory: Factory Hill, Tiptree, Essex, CO5 0RF

Witham

The Tea Rooms: 46 Newland St, Witham CM8 2AR

Rivenhall Hotel: Rivenhall End, Witham CM8 3HB

Where is your favourite place to go for an Afternoon Tea in Essex?!

Inspired?! Pin This Post For Later!

• 

•