We all love a good cuppa – especially the British. The tea party is an age-old tradition, and it’s making a comeback. Cucumber sandwich, anyone?

The tradition was started by Anna Stanhope, Duchess of Bedford, in 1840. Since dinner was served late in the household ̶ around 8 o’clock – she reportedly became peckish in the time between lunch and the evening meal. As a result of this she began having tea, bread and cake brought to her room mid-afternoon, and soon began inviting friends to join her. This sparked the beginning of a fashionable social event: upper-class women would adorn long gowns and hats to receive their tea between four and five o’clock in the evening.

The traditional afternoon tea would consist of loose tea served with milk and sugar. A selection of dainty sandwiches, with fillings including egg and cress or salmon and cucumber, would be offered, along with cakes, pastries and crumpets. Scones were often provided together with dishes of butter, jam and clotted cream. This food would typically be presented in a tiered stand.

Though this was an everyday event many years ago, the traditional tea party has fallen out of favour in recent years with the decline of regular society events. Maybe it’s the credit crunch, maybe it’s our modern-day caffeine addiction, but the tea party is now on the up. It may not quite rival the appeal of cocktails with the girls, but it’s a great opportunity for a get-together minus the alcohol, and who knows ̶ it might even be civilised!

You could go with the traditional approach as above, but there are lots of different ideas you could use to spice up a tea party. Try experimenting with different flavours of tea – Twinings has a great selection – or pick blends from around the world and do a wine-tasting approach, trying out different types.

Triangle sandwiches are the easiest to make, and can incorporate a variety of fillings. Salmon with cream cheese is simple and straightforward, or create an egg salad filling with this simple recipe:

Egg Salad Sandwiches

You will need:

Crumble the eggs into a large bowl. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, blending well. For an extra twist add finely chopped celery or watercress. Spread at most ¼ inch thick onto bread.

Rolling sandwiches is an alternative to triangles, and isn’t as difficult as it looks. Buy good quality bread, un-sliced, from a bakery. Cut it lengthways to get long pieces of bread, removing the crust. Roll it flat with a rolling pin and spread your filling over the entire surface. At this point, you can add a little something to your sandwiches ̶ capers or sticks of celery, for example – which you need to line up along one side before you begin to roll. Roll from one edge, keeping it as tight as you can. When you’ve done this you have a long sandwich roll which you can slice as thinly as you wish.

Even easier alternatives are tortilla wraps and pitta breads, so why not get creative?

Regal affair though the tea party may be, you can make it a crossover with a cocktail party by whipping up some yummy tea cocktails. You could have a go at making your own, but here are a couple to start off with:

Sparkling Cranberry Tea Cocktails

You will need:

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring slowly until the sugar dissolves. Pour the mixture over the teabags. Cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes, then remove and discard the teabags. Allow to cool. Stir in the liqueur, juice and vodka, then chill again. Just before serving, pour in the ginger ale and stir well.

Green Tea Martini

You will need:

Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shaking until chilled. Rim a martini glass by dipping in lime juice then sugar. Pour into the glasses and serve with slices of lime.