Who doesn’t love a good afternoon tea?

Whilst I’m not a traditional tea drinker (I know, I’m a rubbish Brit), I do like flavoured teas. And cake. Boy, do I like cake.

I recently took my bestie to the World of Wedgwood for this very reason – and because it was her birthday. Fancy a sneak peak at how we spent the day?

For those that may not know, Wedgwood is an English homeware brand, most notably famous for their dinner sets, fine china and jasperware. The site we visited has been going since the 1700’s although considerably modernised these days, including a factory tour, a museum showcasing how the brand has evolved and tons of crockery displays, each with a story to tell – most commonly telling of how Josiah Wedgwood became a provider of plates for Queen Charlotte. But enough of the history lesson, let’s start with the afternoon tea. Crikey, it was good.

Afternoon Tea

Let’s start with the obvious. That decor is GOALS, right? It screams luxury from the second you walk in – from the mid-century golden room dividers, to the beautifully tiled floor, to the velvet seating, to the Gatsby inpired golden mirrors. It’s truly stunning. It kind of made me feel a little out of place wearing a bomber jacket and jeans. OOPS.

As for the food, I cannot rate it highly enough. Served on some of their finest china we were given an array of sandwiches, scones and sweet treats along with a pot of tea of our choice each. Holly, my bestie, chose the English Breakfast and I went for the Strawberry and Kiwi. I could have sat there sipping tea and gossiping all day. Best afternoon tea I’ve ever had by far. We didn’t even finish it all and I ended up getting a doggy bag to take home!

As a sidenote, I think this would make the loveliest of treats for Valentine’s or Mother’s Day if you can get there in time.

Plate Pride

With everything located on one site, it’s easy to make a visit to Wedgwood an entire day trip! Esepcially if the weather is good thanks to the beautiful grounds. We upgraded our afternoon tea ticket and decided to nerd out on the factory tour and pop in to the museum. I’ve got to say, what made the day exceedingly good was the staff. Our server for tea was charming and funny. Our tour guide for the factory had worked there his whole life and knew everything you could possible ask about the history and manufacture of their product. And even the receptionist was warm and made us feel like home. It felt like you’d walked into someone’s home and I love discovering brands whereby their staff are passionate about its success. People, not profit, make a business.

This shone through in the pride of the products EVERYWHERE.

My personal favourites included:

• The dragon made entirely out of fine china with teabag fire breath and even gold Wedgwood-engraved cutlery as feet
• The portrait of Josiah Wedgwood created entirely out of plates
• The wicker teapot outside of the tearoom

I mean, you can’t possibly say plates are boring when they’re displayed like this? Their attention to detail and display techniques are not to be ignored.

The Museum & Factory Tour

Now, you can’t take pictures inside the factory but I wouldn’t want to ruin it for you anyway! Watching someone hand craft a piece of china that has been in the creation process for over a week is really addictive. I’d almost go as far to say it’s therapeutic. And whilst the method of production has obviously moved on since the 1700’s I think it’s awesome that the museum still houses so many of the original colour testers – displayed beautifully in an antique apothecary chest.

What’s more, I managed to find some new favourites amongst their collection:

Firstly, a collaboration with Eduardo Paolozzi in the most 80s collection I ever did see. EIGHTIES GOALS.

Second, the very teeny tiny traditional jasperware collection. I wish I could tell you why there were miniature editions of the classic collection but I was to busy squealing at how cute it was…

Thirdly, the striped vase. This theme ran through many pieces but this particular one is around the £4,000 mark. Hey, if you’re going to do luxury, might as well go all the way.

So there’s a few of my favourites from the day. I paid £32 each for our day out and it was worth every penny. I think it’s always great to see brands turn what could otherwise be seen as a bit of a dull household item (plates) and make it into a piece of art. Whatever you style might be, they probably had something for you. Let me know if you end up visiting. I’d love to see your favourite picks!

Watch out for that rascal Josiah Wedgwood though, he stole my specs!