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The Charms of a Tea PartyToday's tea party doesn't have to be a formal event but if that's what you would like, plan a traditional party with all things proper. If not, plan a casual get-together to hang out with your friends. Either way, you want to make it an enjoyable experience for pleasant, light-hearted conversations!
Emilie Barnes
A tea party is actually a formal, ritualized version of Afternoon tea, a light meal originating in Britain. At one time, tea was very expensive and generally reserved for the wealthy. In fact it was so valuable that the lady of the house, not the housekeeper, was in charge of the tea. It was also the lady of the house who would serve the tea, imitating the Japanese tea ceremony. Wealthy Britons were fascinated with the traditions of China and Japan. In the late 19th century is was customary to have late evening meals. The story goes that Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford, began having tea and light refreshments each afternoon due to the length of time between lunch and the evening meal. She soon invited friends to join her and it wasn't long before Afternoon tea became a fashionable custom, where the hostess would use elegant china and silver tea services to serve delicious morsels of savories and sweets and tea. As tea became affordable to the the middle class they found that they too could entertain friends without having to spend much money. Afternoon tea became a common occurrence. In the United States, Afternoon tea might be referred to as High tea, believing it is a more formal version of the Afternoon tea. This is erroneous. High tea is a more substantial evening meal in Great Britain. In addition to sandwiches and cakes, High tea might include cold meats or dishes such as eggs benedict and smoked salmon. Another tea meal is Cream tea. A British tradition, it generally consists of tea and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.
The formal Afternoon tea party is a time for your finest china, silver and linens. Compliment the setting with fresh flowers. You can also select a theme for your party. What is important is creating a soothing atmosphere which invites relaxation and conversation. When planning your menu, keep in mind the season. Although hot tea seems to be the standard for any tea party, iced tea or a sweet tea would make a nice addition to warm weather tea parties. The season can also dictate the fruit you choose to serve. Beverages The tea you select is served in a teapot with milk and sugar available for your guests. Loose leaf teas are highly recommended for a formal tea party but if this is not possible, tea bags will do. Check here for steps in preparing the perfect pot of tea. It is also customary to serve a light wine or white champagne. Savories and Sweets The traditional Victorian tea menu looked something like this: tiny sandwiches with slivered ham, warm scones, madeleines, and jam tarts. Today you can still maintain the tradition of savories and sweets while selecting from an abundance of recipes for delicious sandwich fillings, a variety of scones, and mouth watering sweets. At a formal afternoon tea party, the food is served on a triple-tier cakestand although this is not a requirement. You can reserve the cakestand for sweets only and serve the other food on silver or porcelain platters. Or, serve all the foods on platters. If using a tiered server, place the tea sandwiches, on the bottom tier. Customarily the sandwiches might include cucumber with mint butter, watercress and cheese, ham with mustard, and smoked salmon. Yet with so many delicious recipes for sandwich fillings, you don't have to confine yourself to just a few. The middle tier is for the scones. It is suggested that you provide two scones per person, one plain and the other flavored (e.g. fruit). Serve scones with butter, strawberry or raspberry jam, and clotted cream. Last but not least are the sweets to be placed on the top tier. The sweets are typically miniature cakes and pastries, usually consisting of fruit and chocolate. Even after all this, it is not unusual to follow-up with a slice of Battenburg cake.
For more information on planning your tea party, check out the following:
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