Afternoon tea can be an excellent time to unwind from our hectic lives, unwind and make new friends and create new ones during an authentic tea time experience. These elegant and intimate events are often held in celebration of friends who are visiting, new neighbors, or even for reunions of the family. Festivals can be had for birthdays, events, housewarming celebrations, retirement parties, graduation celebrations, and summer garden parties. Holidays parties, employee or customer celebrations, bridal showers, and baby showers. These could all be in the shape of a tea celebration. They’re cost-effective but can also be formal and elegant.
Invitations to Host A Tea Party
The style of your elegant invitation should reflect the type of your tea party that will reflect the event’s theme. Many invitation cards are available on the internet.
A simple invitation printed on pale or cream-colored paper with these words used as an example is the perfect way to send invitations.
An Invitation to Tea Afternoon
Mrs. Mary Holmes requests
The pleasure of being in your company
To enjoy Tea in the afternoon,
Saturday, June 6th
At 3:00 pm
R.S.V.P.
For traditional afternoon teas, invitations are handwritten on tea notecards, with images of tea sets that are charming, English roses and similar themes. The stationer could create letterpress-engraved, engraved types of invitations. The email invitation will suffice in the modern world, depending on how formal your afternoon tea celebration is.
It’s essential to make the event fun and memorable… recommends guests wear fancy hats and clothes or bring their cup and saucer (especially if you do not have enough on your own).
How to Set The Tea Table
The setting of the table to host the tea celebration is among the most enjoyable parts of hosting a tea party. This is when the tablecloth comes out, and the most elegant teapots and china can be utilized. Tea parties should be served at the main dining table. If you are hosting fewer guests, arrange the table according to the number of guests in attendance in a sitting arrangement. For larger parties, utilize the dining table; however, serve a tea buffet. White or lace-colored clothes may be elegant and pretty. However, feel at ease choosing a shade that matches the themes of the celebration or the time of year. The colors are Red or Green for wedding colors, Christmas colors for showers, and colors for a fall celebration.
If you are serving a sit-down party
Place each table with a small tea tray or side plate in the middle of each set toward the table’s edges. Place the saucer and cup (with a spoon) to the left. Be sure that the handle of the cup and the spoon are placed towards the right. Most people are right-handed and can hold the teacup with their right hand. It is then folded to form a long rectangle. It is set below the saucer and cup close to the plate. Put a fork from a desert on top of the napkin. Linen napkins with a matching or complementary color are the best formal choice. However, white napkins or colored napkins can also be used.
Elegant Decorating Your Tea Party
It is possible to decorate the table using fresh flowers. Use a creative idea and an old teacup or teapot to house your bouquet. This is a fantastic method to make use of an old teapot that’s been emptied of its lid. Fabric runners can be laid on white tablecloths to add color or silver or colored confetti, as well as beautiful napkins to match. To serve your food, use silver serving trays, antique china dishes, or cake stands made of iron. To set the table for seating, it is possible even to get an engraved place tag. The little details add to the day’s memorable and create a table that looks beautiful.
How to serve a Good Cup of Tea
In the past, in Britain, the tea drink was traditionally an English Breakfast Tea blend, served hot and topped with milk. An electric kettle (or stovetop kettle), filtered water, and a teapot are required. It is possible to use tea bags or loose-leaf Tea. The loose-leaf Tea is of superior quality if you wish to be awestruck by your guest. Pure, high-quality loose-leaf Tea is highly recommended. However, any good everyday British blended tea bag is also a good choice in the right way. Tetley, PG Tips, Twinings, and Stash are the best simple teabag manufacturers.
Tea-making steps…
- Remove the kettle from old water that has been pre-boiled. Freshwater is the best choice to ensure the most flavorful Tea since it loses oxygen after repeated boiling. The oxygen content in the water adds a fresh taste to the Tea. The re-boiling of water can make Tea taste bland.
- The kettle should be filled with clean water from a spring or purified water.
- Bring release to bring it to a boil. The kettle has come to an end boiling; pour a bit of the boiling water into a teapot, and rinse to ensure that the kettle is hot.
- The teapot should add one cup or teaspoon of Tea per person and in the teapot. For a total of 4 people, for four people four, add five teaspfiveons/bags of Tea.
- It is essential to bring the kettle to a boil before you add the water to the tea bag or Tea. Please put on the lid and Tea cosie, and let it brew for five to ten minutes, based on how strongly you enjoy it. You can check the hue of the Tea using the empty cup. You’re looking for a deep brown shade. If guests prefer light brews, the custom is to serve it first, as the first drink will be the weakest within a couple of minutes. If you prefer a stronger tea, the Tea may be made for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- To refill the pot,, add a new tea bag or spoon to the Tea you already have, and then add boiling water. Or create a unique bank. It depends on the duration between the initial brew and the second. The Tea cosie can keep the pool warm for about an hour; however, after this time, the Tea has been stewed, and making a new pot is suggested.
How to Utilize Tea in loose Leaf Tea
Teabags are the most convenient method of making Tea. However, loose-leaf Tea can yield a superior flavor and improve overall enjoyment. There are many ways to make use of loose-leaf Tea when making Tea.
- Use loose-leaf Tea straight from the pot, and then use a tea strainer when you put the Tea into the cup. The filter is then placed on the tea strainer container to stop drips (or you could use a saucer or a spare teacup. This is the traditional method of preparing Tea in a pot.
- Use loose-leaf Tea is best served in an infuser. Infusers of Tea are generally designed for single servings within the teacup. They can’t be used in the pot since they cannot provide enough Tea to fill an even larger pool. This method will be a good idea if you’re making Tea or even one or two in a smaller pool.
- You are utilizing loose-leaf Tea inside a Tea Pocket or paper tea bag. There are several products to choose from, and you can put the Tea you prefer into a tea bag empty. This makes cleanup much more straightforward. The bags can accommodate four teaspoons, so add more tea bags when needed. Don’t fill too much, or Tea won’t have enough room to brew, and leaves might spill out.
How to Pour The Tea
How to pour Tea…
There isn’t any absolute rule of thumb for whom pours Tea. It could be the host of the tea party or someone designated as “be a mother” whose name is the one usually running Tea in the form of “shall I be a mother?” or each person may serve them. A word of caution: Teapots, once complete, can be heavy, and when you use the tea cosey, they will remain extremely hot for an extended period. You may need to assist younger and older guests with pouring Tea. Be sure to keep the teapot’s lid on while you run. Many a spill or damaged lids have resulted from the wrong decision.
- Add a bit of milk to the base of your cup. Always use milk and never cream or 2% milk—Semi-skimmed dairy for the most flavor.
- The first step is to add the milk. This is the correct manner of doing things. It was first observed in the Victorian period when exquisite china teacups were utilized. Some say making the milk and pouring it into the delicate china cup is less likely to break. This also permits the milk and Tea to mix without stirring. This is particularly beneficial if you don’t consume sugar.
- Take the tea cossie out of the pot. You are holding the lid of the teapot in place. Then, tilt up the bank, then pour it into your teacup. You should leave a few inches in the middle of the cup to avoid spills and also to allow the Tea to be sugar added and stirred without spills.
- Sugar can come in sugar cubes and raw or uncooked cane sugar to sweeten the drink. Utilize the sugar spoon provided inside the sugar bowl to mix sugar into the cup. Then, make use of the teaspoon in the saucer to mix the Tea. Be sure to touch the base of your cup, and stir well so that the sweetness and sugar do not settle on the bottom.
Traditional tea Party Food
Tea party food is typically served on a three-tier cake stand. It comprises three small meals, a tasty sandwich course; scones preserves, clotted crème, and an elegant dessert course.
Sandwiches are referred to as finger sandwiches. They’re cut into thin fingers or triangles and placed on soft bread with the crusts taken off.
The typical sandwich can contain fillings like egg mayonnaise or cress (egg salad), chicken salad, cucumber sandwiches, and soaked salmon.
Scones are generally small and round to host a typical English Tea party. They are cut in half and served open-faced with clotted cream and preserves. Regular scones include fruit with blueberry, raisins, cinnamon, apple scones, and even chocolate Scones. Look up The Little Book of Scones for more recipes.
Clotted cream is usually made by hand in Devon and Cornwall and is available in a handful of stores in the U.S.A. or on the internet and is also imported. Clotted Cream isn’t manufactured in the U.S.A. Heavy whipping cream may be used instead of it. You can refer to The Little Book of Scones for more information on the creams you can serve alongside Scones.
Many different preserves can be served alongside Scones, such as strawberry jam, preserves, raspberry jam, or lemon curd. Refer to the Little Book of Jams and Preserves Chutneys, Curds, and Chutneys for the recipe.
The final course or layer is the selection of pastries and may consist of tea bread, cakes and tarts. They are typically divided into bite-sized portions. The goal of tea party food is to be small but tasty and attractive to the eyes.
Extra Tea Party Food
Another option for a tea party could include delicious dishes like Pork Pie or Sausage Rolls, Savory Spinach Rolls, and sweet options like fresh fruit platters, Sherry Trifle, and Victoria Sandwich Cake.
Pork Pie Pork Pie is a chilled pork meat terrine and galantine with sage and wrapped with a hot lard water pastry.
Sausage Rolls and Savory Spinach Rolls wrapped in puff pastry are flaky and delicious.
Sherry Trifle is served up in teacups made of glass
Victoria Sandwich Cake with Strawberry Conserve and freshly whipped cream