Ladies Home Tea party for Christmas

Some ladies from my church wanted to get together for tea.  They asked if they could come over - I said absolutely!!

There were 8 ladies and they told me to pick the teas.  I went with a variety of teas and then shared the differences in the teas.

I did a black tea, a green tea, a white tea, an oolong and an herbal.

They were shocked to learn that herbal teas are not really teas, but just herbal drinks.

Zarrin - Special Black Opa Tea

Hyley's- Milk Oolong Tea

Browne & Ashley - Mango Green Tea

Tea Spot- Mediative Mind White Tea

Harney & Sons - Organic Ginger Lemon Herbal

I just had to try out my new lemon picker uppers.  

They brought their own food, I just provided the tea and education.

My new kitten of only a week, Orange Pekoe, made an appearance.  Confirming that she really is a tea cat!!  I was so thrilled she joined on her own to check out the tea party.

If you have a group of ladies or men, co-workers, book club, garden club, family members, Bible study, or any kind of group...and you want me to do a tea party please reach out.

I would love to share my love of tea with you. 

 

English Passport to Tea 2023

General Tea Facts:

According to legend, Emperor Shen Nung discovered tea in 2732 BC. 
The Portuguese and Dutch first imported tea into Europe in 1610.
The Buddhist monk Dengyo Daishi is credited for bringing Chinese tea seeds to Japan. 
Americans tasted their first iced tea at the 1904 World's Fair in St.

• English Tea facts:

Tea was first brought to Britain in the early 17th century by the East India Company and was presented to King Charles II. His Portuguese wife, Princess Catherine of Braganza, set the trend in drinking tea, which then caught on among the aristocrats of the time. Tea became more popular than coffee, chocolate, and alcohol. Tea was seen as inherently British, and its consumption was encouraged by the British government because of the revenue gained from taxing tea
80% of Britons drink tea and consume 165 million cups daily.
98% of people take their tea with milk.
30% take their tea with sugar.
The world's bestselling tea brand is Lipton.
Britons' favorite's tea is black tea followed by Earl Grey, Oolong and herbal tea

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I had so much fun shopping for English dished for my English tea.  I found these large plates, although not English, they are great for the tiered trays for food.  They were less than $3.00 and they matched pieces I had purchased previously.

This teapot may not hold much tea, but I loved the colors, so it came home with me too.

These are my English dishes I have picked up over the years from second hand stores.  I love the light floral ones. Even though I don't consider myself delicate or fragile, I do enjoy a delicate, fragile tea cup from time to time.

If someone where to have an English tea, I am happy to bring my dishes along to use.

WHEN DID AFTERNOON TEA START:

The concept of Afternoon Tea appeared during the mid-19th century. Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, introduced the concept of Afternoon Tea in 1840. The Duchess got hungry around four o'clock in the afternoon, and the evening's meal wasn't until 8 pm. That meant there was a long time between lunch and dinner

I picked up fun tea treats too.  My friend, Janis, made Keto scones that she brought along.  I was also able to find some stores out East the shipped British items.

I picked up this jam from England.

I got some real Devonshire Clotted Cream from England.

This English Lemon Curd was so yummy!!!

I picked up some items from Simpson & Vail

https://svtea.com/

Also from British Foods

https://www.britishfoodsupplies.com/

I got fresh mint from the garden and tartlets and added lemon curd to it.  They were great.

I made cucumber sandwiches with English Cucumbers.

You need to score the cucumber with a fork.  

I use pumpernickel bread

I mix cream cheese with Ranch powder dressing mix

You need to keep the sandwiches covered with a damp towel to keep them from getting dry.

I made blueberry scones and lemon poppy seed scones.

The mix was really good and I just added water.

AFTERNOON TEA SNACKS:

Usually consisting of a selection of teas, freshly prepared finger sandwiches, scones, cakes and pastries with all the trimmings, a light Afternoon Tea should allow for 4 sandwiches, 2 scones and 2 cakes (of different varieties) per person.

                    

              

Afternoon tea vs High Tea :

Using the term "high tea" when you really mean "afternoon tea" is a dead giveaway you're American.

Whilst they both include tea as a beverage, afternoon tea includes delicate pastries, little sandwiches, scones and cakes. Whereas high tea is typically a more wholesome meal of meat, potatoes and vegetables served after a long hard day at work.

Afternoon tea was often served at a low table in a parlor or drawing room and thus called 'low' tea or 'afternoon tea'.   High Tea is what workers came home to after a hard day's work, especially in northern England, and was served in the early evening.

Afternoon Tea is traditionally served between 2pm and 5pm, whereas High Tea is served between 5pm and 7pm

While time went on it began to be the custom for ladies to get dressed up for Afternoon Tea. In the 1880s, records show that upper-class and society women would put on long gowns, gloves and hats before enjoying their tea – a sign that it was a genteel occasion.

Afternoon tea highlighted the British tradition of dunking biscuits into tea- biscuits are cookies. You don't dunk scones.  I discovered that biscuits were cookies when I was London.

When I went to London in 1997, I was tired and hungry.  It was late and I wanted the cheapest thing on the room service menu...biscuits.  I was excited for some warm biscuits and jam...I was sadly disappointed when I got a tray of cookies.  I soon learned what biscuits were, lol.

What is the proper English way to drink tea:

If sat at a table, the proper manner to drink tea is to raise the tea cup, leaving the saucer on the table , and to place the cup back on the saucer between sips. It's considered rude to look anywhere but into the cup whilst sipping tea, and absolutely no slurping!

  

I served 5 English teas:

Taylors- Earl Grey
Harney & Sons- Royal Palace Tea
                              Tetley Black Tea British Blends- Duchesses Balmoral 
Ohio Tea- English Breakfast
Bird & Blend- Dark Choc Chili Chai

Top 8 British Tea Brands:

1. Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea, Yorkshire tea is often regarded as Britain's most popular tea type, and Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea is no exception. Starting as a small third generation family business in 1886.

2. Tetley Tea, Largest manufacturer of tea, started in 1837 in Yorkshire. 

3. PG Tips, First named 'Pre-Gest-Tea' before it was shortened, first created in 1930. 

4. Twinings, Founded by Thomas Twining in 1707, Twinings tea was one of the oldest brands on the list and has a long, rich history of supplying tea to the British monarchy.  It holds the world's oldest continually used company logo, and is London's longest-standing ratepayer, having occupied the same premises on the Strand since 1706.
The Queen drank Twinings Earl Grey tea with a splash of milk and no sugar. 

5. Clipper, Originating in Dorset in the 1980s.

6. Tick Tock, Rooibos, a non-caffeinated tea made from the leaves of the Aspalathus linearis shrub, has been put on the map and in Britain's supermarkets shelves through Tick Tock. As well as the original tea bags, Tick Tock have also introduced an earl grey and green tea blend of the classic tea.

7. Typhoo Tea, Dubbed "The tea that doctors recommend" in the 1900s.

8. Pukka

The oldest tea in UK, rare plants have been nurtured by the same family at Tregothnan since 1334. 
The first tea was grown in the UK in 1999 to put the ‘English into English Tea’ and the most British tea in history was first sold in 2005.

In memory of my cat, Earl Grey, that passed away 3 days before the tea- I set out a chair for him.  He used to love to sit in the chair and watch my tea parties.

Also, note the poster on the wall is of him- he was the poster boy for Earl Grey Tea.

Some wore hats, one brought her parasol.  It was so fun to have all these smiling faces around my table for tea and tea treats.

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Carol and Amy were awarded the golden tea cups!!

They made it to all 12 Passport to Tea classes!!!!

Below- these are the tea cup trophies- only their cups were gold.

I can't believe that these two made it to all 12 classes!  It was so fun!  We learned so much together!!!  I used to joke with them as the 9am class they were my guinea pigs for the 11am class.

  

Pinky out or in???  Would the queen drink with her pinky out??

Absolutely not. Royal etiquette states that when drinking tea you should hold the cup never hold your pinkie out, always inside. When using a teacup, pinch your thumb and index finger together, then rest your middle finger under the handle. Royals are expected to use a cup, saucer and teaspoon. The handle of the cup must be at three o'clock or nine o'clock (depending if you are right or left handed), with the spoon also on the saucer. They also sip from the same spot so the entire rim doesn't have lipstick stains.

For the 9am classes, I made them London Clouds- Iced Earl Grey tea with cold foam on top.

London Cloud- Iced Earl Grey Tea with cold foam

London Fog- Hot Earl Grey with milk

Rules for Afternoon Tea:

*Do not call Afternoon Tea, High Tea
*After sitting down, put your purse on your lap or behind you against the chair back.
*Unfold napkin and make sure to place it on your lap.
*Never, ever use your napkin as a handkerchief, and only dap, don't wipe
*Sugar is placed in your teacup first, then thinly sliced lemon.
*Stirring backwards and forwards (never in a circular motion, one should never touch the sides of the cup).
*Do not learn forward, bring the cup to you, leaving the saucer on the table.
*Dress smart causal, no jeans, t-shirts, or sneakers
*Do not put your pinky out, do not cradle the cup, hold on to the handle, but your fingers are not meant to go through the handle (To hold your teacup, place your index and middle fingers on the back side of the handle and put your thumb over the front side. Your fingers and thumb may meet each other through the tea handle, but you will want to keep your fingers from curling through the handle itself. Support your teacup with your ring and pinky fingers — and remember to keep that pinky down.)
*Do not drink tea with the spoon in it
*Do not put the spoon in your mouth 
*Do not lick your fingers
*Do not blow on the tea, let cool on your saucer or add milk
*Never fill the tea cup to the top, only 3/4 full
*Tea is served by the host
*Take small sips, never slurp or swish your tea
*Milk and sugar only goes in black tea, not white, oolong, or green- do not add cream to your tea
*Eat with your fingers, take small bites, even if it all fits in your mouth, take small bites
*Eat sandwiches first, then scones, the desserts
*The knife is for clotted cream and jam
*Break off small pieces of the scone, it is not a sandwich
*Never dunk your scone in the tea
*Used utensils never go on the table, they go on the side of your plate
*You want to make sure that the little teacup handle stays parallel to your body. This means that it will either face the direction of 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock.
*Putting any utensils you’ve used in the 4:20 position lets the server know you’re done with your meal and that it can be taken away. Fork tines should be up and knife blade facing you
*When you get up the napkin should go on your chair, not on the table

11 am class....

A few of these 11am class participants were regulars. It was so fun to have them come again for the last tea of the year.  My co-worker, Amy, made it to most of the teas along with some ladies from my church and then one friend who came up from Columbus (2 hours away) for these teas.  Crystal, from Columbus made it to 10 of the teas.

Milk in tea?

Why do English put milk in their tea?  When did it start? The answer is that in the 17th and 18th centuries the china cups tea was served in were so delicate they would crack from the heat of the tea. Milk was added to cool the liquid and stop the cups from cracking.  This is when the tea is already made...not making tea in the cup.  Putting the milk in first lowers the water temp and you will not get an accurate cuppa.

The tea industry estimates that 96% of tea in Britain is made with teabags. Nobody, but nobody, puts the milk in before the teabag, and then adds the hot water. When you make tea with a teabag, you make the tea first, and then you add the milk.

What milk do the British use? Explaining "Most English drink tea with a little milk, but never with cream or the high-fat milk that Americans put in their coffee. Low-fat milk is a much better choice. Make sure you use white sugar.

Jam and then clotted cream?  Or Clotted cream and then jam??

In England certain parts of the country does it one way while the other parts do it the opposite.

... if you’re from Cornwall it’s jam first then cream, while Devonians do the opposite.

CREAM TEA:

It is said that in the  10th century monks invented the cream tea. After Tavistock Abbey was damaged in a Viking raid in 997AD, the monks served bread with clotted cream and strawberry preserves to local workers who helped rebuild it. It was an instant hit among the locals, and the monks started serving it to passing travelers…the Devonshire cream tea was born.

Cream Tea = tea with scones and clotted cream.

Although clotted cream is English, it is most commonly eaten with the scone, which actually comes from Scotland. In the 1900's cream scones became the star of any British tearoom, made from a freshly-baked scone, which is sliced in half, and both cut sides spread with a generous helping of clotted cream and jam.

SCONE:

 The origin of the word scone (however you pronounce it!) is believed to come from the Dutch word ‘schoonbrot’, which means ‘beautiful bread’. Afternoon tea can vary depending on where you are from.  I love this!!!  The customs of one area vary to another.  One example of this is which goes first - jam or cream on your scone?  It varies from place to place, with tradition dictating that if you’re from Cornwall it’s jam first then cream, while Devonians do the opposite.

Clotted cream comes from the southwestern English counties of Devon and Cornwall, where it is made by heating full fat cow’s milk until ‘clots’ of cream rise to the surface

Clotted cream and whipped cream are both made with heavy cream, but while whipped cream is whipped into airy peaks, clotted cream is heated and separated, for a far denser texture. With its ultra-thick consistency, clotted cream can even be mistaken for butter.