<p>Attending my first “fancy” tea tomorrow. I have a friend who has been wanting to go for a couple years and we both could get off work early tomorrow so we will going to a local Victorian tea house ! </p>
<p>Apparently they pick a theme each month. This month is “Tea Time In Colonial America”. The menu looks delicious! </p>
<p>Kind of funny that it worked out for us to go this week because I just ordered a silicone scone pan off of Amazon this week- guess this months theme for me is tea and scones (love them and love to make them!)</p>
<p>My “tea” experience is limited to a summer solarium tea that I attended with my D when she was about 7 - one tea and various little sandwiches and dessert.</p>
<p>What should I expect? Sure hope I have good tea etiquette !! :)</p>
<p>I’ll be interested to hear about your experience. I’m meeting a friend at a local tea shoppe next week, and I’ve loved “afternoon tea” in England.</p>
<p>My oldest had a tea party birthday. She must have been 7 or so because we owned the house we live in but hadn’t moved in yet and had the party there and in the yard. The person who ran the party brought all sorts of dress up for the girls and set up a table and did tea party games and stories. The girls loved it. </p>
<p>BTW, the Boston Tea Party Museum has reopened and now has two beautifully made reproduction trading ships of that era. I remember when that area was nearly desolate and now it’s full of life, with restaurants and bands playing in the summer and people everywhere.</p>
<p>Google Miss Manners.
At 12, I was part of a group having “high tea” at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC. It was great fun for a giggly group of girls. Lesson: lemon or milk, but not both.
And according to Miss Manners, “High Tea” is the English meal we call supper. It includes meat. It’s not the fancy tea with dainty sandwiches served at high prices in US hotels.</p>
<p>What can you expect? It can vary a bit, depending on whether it is a “high tea” or a “cream tea” or any of a dozen different variations. Basically, you will get a pot of tea of your choice (maybe two), along with some assortment of sandwiches, scones, cookies, biscuits (in the English sense of the word), and pastries. Generally it will be a little more formal in the dishware than most dining establishments, and the server will generally be polite but distant - you are not there for witty banter. Still, it will generally be a very pleasant experience, and you do not need to worry about any lack of knowledge - they will walk you through everything. </p>
<p>Just remember that Brits and Americans generally take their tea differently (milk vs lemon, for example), and that the way the tea should be steeped varies from tea to tea, so feel free to ask the server if you are unsure of anything. They are used to it.</p>
<p>You should be offered a choice of teas too. If you are unsure, just ask for a description of the differences. Miss Manners is right. Actually, these days in England, at least where I live, tea is most often used to describe the children’s evening meal. So lots of play dates would be for tea, ie fish fingers most likely!</p>
<p>One of my best friends is very creative and loves to throw themed parties/events/get-togethers. She held a tea for the Queen’s Jubilee. We all dressed up, wore hats, were offered a couple of different kinds of tea, and sampled various tea sandwiches/cakes.</p>
<p>My D returned a couple of days earlier from a semester in London and she brought bring back a few jubilee items to share at the tea. She also won the UK trivia contest – glad that semester abroad paid off!</p>
<p>I threw a real tea (for a baby shower) and had a great time. I am a bit if a tea connoisseur and bought a really nice Earl Gray creme tea that was a couple bucks an ounce. I spent probably $80 on the tea itself for 15 people! But incredibly delicious.</p>
<p>You may be served loose tea with a strainer, so be prepared to to deal with the strainer/hot water with a bit of finesse to avoid dribbling on the tablecloth. I’ve been to many teas in the UK and my British friends tell me that Americans often don’t let the tea steep long enough, so let it sit for a full five minutes before pouring. Have a great time!</p>
<p>Yes, messiness is something I would worry about! My friend has gone before so I’m sure she will guide me through things as well. :)</p>
<p>The menu looks quite extensive (though I realize the portions are small - actually I love this - lots of tastes, not a lot of quantity!)</p>
<p>Here’s what I believe our menu will be, not including tea…</p>
<p>Oat Raisin Scones,
Butternut Squash Soup,
Turkey with Cranberry Tea Sandwiches, Cranberry Bread Slices with Cream Cheese, Spoon Bread with Fried Apples,
Cucumber Tea Sandwiches,
Sticky Gingerbread with Custard Sauce, Colonial Brown Sugar Cookies
and Maple Bourbon Pumpkin Pie.</p>
<p>Abasket, we had a tea party for my one friend at work for her bridal shower! It was quite fun! The best part was when she walked in and was like oh wow this must be a popular place i know the people at that table… Oh and that one… Oh and… SURPRISE!!! It was hilarious.</p>
<p>The tea was very good and we probably had a dozen different little foods. Some were strange -tiny tacos in a fluffy pastry type shell!! I remember they served a bit of Italian wedding soup since we were a bridal shower. Lots of scones, cookies, pastries.But all were great. Very good service and polite tea servers.</p>
<p>I am Scottish and here are my interpretations:</p>
<p>High Tea - Is served about 4 PM. Would include a meal like " fish and chips" , bread and butter, pot of tea then scones/ cakes.</p>
<p>Cream tea- is served earlier in the day with more dainty sandwiches, clotted cream, jam, pastries, cakes, scones. More of a special occasion.</p>
<p>“tea time” Is when you eat your evening meal. We ate “tea” at 5 when my dad came home from work. Really has nothing to do with tea, except we had a cup of tea after we ate.</p>
<p>Confused???</p>
<p>Tea should always be made with boiling water. I rarely order tea in the US, prefer to drink coffee. However, when I go home to Scotland I drink pots of the stuff. My husband has fun reminding me how many cups of tea I have had. I drink it just as it comes- no milk/ sugar. My kids drink it with milk and one sugar. I think the scottish water makes a huge difference to the taste. I don’t know any Scots who have lemon in their tea.</p>
<p>Hope you have a great time abasket. Always fun to try something new.</p>