This was the final tea served today for tea party, and I have only about a teaspoon of leaf left. This came in a beautiful special tin from Nina’s. It is predominantly orange flavored, rich and thick orange flavor and aroma! I love that it isn’t your run of the mill black tea-orange-cinnamon-clove that every company seems to make, that usually have a slightly bitter taste. This one is fresh and lively.
Regarding serving tea for events – here are a few little things I have picked up and I hope others will share any tips and tricks they may have.
First, you can write on your ceramic, porcelain, etc. teapots with a Dry Erase marker. I used to write the preparation instructions for my youngest daughter because she would prepare the tea while I welcomed the guests and kept them company until the table was fully ready. I wrote the time and temperature for each tea and away she went. Then you just wipe it away before bringing the pots to the table, or you can leave the name of the tea on the pot so you don’t forget which tea is in which pot, or so the guests can know what they are drinking.
Secondly, I just bought a metal cloche for keeping the hot foods hot, but when my guest was late one day I put a glass cloche over my teapot and it kept the tea nice and hot for a very long time. I don’t own a cozy other than a knitted Christmas one (thank you, Sandy!) that I obviously don’t use all year round.
The last tip I have is…invite people over even if you serve tea and Oreos. People want to socialize more than we think! It is nice to connect, so don’t wait until you can make some Martha Stewart extravaganza. Just do it! Truth is, they will probably be more comfortable if things are NOT perfect, because then they know you are human and they don’t mind returning the invitation.
I am fortunate to work at home, and I know that gives me a lot of freedom some people don’t have. I also have a daughter who loves to cook and never complains about being asked to make something special. In fact, she gets bored when I don’t. So when I invite other people over, I usually have a candle lit, soft spa music or coffee house music playing, and a general atmosphere that I hope will both help guests relax and help them have fun. I bring out the best of everything I have. I buy linen and cotton napkins for 50 cents at estate sales. The dog (or dogS if I am sitting for family members) have a bed under the tea table so we can slip them the occasional treat and get lots of love and kisses. So it is at once as elegant as I can make it, and also as relaxed and friendly, I hope!
I would love to hear anyone else’s tips and also what you have done that you love, that worked, or even what you will never ever do again! :)
People who liked this
Comments
I love this! You are so right about people wanting to connect. Phones are amazing (I can text with the best of them), but I don’t think anything will ever replace sitting across a table from a friend and talking. With tea and cookies of course. :)
I think the first lesson I learned early on is for me to pick the tea that I’ll be serving. I have a large enough stash that I used to tell friends to pick whatever sounded interesting to them, but honestly most of them had no idea. And it was a huge ordeal to make several single servings of tea at once. Now I pick the tea ahead of time an we all get to relax and enjoy.
I always enjoy hearing about your tea parties, and you are right, people do just enjoy socializing. Period!
I wish I had more friends that enjoy tea as well. I only have a couple!
I agree with choosing the tea beforehand rather than letting them choose. Most people are overwhelmed with so much choice! Not everyone has a tea shelf like mine!!
i agree on the inviting people over! We have a standing open invitation (though we check with everyone again the morning of) for folks to come over every wednesday night. We feed them and then the guys usually pick up random whiskies to try – shared purchases let them explore, and the ladies join me with sampling various wines. I’d do it with tea, but so far no one’s interested in that haha. But it’s great to have everyone come over every week so we all get to see one another, catch up on our lives and such. I’m hoping that when everyone starts having kids it’ll still continue :)
A dear friend of mine, pastor’s wife, say, “Just put Oreos on a doily and people will think you fussed :)” I live with pathological introverts and they have, over the years, rubbed off on me, but I do miss those “just come over and visit” connections. (Small groups, thank you; big parties make me hyperventilate a little.)
Great tip on the dry erase markers! I just did an open house where I had several pots of tea and I did use cozies since the pots were going to be sitting for a bit. I safety pinned a decorative paper with the tea name to the cozies so everyone knew what was in what pot.
I tend to forget about music, but that’s a great way to set a relaxed mood.
If you serve tea sandwiches (totally easy stuff), you can dress up an edge or two quickly by dipping them in a little mayonnaise or yogurt and then dipping into chopped herbs like parsley. And if you spread a very thin coat of unsalted butter or cream cheese on the sandwiches before you fill them, you can wrap them loosely in waxed paper, uncut, and store them in the fridge for a day without the bread getting soggy. This doesn’t work as well with cucumber sandwiches, though. More for things like egg/ham/chicken salad.
Veronica and tigress – you are right! I pick the teas ahead of time unless it is a first time. Then I sit down and ask lots of questions about what flavors they enjoy, whether they drink coffee and how they take it. That helps me then choose the teas I think they may like.
Sil – That sounds awesome and fun!
GMathis – I agree, it’s the little things like a doily or a pretty plate, and I buy so much at estate sales. I got sterling spoons for $4 each and came home and saw them on eBay for $30 each. Doilies, linen napkins and tablecloths, old depression glass and crystal and silverplate, all for cheap cheap CHEAP! And they make a nice table. I also do small groups. Most of my tea parties are my daughters and one or two friends and myself. Today I had three girls who with their brother are QUADRUPLETS! They are my students, and we did exactly that – Oreos and assorted cookies on a silverplate dish I inherited.
Nicole – I love writing on the pots, and I also bought three boxes of real slate floor tile at an estate sale. I hammer the edges, add cork backing, and oil them and make cheese servers/trivets out of them, and you can write on them with chalk! And I love your sandwich idea and plan to use it next week! I have lots of parsley and oregano and such still growing well in the garden!
I love this! You are so right about people wanting to connect. Phones are amazing (I can text with the best of them), but I don’t think anything will ever replace sitting across a table from a friend and talking. With tea and cookies of course. :)
I think the first lesson I learned early on is for me to pick the tea that I’ll be serving. I have a large enough stash that I used to tell friends to pick whatever sounded interesting to them, but honestly most of them had no idea. And it was a huge ordeal to make several single servings of tea at once. Now I pick the tea ahead of time an we all get to relax and enjoy.
I always enjoy hearing about your tea parties, and you are right, people do just enjoy socializing. Period!
I wish I had more friends that enjoy tea as well. I only have a couple!
I agree with choosing the tea beforehand rather than letting them choose. Most people are overwhelmed with so much choice! Not everyone has a tea shelf like mine!!
i agree on the inviting people over! We have a standing open invitation (though we check with everyone again the morning of) for folks to come over every wednesday night. We feed them and then the guys usually pick up random whiskies to try – shared purchases let them explore, and the ladies join me with sampling various wines. I’d do it with tea, but so far no one’s interested in that haha. But it’s great to have everyone come over every week so we all get to see one another, catch up on our lives and such. I’m hoping that when everyone starts having kids it’ll still continue :)
A dear friend of mine, pastor’s wife, say, “Just put Oreos on a doily and people will think you fussed :)” I live with pathological introverts and they have, over the years, rubbed off on me, but I do miss those “just come over and visit” connections. (Small groups, thank you; big parties make me hyperventilate a little.)
Great tip on the dry erase markers! I just did an open house where I had several pots of tea and I did use cozies since the pots were going to be sitting for a bit. I safety pinned a decorative paper with the tea name to the cozies so everyone knew what was in what pot.
I tend to forget about music, but that’s a great way to set a relaxed mood.
If you serve tea sandwiches (totally easy stuff), you can dress up an edge or two quickly by dipping them in a little mayonnaise or yogurt and then dipping into chopped herbs like parsley. And if you spread a very thin coat of unsalted butter or cream cheese on the sandwiches before you fill them, you can wrap them loosely in waxed paper, uncut, and store them in the fridge for a day without the bread getting soggy. This doesn’t work as well with cucumber sandwiches, though. More for things like egg/ham/chicken salad.
Veronica and tigress – you are right! I pick the teas ahead of time unless it is a first time. Then I sit down and ask lots of questions about what flavors they enjoy, whether they drink coffee and how they take it. That helps me then choose the teas I think they may like.
Sil – That sounds awesome and fun!
GMathis – I agree, it’s the little things like a doily or a pretty plate, and I buy so much at estate sales. I got sterling spoons for $4 each and came home and saw them on eBay for $30 each. Doilies, linen napkins and tablecloths, old depression glass and crystal and silverplate, all for cheap cheap CHEAP! And they make a nice table. I also do small groups. Most of my tea parties are my daughters and one or two friends and myself. Today I had three girls who with their brother are QUADRUPLETS! They are my students, and we did exactly that – Oreos and assorted cookies on a silverplate dish I inherited.
Nicole – I love writing on the pots, and I also bought three boxes of real slate floor tile at an estate sale. I hammer the edges, add cork backing, and oil them and make cheese servers/trivets out of them, and you can write on them with chalk! And I love your sandwich idea and plan to use it next week! I have lots of parsley and oregano and such still growing well in the garden!