Hosting an Afternoon Tea Party

When was the last time you used your good china teacups from the dining room cabinet? Polished up and used the sterling silver tea server you inherited? Asked your guests to dress up? Hosting an afternoon tea party is your opportunity to bring some elegance, grace and proper English etiquette to your home.

The Story Behind Tea Parties

According to the Tea Muse, tea parties have been going on since the discovery of tea itself, in China thousands of years ago. For most of us, however, a tea party has become synonymous with the British. It was Anna, the seventh duchess of Bedford, who introduced the practice of afternoon tea in the early 1800s. Between a hearty breakfast and a big dinner, Anna decided she needed an afternoon snack, and the custom was soon picked up by the rest of England. Afternoon tea (also called “low tea” because it was served on low tables in the living room or parlor) often consisted of dainty finger sandwiches, scones and pastries. The beverage, of course, was and continues to be hot tea.

Tea Party Themes

Hosting a tea party allows you to be creative in setting a theme, dress, and presentation. A tea party theme helps tie in linens, table décor, tea flavors, delicacies and invitations.

Suggest your guests dress up for your tea party, and come in hats, heels and just for fun – if you can find them – white gloves.

Coffee Tea & Thee has tea party theme suggestions for every month of the year, and china patterns to match. Popular themes for tea parties are holidays, seasons, occasions, colors and fruits. Tea Laden has darling ideas for a “Shades of Pink” tea party and other color themes. A summer tea party can easily take on a watermelon theme, with watermelon fruit salad and lots of pink and green table linens. A snowflake theme tea party, with a sparkling white table and pastries dusted with powdered sugar, makes a beautiful wintertime tea.

Your Tea Party Menu

A tea party menu can be anything light and delicate. The basic “should haves” for a proper tea party are Tea Sandwiches, finger sandwiches with various fillings and toppings; Scones, which are sometimes served with Clotted Cream; and, of course, tea. A traditional afternoon tea may also have crumpets, delicate pastries, fruit and other desserts.


Tea Sandwiches

Tea sandwiches are fun to make, versatile, and the perfect finger food for any tea party. For recipes for tea sandwiches, see Dainty Delicious Tea Sandwiches in Les Tout.

Orange Poppy Seed Scones

• 2¼ cups flour
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, chilled
• ¼ cup orange juice
• 1 large egg
• ¼ teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1 egg white mixed with ½ teaspoon water, for glaze

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a 10-inch diameter circle in the center of a baking sheet. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, poppy seeds, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into ½-inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender or two knives, used scissor fashion, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. In a small bowl, stir together orange juice, egg and orange peel. Add the juice mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. The dough will be sticky. With lightly floured hands, pat the dough into a 9-inch diameter circle in the center of the prepared baking sheet. If desired, brush the egg mixture over the top of the dough. With a serrated knife, cut into 8 wedges. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer the scones to the wire rack to cool. Recut into wedges, if necessary. Serve warm, or cool completely and store in an airtight container. Makes 8 scones.

Mock Clotted Cream
Real Clotted Cream calls for unpasteurized or non-ultra pasteurized milk, which is all but impossible to buy today. This easy, mock Clotted Cream, is the next best thing. Serve it with scones.

• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

Mix together sour cream and vanilla. In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream with an electric mixer in a chilled stainless steel bowl and with chilled beaters. When medium to stiff peaks begin to form, sprinkle in sugar and continue to beat. When sugar is well mixed and peaks are stiff, gently fold in the sour cream mixture.

How to Brew the Perfect Cup of Tea

How to make the perfect cup of tea for your tea party guests? Go to the experts.

Fill a tea kettle with freshly drawn cold water. The Mark T. Wendell Tea Company suggests filtered water, since the water quality can affect the taste of tea. Twinings suggests using fully boiled water for black teas, but just-below boiling water for green teas, which can turn bitter if mixed with boiling water. Measure tea into a teapot, allowing one heaping teaspoon of tealeaves or 1 tea bag per cup of tea. Pour water from the kettle onto tea leaves or tea bags. The Mark T. Wendell Tea Company warns: “If you prefer your tea stronger or weaker, never vary the brewing time; simply increase or decrease the amount of tea.”

George Orwell’s instructions for the perfect cup of tea is revealed in this BBC article, “How to Make a Perfect Cuppa.” Orwell suggests tea makers “Let the leaves move around the pot - no bags or strainers.”

Tea Pots, Tea Cups and Tea Services