How ‘bout a cuppa?

My family is not the most adventurous of eaters, so I was not going to stress them out by serving “first flush Darjeeling silver tip from the top of a nameless mountain in a country so remote you can’t get there from here.” I served two teas: Earl Grey, and a lovely Orange Pekoe, the “regular” type of tea, although I was at some frou-frou market that did not have the "regular" brands..

Here’s a tip on Earl Grey: if you make a mistake and buy loose tea instead of bagged tea because the canisters are exactly the same, do not think that more is more. With Earl Grey, less is fine, because more just makes a pot of soapy, bitter tea. The old standby – one for each cup, and one for the pot – is the correct amount for Earl Grey, and just because you can scoop out 2 ounces of tea leaves on one tablespoon doesn’t mean you should.

Because of the size of my tea party, I offered to pour the tea for my ladies. We were having a buffet, so after they got their tasty treats, I would pour them their tea.

If you choose to serve tea at your tea party, you would do well to make sure the surface from which you pick up the tea (a.k.a. the table) is at least waist high, else the teapot will wobble precipitously and you will spill some somewhere on someone.

The ladies were quite tickled that I went the extra mile and got sugar cubes.

I can make that dish in three minutes – NOT!!

A realistic timetable

“Little sandwiches” does not mean “little work”

Irish scones at an English Tea

I’ll have one of those, one of those, and one of those (please)

Thanks so much for coming

Tea party home