Tea With Miss Janice, Post #5

Today I am featuring photos of "Tea Accoutrements," items needed to host a tea event--tea for one or a large group of guests. Let's take a look at what you might need...

Tea service, with a coffee pot or hot water pot, teapot, sugar bowl with tongs, a waste bowl (also called a slop bowl--oh yes it is!) for the tea dregs, and a creamer for the milk.

Sugar cubes are used at tea and may also be placed in a sugar scuttle, or you may use those tiny packets of artificial sweetener and place them in a sugar caddy.

If you are steeping loose tea in a teapot, use a tea strainer when pouring the tea into the teacup. Then carefully place the strainer back on to it's base cup.

A tea sachet is placed into the teacup, hot water added, steeped, and then placed on the tea sachet caddy

After the tea has steeped, it is proper to place the sachet onto the caddy.

A teabag is placed into the teacup, hot water added, steeped, and then placed onto the teabag caddy.

After the tea has steeped, it is proper to place the teabag onto the caddy.

Your tea in the pot may be kept warm using a teapot warmer.

Or, you may use a teapot trivit and...

Cover the teapot with a quilted tea cozy to keep the tea hot.

If you want to serve toast, place the toasted bread in a pretty toast rack. Use a pretty crystal serving piece for your jam, clotted cream, and lemon curd. Do you like honey with your tea? This pretty little crystal honey server is just perfect for an afternoon tea!

A silver muffineer is great to use if you like to add powered sugar to those yummy scones.

Make sure you use tea serviettes at tea--they are 12-inch square cloth napkins. In this photo I placed the serviettes in a teapot-motif napkin ring. You may use a small plate (dessert/salad) or any size you want. You will need a dessert fork and a luncheon/tea fork. Of course, you need and teacup and saucer and teaspoon. I always like to place a doiley underneath the teacup--just in case--even proper Southern ladies spill tea sometime!

You might also prefer to use a butter spreader at tea--shown in the front of the setting.

Here's the tea food tray which will contain all the goodies..use doilies on each plate and provide a pastry server for each plate. The savories will be placed on the bottom, the scones in the middle, and the sweets on the top plate. The foods are eaten in that order: savories, scones, and sweets.

If you will be serving iced tea, place your goblet on a doiley and provide iced teaspoons and rests. You may also place your iced tea goblet on a saucer with the doiley.
Here are two little silver pieces that are very nice to have at tea. A mote spoon is used to stir the tea beverage in the pot during the steeping process. It also has a pointed end, which may be used to unclog tea leaves in the tea spout. The dainty little fork is a lemon fork and used to serve the sliced lemons at your tea.

Perhaps you haven't had a tea party because you feel you don't have the proper place, tea accoutrements, or skills to host a tea party. That shouldn't stop you. Remember, it's your hospitality and how special you make someone feel that will leave a lasting impression, not your surroundings, china, etc. It is the ritual of sharing that is important!

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you are learning some new information about tea that you did not know. I will be posting about Tea & Etiquette--from the invitations to the thank-you notes, in next few posts. Please stop by!