Tea Party Essentials!
It’s funny how some things come full circle – like how we played at tea parties as little girls and now we live for them as adults. For me, spring time is tea party season, a chance to enjoy the great weather and flowers in bloom. The key to a good tea party is good bite size food, high quality tea, and good friends.
When I start to think about my tea parties and the look I am going for, I usually like to incorporate a lot of antiques, mixing metals and ceramics. White with floral patterns are a great option and so is silver. Since good antiques can be difficult to find or acquire over time, I’ve included a list of amazon items that could make the cut.
There are a few items I love for a tea party, starting with a tea pot with built in infuser. This is great if you want to make loose leaf tea or a pot for a few people. While a normal tea pot is fine, the one’s with the infuser, I believe, give a better flavor. Another thing I like to have is a cake stand with a dome. Something about this just adds a level of sophistication. Similarly, a tiered stand is an iconic tea essential. When I was on my honeymoon in the UK, everywhere we stopped for afternoon tea served it on one of these. They are also great for adding dimension to your table scape.
Dimension is really important when it comes to setting your table. You want things to be at different levels and have contrast. Try to separate the things that look similar and add different height levels. The same goes with flowers and candlesticks, make sure to add a variety of height differences.
The type of food served is very important. It is rule of thumb for a tea party to serve bite size or finger food. That is the key difference between a tea and a meal. Traditionally, you can find an assortment of mini sandwiches, scones, and mini desserts. Some of my favorites are cucumber sandwiches, smoked salmon sandwiches, traditional English scones, fruit tarts, and some sort of chocolate ganache. People tend to like different types tea so make sure to have a few different ones along with cream and sugar or honey for the people who like to add a little something. Maybe try getting a tea from each category: White, Green, Black, Oolong, or Herbal. Another thing to check for is caffeinated or decaf teas. I like caffeine in mine but my husband prefers decaf.
In the tea party featured in my photos, we were having a Bridgerton Watch party/tea party. Adding a theme along with the tea party is a fun way to shake it up. We dressed up and wrote Lady Whistledown papers. It may seem childish to have a themed tea party, but the fun of being an adult is getting to do what you want and spend the money you earn how you see fit.
My last tip for a great tea party is to not overthink it and just have a good time. Make sure to enjoy the fruits of your labor because it can be an extensive production to host a tea party. And with that, happy tea-partying!