Tea Party Menu

When you think of tea parties, the image that conjures up in everyone’s minds is the high class British society (specifically the Royal family), lavishing in afternoon high tea parties in a quaint and quiet garden, dressed in their best Sunday clothes and seated in gilded armchairs, eating scones and sandwiches and of course drinking tea. All formal looking but totally elegant and chic and anyone can have a relaxing time that is spent with friends and family. If you fancy this kind of spending quality time with friends, then here are ways of hosting a splendid afternoon tea party.

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Drinking tea and having tea parties has always been part of a British tradition, and it’s no lie that the Brits are fond of this (although not done in a regular basis, of course). However, an afternoon tea party is suitable for many celebrations. If you like to host a party that isn’t really involved as a dinner party, a tea party is perfect for a small, get-together. It’s an ideal party for a bridal or baby shower, a retirement party, a birthday celebration, or time to catch up with good friends.

As the custom has evolved, tea time is usually scheduled from mid to late afternoon. It’s an in-between meal snack that is a lot more elegant than a bag of chips and junk foods. And tea parties are not extremely fussy at all, although the meal often includes savory, bite-size sandwiches, scones or biscuits, and sweets, along with a good pot of tea. Both men and women enjoy afternoon tea in England (or anywhere outside England too), and nowadays, it’s often used as a function for entertaining business clients.

When throwing your very own tea party, your guest list can include dozens of people or only one good friend with whom you’d like to share an intimate conversation. Some tea parties can be a very formal affair as you’ll find at some highly elegant hotels, or it can be as casual as a pot of tea and some cookies.

If you’re a novice in hosting tea parties, here is the starter pack to make your tea parties delightful and enjoyable.

Hand-paint Tea Party Menu Example

Cool Tea Time Menu Example

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Floral Tea Menu Example

Pink Floral Bridal Tea Menu Example

 

The Basic Kit

If you own a tiered cake stand (either a single, two-tiered, three-tiered cake stand), dust it off and use it as the centerpiece of your table. Otherwise, use your best crockery and make it a little more special with lace doilies, folded napkins and name place signs. If you want to feel the spirit of a traditional and essential type of tea party, then you visit charity shops or vintage stores. They are a good source for reasonable floral Chinaware and don’t think much if the patterns are mismatched. Don’t forget your teapot, teacups, cutlery and cake slices for serving the food.

Setting the Scene

Extend your table (or set up additional tables) and throw on a table cloth; however if you don’t have one, for some reason, there are fabric or textile shops that sell cheap spotted, floral and striped material by the meter. You can also string up some bunting, paper, flowers, strings etc., depending on your theme and taste.

While you’re at it; decorating the venue, you could make some place-name cookies and ice them with your guests’ names. Pop them in paper bags so your guests have a little present to take away– or just put them as an entrée. You can make coconut & cinnamon place-name cookies, sugar place-name cookies, peanut butter place-name cookies, or in gingersnap place-name cookies.

Drinks

Make sure the sugar and milk is set on the table ready to pour your guests a cuppa as they settle down. Provide a variety of tea: Earl Grey, peppermint, chamomile, fruit, herbal, Darjeeling Black tea, mint, lavender, and English Breakfast. Iced tea makes for a more refreshing drink in warmer weather; you could serve up a sloe gin royale or orange juice-based mimosa.

Alice In Wonderland Tea Menu Example

Hand-paint Tea Time Menu Example 2

Herbal Tea Menu Example

Tea Menu in Pink Example

The Spread

A standard afternoon tea composes a layer of sandwiches, a layer of cakes and a layer of scones or teacakes. However, you could also throw in pastries or biscuits. Don’t wear yourself out by taking on too many ambitious bites, but if you feel like it’s a challenge make sure you get your timings right.

Sandwiches

Sandwiches require minimal effort, but do get ahead by preparing your fillings in advance and assembling just before proceedings begin to avoid the dreaded soggy sarnie.

Selection of summer sandwiches:

• Carrot & raisin sandwiches
• Salmon club sandwich
• Best-ever crab sandwiches
• Smoked salmon & avocado open sandwich on rye bread
• Bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich
• British rail
• Chicken salad
• Marmite
• Tuna sandwich
• And so much more…

Scones

Scones are great when eaten on the day and don’t take long to whip up but if you want to get ahead, freeze a batch and defrost them in a low oven. Serve warm with lashings of jam– decant a pot of homemade preserve into a pretty bowl. The scones you could make are the following:

• Maple Oat Nut Scones
• Blueberry, Lemon and Brie Scones
• Classic Lemon Cranberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
• Jammy Scones
•  Ham and Scallion Scones with Lemon Herb Chèvre
• Strawberry Mini Scones
• Cheddar and Apple Buttermilk Scones
• Chocolate Chip Scones
• Cheese Scones
• Fig Scones
• And so much…

Afternoon Tea Vintage Menu Example

Watercolor Tea Menu Example

Template for Tea Menu Example

How to Set Your Tea Party

• Select a date of the tea party and send out your invitations. Depending on your party your invitation can range from a  casual invite to a formal invitation. To make things creative, include a tea bag in a more casual invite for fun and to set the tone for your party.
• Purchase your tea and tea-related accessories. You will need to have several teapots in order to brew a variety of teas for your guests.
• Review the recipes for tea time sandwiches and treats. At most tea parties there will be a selection of both savory and sweet bites to satisfy both kinds of appetites. If your tea party is an in-between meal (between lunch and supper), you will only need a small selection of bites. If your tea party takes the place of a full meal, you’ll want to offer a wider and more diverse selection.
• Brew and serve a proper pot of tea. Accompany the tea selections with cream, sugar, and even lemon slices to accommodate the varied tastes of your guests.
• Relax and entertain your guests while musing on the merits of tea. For example, you can follow the Harry Potter example of reading tea leaves to foretell anyone’s future, for amusement. You can refer to books or websites that has this kind of content.

Additional Tea Party Tips