High tea parties are wrongly considered for being the afternoon tea parties, but high tea points towards the supper in the evening which usually used to be eaten at about 6 o’clock in the evening when workers got back home from work.
High tea parties are wrongly considered for being the afternoon tea parties,
but truly speaking, high tea points towards the supper in the evening which usually used to be eaten at about 6 o’clock in the evening when workers reached back home from work. This supper contained of dishes made of meat , potatoes and also other delicacies besides tea. Nevertheless high tea did not persist to be the workers’ meal exclusively and reached the social crowds and high tea parties began to take place.
Afternoon tea or low tea is had on low-height tables placed on a side of or before sofas and chairs, often in the drawing hall. Mainly it is of 3 kinds.
- First one formed of tea, cream, scones and jam is named as Cream Tea.
- Second one formed of tea, sweets and scones is known as Light Tea.
- The third type consisting of tea, sweets, dessert, savories and scones is known as Full Tea.
Time for this tea is mostly 4 to 5 pm. Presently in restaurants this system has been amended regarding time as well as the delicacies served. This type of tea is handed out at 3 to 5 in the evening and the delicacies made up of generally three courses, 1st of savory snacks, second of scones and third of pastries. Savory snacks contain starters in form of mini sandwiches along with appetizers. Scones are provided with jam and cream, generally clotted also known as Devonshire cream. And pastries comprise of cakes, sweets, cookies and shortbread.
If you intend to conduct high tea party in your house or in hotel, simply to catch with your friends and enjoy with them, you are free to select any of the food items and time. However when the party is more formal, you need to be a bit more cautious about timing, place, environment and dishes. You should choose to conduct the party in a portion of the home which is somewhat secluded from rest of the house, so that you will be able to get time to talk intimately with your invitees. Making of environment is vital as your visitors should feel relaxed and pleasing. Flowers are ideal for producing a lovely environment. Take out your finest doilies, napkins, tablecloths and cutlery to decorate the tables. Select music watchfully, especially soft and in low tone. In other words, the music needs to be such as to highlight the conversation. Other most significant elements of a cozy ambiance are restful seats, which should be equal to your number of invitees, in addition to you and your partner.
The most essential constituent of the high tea party is tea itself. Go for as many varieties as you are able to and permit your invitees to choose. Next, for a genuine tea party, you must have a tea infuser for each of your invitees. It is a tiny ball of steel or silver and has many tiny holes. It appears like spoons having encasement. You can keep tea powder inside the case and place the infuser on the cup of every guest for steeping.
The foods to be provided together with tea have to be light and small-sized, usually to be able to hold in between fingers. Generally cold delicacies are provided, barring some single small hot delicacy. The recipes for high tea party are several, like chicken and/or ham, salads, fresh fruits, and all types of sweet preparations, e.g. custards, cakes, cream puffs, etc.
When your guests come, they must feel stress-free and later you can arrange variety of activities e.g. reading out poems, remembering past moments, playing games or only chitchatting and have good time in the group of old friends.
