Hosting A Tea Party EtiquetteThe easiest way to learn about hosting a tea party and Tea Etiquette, gain some tea party ideas, see samples of tea party invitations and most importantly, how to serve tea right, matters in tea party etiquette right here!  So you want to host a tea party? Good on you. Afternoon teas are an excellent way to entertain elegantly. These little elegant events can be given in honor of visiting friends, new neighbours or VIPs. Occasions of celebration such as birthday parties, housewarming parties can also take the form of a tea party. They are cost effective, yet may not have to compromise in its formality and the pleasure of making it an elegant affair. Hosting A Tea PartyElegant InvitationsThe type of invitation should follow the how formal and elaborate your tea party is. A simple invitation printed on lovely paper may be issued in the mail, using these words. For an traditional Victorian afternoon tea, invitations are handwritten on tea note cards, which comprises of pictures of charming tea sets, English roses and similar motifs. You may want to use engraved, letter press or use a very elegant stationer for your invitations. There are many very affordable companies you can use these days. Are they a waste of money? Of course not, the invitation pretty much sets the tone of party and it also gets people excited to come. Of course these days, a telephone call or email invite would suffice, depending on the formality of the afternoon tea you are going to host. Hosting A Tea PartyHow To Set The Tea TableTea and tea snacks will be laid on a table covered with white cloth of linen, lace or crisp cotton just before the guests arrive. The tea table is usually set up in dining room, though the mingling of people may not be confined to the dining room. Prepare two large trays, one for tea and one for the coffee and set them at both ends of the table. Even though its a tea party, you should serve coffee for the coffee drinkers. You may also serve hot chocolate. The cups and saucers are placed at the left of the tray, from the viewpoint of the person pouring the tea. That makes it easy to reach for him or her as tea is usually poured with the right hand unto the cup and saucer held by the left. Hosting A Tea PartyDecorating Your Tea PartyYou may use a fresh bouquet of roses and greenery or a bunch of daisies and baby's breath for the centerpiece. Candles or oil lamps make the table decoration elegant too. But of course, food is the real centerpiece, displayed elegantly in their wide array of colours.  The loveliest teapots and teacups, silver trays, silver and bone china plates are used adding to the height of the loveliness of a traditional afternoon tea.  Hosting A Tea PartyHow To Serve Tea ProperlyProper Preparation of tea:
Serving of the coffee:
Stacks of little tea plates and cutlery are provided for guests to use as they help themselves to the plates of food, like an elegant buffet. If your dining table is not large enough, you may use a smaller side table. Hosting A Tea PartyTea Bags EtiquetteThe general consensus by all etiquette authors is that a tea bag should never be served in a cup of tea.
Proper tea etiquette is to first brew the tea in a pot before pouring into little tea cups. When you are served with a cup of tea with a tea bag inside, let it sit inside for 3-4 minutes (assuming that it is freshly made) or however strong you like before removing them with your teaspoon and placing on the saucer. The strength of the tea can be determined by the colour of the water it makes. The stronger the tea, the darker the colour it will make with the water. Generally, you do not need to put in the tea bag for long if it is a good quality tea. If you do not have a saucer and a stirring teaspoon to remove the bag, you may simply ask for a teaspoon and a place to remove your teabag to as you "do not like your tea to be too strong."  Hosting A Tea PartyTea Party FoodFood for a tea party is mostly sweet -- cookies, cupcakes, fruitcake or slices of ice cake, quite different from a cocktail party which is more savoury. However, one should cater to those without a sweet tooth, providing tea sandwiches and scones perhaps.   Because a tea party is literally self-serve, it is possible to give a formal tea without serving help. You may do the entire set up on your own but just make sure you have sufficient boiling water for making tea for all your guests. That is why afternoon teas are so wonderful! Hosting A Tea PartyHow To Make Good TeaThe most important part of the tea service is having plenty of boiling water. The procedures for making good tea are as follows:
The following is referenced from Emily Post Etiquette "The cup of good tea should be too strong without the addition of a little lively boiling water which gives it freshness." Hosting A Tea PartyHow To Pour The TeaWho pours the tea? The pouring is done by close friends or the host or the party giver. Of course, if you are a close friend, you'll ask if you can "do the honours". It is a good idea to help out when a friend has been pouring tea for others for more than half and hour. In the book, "If Teacups Could Talk", Emilie Barnes says The cream goes first into the cups. (or milk) How do I ask for a cup of tea? Each person walks up to the table and says, "May I have a cup of tea please?" The one pouring should smile and answer, "Certainly, how do you like it? strong or weak?" would you like cream or lemon? If the visitors says, "Weak", boiling water is added, and according to guest's wishes, sugar, cream or lemon. If the guest prefers coffee, he or she asks for it at the other end of the table. If you are not too busy pouring and the guest is alone, you make a few pleasant remarks. Do not hold up the line if the tea table is busy But if there are a number of guests around the table, you need to only smile as you hand each guest a cup of coffee or tea. Hosting A Tea PartyAs A Tea Party GuestProper Tea etiquette requires the hostess and her guests to dress up, as a sign of respect and honour to the special occasion or the person you are honouring.  Elegant Dressing Tip: Pastel colours are very welcoming. As a guest, never overload your plate. There is no limit to going back to help yourself to the food. Tea Etiquette Tip For Stirring When you stir, you should not make a clanking stirring sound with your tea spoon. It can be distracting. Instead, stir your tea without touching the 'walls' of the cup. The tip of your spoon touches the bottom of the cup though, because otherwise it would be impossible to stir. Hosting A Tea Party Etiquette Tip For Hostess: Being the elegant hostess, you'll introduce your guest of honour to your guests as they arrive. You might want to stand near the door with your guest of honour to do a little 'meet and greet' with the arriving guests. As a guest, like all good party etiquette, when you are ready to leave, you simply thank your host and say good bye to the guest of honour before you take your leave. Other than those 'protocols', everything else is kept very casual. Guests freely move around the room, helping themselves to food and tea and talking to everyone whether formally being introduced or not. SHOPYou might also be interested in: Tea Party Etiquette 
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