My first tea party changed my life. On the menu was a pot of Prince of Wales Tea, Walkers Shortbread Cookies with lemon curd, and wonderful conversation with my best friend. In my mind, it was equivalent to being in the Royal Family! We knew absolutely nothing about the proper way to have tea, but we were off to a great start. My, how things have changed! What is it about teatime that transports us to another place? I can drink coffee on the run, but my tea must be savored, slowly sipped from a china cup.
We never miss a tearoom when we travel. We have been served tea in tearooms that range from simple to ornate, with many styles and themes planned to bring great enjoyment to every guest. The delight of a tearoom’s atmosphere is that people are always gathered, conversing madly to the clink of the china. It is heaven.
One of the most enchanting magazines we publish is TeaTime. I can’t get enough of beautiful settings, glorious teapots and delectable foods. Can a woman own too many teapots? Of course not. I collect teapots and use them almost daily in my home. The beautiful tea setting shown is in a splendid rose garden. Serving afternoon tea to a special someone is so much fun. You might be looking for a wonderful way to have an intimate birthday celebration for a friend. Or you might just need a quiet time to listen when someone needs to talk.
Look around your home and find a wonderful place to set up your private oasis. Even if you are not the seasoned tea hostess, nothing can beat a wonderful cup of tea and a small treat.
Comments 44
I am so happy I found your blog through Tina from The Enchanted Home. I love it.
Every time one of my children wants to talk, I always go for the teapot and make a pot of tea. My Mother had 10 children and did the same with us. There is something that brings unity and comfort when we share tea and biscuits or even toast. It seems to bring you closer together.
Tea time! One of my favorite memories whilst I was enduring breast cancer treatment was a “Survivor” hosting a real English Tea Party in her home (in Texas). It “was” magical… Different teas and treats, gentle talk and an oasis away from what we were all going through outside of that room. She taught us the art of making tea and of serving tea. Who knew? Now, I feel a sense of peace when I sit down with a cup of tea. Tea and a great memory… so peaceful~
Thank you so much for this blog; I cannot wait to read more. Your pictures are beautiful and peaceful. I appreciate the loveliness!
I am delighted about this blog….I subscribe to Victoria which is my favorite magazine of all time, also subscribe to Celebrate, Southern Lady and all the Cottage Journals and any special issues of Victoria Classics. I have a website called: babiesbridesandlavender.com. Most of my work is a nod toward Victorian design. I create bridal and baby shower favors that are just a little different from the ordinary. I hope to share some of my creations with everyone. Thank you for bringing Victoria back as well as all your other publications. I am always delighted to go to the mailbox and see one of your magazines waiting for me.
All the best to you. Happy Easter.
I am pretty sure that the pattern is made by Haviland. The pattern could be
I am pretty sure the china is by Haviland. The pattern is Rosalind or Apple Blossom. You can find it on http://www.replacemens.com
Loved seeing this article because tomorrow, at the request of my granddaughter, we are having a tea party for her sixth birthday. What she doesn’t know is that we are surprising her with the Grande Tea at one of the Disney hotels. I can’t wait to see her precious face light up!
This will be a memory you will cherish!
New to your Ribbon in my Journal (Cutely Clever Name)… I love your photo’s & your not so proper way of what a Tea Date should be about. I myself, like you am a bit of a collector of anything to do with Celebrating Tea… I have even started a Girly Girl mixed set of small demitasse cups & all the accessories for my little granddaughter to have with her Dollies…. Much Enjoyment!
I love your tea table. My six year old granddaughter Sara Elizabeth loves to come to my house to have tea. It gives me such pleasure to watch her. Hopefully she will continue this wonderful pleasure.
Prince of Wales is my favorite “basic” tea. Hard to find so I stock up when I see it. And your blog is lovely (but I would expect nothing less)
I LOVE TEATIME MAGAZINE…I’ve received copies for the last several years and have found the recipes delicious and so lovely to serve. My friends and I travel all around the state for tea rooms. I especially enjoyed high tea with a friend at the Prince of Wales Hotel at Niagara on the Lake. It was a lovely experience. I look forward to receiving Tea Time each time I receive a copy in the mail and stop whatever I’m doing to look through it. I am looking forward to reading the blog.
I love tea so much my husband gott me a vanity license plate for my car which is High Tea!!!
Kathy Briscoe,
Troy, MI
I’m new to this blog and I’m already excited about it! I visited Victoria Canada and at the Empress Hotel I had my 1st tea time. It was wonderful, and when I came home 2 weeks later, I had a catered tea for 35 of my friends! We had 8 tables, hats, and delicious sweets and tea sandwiches and different teas. Everyone was amazed and happy. It’s the warmest feeling and so lovely when sisters and friends can share teatime and forget problems and the world outside for a few hours. One can create joy and peace with just having tea together. Love it!
I love “Tea Time”! The tables so wonderfully set with beautiful tea sets and keepsakes. The pictures are so real sometimes I think that I can smell the flowers in the gardens. Tea is truly a special event/beverage to so many.
My love for tea started with my grandparents. They always had their hot tea in the morning with their breakfast and iced tea with the afternoon and evening meals. What special times were had around that table. Tea invokes such a relaxed environment surrounded by love. The clinking of the spoons against the cup is still something that warms my heart to this day.
Our society is so busy these days. We need to feel relaxed, loved and cherished. What a great way to convey this than a tea. Taking the time to select settings, savories and to decorate, even if it is just one flower or greenery from the yard, means so much.
Thank you so much for your blog and the flood of memories it brings!
this is just so lovely, what a lovely idea to have tea time with friends, and have a lovely chat,
When my younger daughter was in hight school, I noticed that she and her friends seldom wore dressed or observed any formalities at all. I determined to present them with an opportunity to practice something I was sure they had yet to experience: a tea party. We hand-wrote invitations, prepared finger sandwiches and small desserts and tea, set the dining table. The girls came, I am sure not knowing what to expect, but they did wear dresses and observed their best manners. Afterward, we all attended a performance of The Nutcracker. I think it was a success, at least on the eyes of my daughter and me.
It is Rosalinde by Haviland
Our Church Group is having an Afternoon Spring Tea on Thursday, April 24th and I am Chairing since I suggested we have Tea for fund raising. We have collected china teacups, sugar and creamers, and teapots from our members. Our menu is egg and ham salad tea sandwiches, cucumber open faced cocktail sandwiches, scones, pumpkin bread with cream cheese and dried cherry filling and a fruit salad on lettuce. And, for dessert ice cream and shortbread tea cookies (the cookies are shaped like a teabag that one of the ladies is making).Our entertainment will be a soloist and she reads poems. Also, dresses in 1900’s dresses with hat and parasol.
I have always loved inviting friends for Tea or being invited. My Grandmother was responsible for my love of tea, when she allowed me to serve her Card Club tea.
Our church did a Mother’s Day Tea two years ago. Rather than collecting tea cups, tea pots, etc. each table was decorated by a different woman who “hosted” that table. The variety was amazing–from personal tea cup collections to one table decorated with Christmas china.
Oriental Trading has a tea cup shaped calendar with a magnet on the back. Might make a cute favor.
Our church has an annual Armistice day tea as a fund raiser and it is always a lovely success. My Daughter and 10 yr old Granddaughter surprised me last weekend with a birthday tea at the Willard hotel in DC. Such a lovely place decorated with cherry blossoms which of course were blooming all over DC. The china, tea sandwiches, tea cakes and all the trimmings were delightful. Every tearoom experience is unique and wonderful and I’m so happy the popularity is growing with many more to visit. Mother’s Day tea at the Gramercy Mansion in Baltimore….next tea time visit!
I love the china pattern. Does anyone know which one it is?
It is most definitely Havilland Rosalinde! I have the pattern and was very excited to see it! My mother first started the collection when she married. Then I continued it 35 years ago (last week) when my husband and I married.
It’s my Mothers china and I’m so happy I have it. It’s so delicate and perfect for a tea!
I was introduced to the pleasure of an afternoon cup of tea by my grandfather. In fact, I wrote about that experience and it was published in the Sept/Oct 2010 issue of Tea Time magazine. My Tea Diaries article was “A Little Brown Teapot” and included a picture of my grandfather’s teapot that I inherited and will always treasure. Thank you for this blog & the opportunity to read the experiences of others,…now it time for my afternoon break and a cup of Chai! .
Lovely scene! I like frappe’s and drink them on the run, but when I have a cup a tea I like to have in a cup, not plastic but one with a handle, and take my time. I’ve had tea parties with my kids, they used to drink coke when they were little it looked more like coffee than tea…but now they drink earl grey with milk and sugar. Not sure if ours is proper or not, but my two boys love the finger food they get with it and my daughter only drinks the tea. At least I can share my passion with them!
So happy, happy, happy for your new blog!
I love Tea Time Magazine….it transformed my life. I went from dreaming about teas, to owning and operating a tearoom and bed and breakfast…what JOYS it had brought me. Thank you!
You have your own tea room and B &B?! How wonderful!!! I, too, once had my own “tea room” – it was a small dining room in my home. Oh.how.I.loved it! So many fond memories of hosting tea for friends, kids, kids’ friends, etc. I had each person that attended tea in my room sign a guest book. Unfortunately life’s circumstances happened and we no longer own that house. I.miss.my.tea room so much. All the tea stuff is packed in boxes for now anxiously awaiting to be used once again.
I LOVOve everytime I get Tea Time Magazine it brings to a place of relaxation and calmness. What a lovely way to unwind with beautiful spring weather. A cup of tea a sandwich and the birds just sitting having a conversation with GOD and thanking him for all his blessings. Oh I better get back to work that was a wonderful vision of Tea
I am SO glad that the American public, mostly the American woman, is FINALLY starting to enjoy and appreciate the custom of tea time and all that it entails. It brings a sense of style, refinement, taste and long-lost etiquette that has been LONG absent from the life of the average American family. If you don’t agree with me just think of the table manners of the average kid, of almost any age, that you know. ( I’ve made sure the young people in my family, including neice and nephews, know GOOD table manners from little up in our family. It can play a huge role in even a teenager’s social life later.) Let’s face it, the men may not be overly crazy about the custom of “tea time”, it’s FAR too feminine for them and personally, I think they just get in the way at a nice tea. We women just love to chat and talk, giggle and laugh (mostly about the men) and when a man is present everything takes on a completely different atmosphere.
The first time I experienced first hand and not in stories a real tea experience really was in London. In my early college life WAY back in the early 80s I was fortunate enough to travel to Europe for several weeks and we spent an entire week in London and the surrounding area. (it turned out to be in 3 feet of snow but it was still fun). Long before others would even consider having a tea for a meeting, a bridal or baby shower, or other type of female functions I began having a tea.
During my 17 years of selling the Longaberger Baskets and other items I had several “teas” a year to introduce new products. Many of my customers came to love them and look forward to them and would ask if I were having this one or that one. I hope I contributed to expanding the customer of afternoon tea in America. Now if we could ONLY get American women to enjoy wearing a lovely or nice hat. We definitely need to work on bringing this custom back into American life.
The ironic thing about hats is that when I do wear a hat to church (usually for Easter) EVERYONE and I do mean everyone just loves it, especially the men. Who would have thought that? But yet, when I suggest others begin wearing them again it’s all no, no, no! If more well-known women would start wearing them much more often then more and more the average women, like the ones I know, would jump on the band wagon, especially if younger celebrities would do so. Let’s work on that next!
I agree, heartily!
What a lovely blog! I adore Tea Time magazine and have gleaned many wonderful ideas for my own tea gatherings. I began enjoying afternoon tea many years ago while on an Atlantic crossing on the British ocean liner the Pacific Orient. When newly married I found an old entertaining book that included everything you need to know to host an afternoon tea. Then preceded to host my very first afternoon tea party for a few friends, and have been hooked on afternoon tea and all things tea-related ever since. As an aside, I still have a keepsake of the very first published issued of Victoria magazine and have enjoyed every issue since inception.
So happy to find you via Southern Lady! I too love a good cuppa tea to sit and enjoy with shortbread cookies! Yum! Enjoy tearoom and agree an afternoon close to heaven! Thank you!
Your tea table is set so lovely and with my same china pattern. I enjoy having tea and have had breakfast and afternoon tea parties with my great grand children. This is such a wonderful way to spend time with them and pass along the tradition of tea time. I am a long time subscriber to Tea Time and Victoria, now I am looking forward to your blog.Ruth Staley
What is that beautiful china pattern?
I have followed your magazine.can, Victoria since it’s inception. You have given me a world to slip into for my piece of mind. I particularly love tea parties and am in the process of giving one in May for 50 people at the Council on Aging in my hometown. Thank you for this blog and I will be anxiously awaiting more from you.
TeaTime Magazine opened up a whole new world for me. My private home is open as a house museum for part of the year, and one of the events I sponsor are tea parties with various themes. Almost all of the recipes served come from TeaTime, or one of your fabulous books. Thank you, Mrs. DePiano, for opening up that world to me!
I look forward to every issue of my Tea Time magazine. I was so happy to have discovered this magazine and gave a gift last year to a friend who loves to buy tea for me as a gift. Just sitting down and looking through it relaxes me, I enjoy trying new recipes and sometimes if I know a person will return it to me, I let them borrow a magazine. I keep them all 🙂 I am hoping one day there will be a tea event in my area. Thank you for Tea Time!
I am so excited about your new blog and will put it in my links. I sell Tea Time in my shop and am a long time fan of all things tea!
Tea time is very special. My favorite tea time is with my Granddaughter, Malea. We have had our tea parties since she was a toddler and still enjoying them with her at age 6.
You can’t beat some Walker’s shortbread. I’m a Scot, so I should know!
I was enchanted by your tea table with the lovely china pattern which I, also, own. My first High Tea was in the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island……loved it. I then realized that my own mom had been treating me to tea parties all of my life…….I just did not know the name. She collected tea pots, English bone china cups and saucers, silver trays, and gorgeous linens. She lived to prepare “Tomi’s temptations” and serve her guests in a proper manner. This is a lovely tradition that truly needs to be passed down to the generations.
I think I need Teatime magazine! This post is exactly how I feel. I was introduces to tea by an English roommate years ago. She taught me to enjoy the whole experience. Now I’m teaching my little ones! Loved this post! Thanks
I LOVE Teatime magazine and everything else you publish!!! What a joy that the art is tea is becoming such an art in this country as it always has been in England and Europe and Australia. I have loved my two high teas at the Ritz in London and the Waldort Astoria in New York. But the lovely thing is that I can have something just as lovely in my own home!!!