|
From the RedUmbrella Team: Hosting your own tea party can be fun and really exiting. To enhance your service, try using high quality loose leaf tea (or loose leaf tea in an infuser bag) over much lower quality grocery store brands which when you rip open the bag (try it at home) is just crushed, powdered-like tea. The best teas to enjoy with a high tea are our Earl Grey Bravo Black Tea (a 2008 World Tea Expo Championship Finalist!), English Breakfast Loose Leaf Black Tea or in tea bags, and even our sublime Wuyi Oolong Loose Leaf Tea or in tea bags, which offers a taste in between a green and black tea, and can be served with milk and sugar. Or try our flowering tea gift set which will provide you with a high quality Borosilicate Glass Tea Pot with a gift canister of flowering teas for $39.99. This is a perfect starter kit and exceptional value.The canister makes over 250 cups of tea. It is also important to ensure you don't over-boil your water when it comes to quality tea, so it is best to invest in a quality tea kettle which will allow you set the water temperature. All of our teas come with directions of how hot the water should be and how long the tea should be steeped for to maximize flavor and taste. Enjoy!
By Ann Maloney With English author Jane Austen undergoing a popularity boom through feature films and a PBS series, it's an opportune time to consider what just might have been her favorite beverage: tea. In Austen's novels, being invited to stay for tea was a symbol of social acceptance. And while more than one romantic intrigue deepened over the rim of the teacup, affairs of the heart were always tempered with practicality -- just like afternoon tea. Tea is now considered the quintessential English beverage. However, in "Tea With Jane Austen" (Jones Books, 2004), author Kim Wilson explains that although tea arrived in Europe in the early 1600s, it wasn't until the reign of King Charles II -- whose wife, Catherine of Braganza, was the first tea-drinking queen -- that the drink began to catch on among the aristocracy. The fashion of serving an afternoon tea with sweet and savory foods was said to have begun with Anna Russell, the seventh duchess of Bedford, who began serving it as a civilized 4 p.m. snack to tide everyone over until the new fashionably late supper. By the mid-1800s, afternoon tea had become part of social custom. With the expensive drink came expensive accouterment to go with its service. Traditionally an "afternoon tea" is a light meal served between 3 and 4 p.m. with finger sandwiches, scones, cookies and small cakes. A "royal tea" is enlivened with a glass of champagne, sherry or other spirits; "high teas" are usually enjoyed closer to 6 p.m., replacing a heavy evening meal, including a couple of hot dishes and perhaps heartier sandwiches and desserts. Teas can be formal affairs, served in the dining room or at the living room coffee table, or relaxed events, served in the kitchen, garden or as a picnic in the backyard. And while teas are usually thought of as places for women to gather, the party can be made attractive to both sexes by creating a gentlemen's club vibe with cards, a game of pool and heartier beverages such as Earl Grey tea or perhaps a black tea martini. We've compiled a scrumptious menu for a traditional afternoon tea complete with scones and lemon curd. So turn off the cell phone, the music and television and carve out a couple of hours for the grown-ups to talk over the tinkling of cups and saucers. Perhaps you might invite a few unattached gentlemen and available ladies to your civilized party. Who knows what might begin as eyes lock over that steamy cup of tea? The tea Let the tea take center stage by going beyond the usual, providing a selection that ranges from gentle whites to energetic greens and dark rich blacks. Be sure to have decaffeinated or naturally caffeine-free herbal teas as well. For the classic English afternoon tea, consider Earl Grey, English breakfast, Irish breakfast, lemon verbena, black currant, Lady Londonberry or jasmine. Iced tea or other herbal tea can be served in glass pitchers with lemon or orange slices. The meal No set menu is required, but remember that easy-to-handle, bite-size foods are the criterion, not only for their beauty and delicacy of appearance but, more importantly, for ease in eating. Consider two courses. First, serve finger sandwiches such as egg salad and cucumber, cream cheese and strawberry, cucumber and butter, or Stilton cheese and apple. Make them pretty by cutting them into rectangles, triangles and squares, and by using dark and light breads. Next, serve scones with a selection of jams, preserves, lemon curd and/or clotted cream, with sweets including chocolate-dipped strawberries, mini tarts or bite-sized cakes. The service Along with a tea kettle -- either electric or stovetop -- a tea service should include tea cups and saucers, a teapot, creamer, sugar bowl and teaspoons. Pull out the fine china or mix and match for a funkier tea. It's not essential, but a three-tiered tea stand for your delicate crustless sandwiches and bite-size pastries gives the table that elegant look. Cloth napkins or pretty linen-textured paper napkins add a nice touch as do a floral tablecloth and bud vases filled with tea roses. Brewing tips For black tea, dark oolong, herbal and fruit teas: Fill a kettle with water and bring it to a boil, between 200 to 210 degrees. For light oolong, green and white teas, bring water to a simmer, about 180 degrees, or just as the kettle begins to rumble. For bagged teas: Fill teapot with hot water from the tap, just to warm it. Provide a selection for guests by placing the bags in a basket or pretty wooden box. Remove warming water from the teapot and fill it with hot water from the kettle. At the table, ask a friend to pour the hot water in each guest's cup. For loose tea: Fill teapot with hot water from the tap, just to warm it. Just before the kettle begins to boil, pour out warming water from teapot and add one teaspoon tea leaves per cup to pot, plus one additional teaspoon. Remove kettle from the heat right after it comes to a boil, and pour 6 ounces per cup into teapot over the leaves. Steep according to the type of tea. Loose tea provides superior flavor, but the following steeping or infusing directions work for loose or bagged teas: black teas for three to five minutes; white and green teas for one to three minutes; and oolong teas for one to three minutes. Ask a friend to serve the tea by pouring tea into cups, using a strainer to catch loose leaves.
Cucumber Sandwiches 1 medium-size cucumber Salt and pepper to taste ½ cup cream cheese, softened 12 slices firm white bread 1 bunch watercress, finely chopped Peel cucumber. Quarter it lengthwise and slice very thinly. Pat dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread cream cheese on bread. Arrange the cucumbers with slices slightly overlapping on 6 of the bread slices; top with chopped watercress and cover with the remaining 6 slices. Using a sharp knife, remove the crusts from the sandwiches, then cut each sandwich into 4 squares. Makes 24. Smoked Salmon Sandwiches 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 3 ounces smoked salmon 3 tablespoons heavy cream ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper 12 slices rye bread, preferably thin-sliced ¼ cup red onion, minced Combine the cream cheese, salmon, heavy cream and black pepper in a blender or food processor until smooth. Chill for 30 minutes. Spread one side of a slice of bread with mixture. Sprinkle with a bit of onion. Top with another slice of bread. Using a sharp knife, remove the crust and cut sandwich into 4 triangles. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Makes 24. Bacon [Chicken or Turkey substitute] Cheddar Mini-Muffins 2 cups all-purpose flour 3 teaspoons sugar 3 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon salt 1¼ cups milk 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil 1 egg, lightly beaten 6 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled » cup shredded cheddar cheese Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease mini-muffin tins. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cayenne pepper and salt in a large bowl; blend well. Add milk, oil and egg; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in bacon and cheese. Fill greased muffin tins three-quarters full. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm or room temperature. Makes about 36. Mini Lemon Scones 2 cups all-purpose flour ¼ cup sugar, plus more for tops of scones 1 Tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon salt Freshly grated zest of 2 lemons 1ø cups heavy cream, plus more for brushing tops of scones Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir in lemon zest. Make a well in the center and pour in the cream, stirring with a fork just until moistened. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead about 12 turns. Roll dough out to a thickness of » inch and cut into bite-size shapes with a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet; brush tops lightly with additional cream and sprinkle with reserved sugar. Bake until just firm to the touch and lightly browning, about 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon curd (see recipe below) and sweet butter. Makes 1 dozen. Scones can be made a day in advance. Lemon Curd 5 egg yolks ½ cup sugar ¼ cup fresh lemon juice 1 Tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter In a heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks and sugar for 1 minute; then add lemon juice and zest; whisk for a minute longer. Place over low heat and stir constantly, until just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Makes 1 cup. Curd can be made and stored tightly covered in refrigerator for up to a week.
|
Click Here
