When Chinese tea arrived in England in the middle of the 17th century, very few people had even heard of the beverage, let alone tasted it. Wealthy aristocrats and members of the royal family who drank their first tentative sips had never seen teapots before.
In fact, the little they knew on how to store, brew, and serve tea they had learned from the merchants who traded the luxury leaves. And so, porcelain and earthenware pots, along with porcelain bowls, saucers, and dishes for sugar were imported from China on the same ships that brought the tea. Small English silver teaspoons were designed to suit the tiny bowls, and a gleaming British silver kettle, filled with hot water, was always at hand to brew and re-brew the tea. Everything was laid out neatly on fine tea tables in elegant rooms in England’s grandest houses. And so, the English tea ceremony was born.
An Edwardian afternoon tea service in the great outdoors [photo by Period Living].
The British tea table today is not so different from the way it looked all those years ago, and when organizing a tea party, the focus is always on elegance. Tea is taken not in the kitchen or dining room, but in the drawing room (today we probably more readily call it the sitting room or living room), or in the garden. The tea things and plates of food are arranged on a side table or sideboard, but when guests arrive, they are not asked to sit around a dining table, as they might in a restaurant, but are invited to make themselves comfortable in armchairs and sofas. Guests sometimes like to bring little gifts such as a small bunch of flowers or tiny boxes of confectionery treats, but this is not expected.
On the side table with the plates of food are cups and saucers, teaspoons, little plates, napkins, little tea knives (much smaller than dessert knives) and pastry forks (three-pronged forks to help with sticky cakes), pots of jam and clotted cream, and a space for the teapot, sugar bowl, and milk jug. Near each guest is a small table on which to place the cup and saucer.
When all the guests have arrived, each is given a small plate and a small linen napkin and these are set ready on the small tables nearby. When the host or hostess has ensured that the guests are settled and busy chatting together, the host quietly slips into the kitchen to brew the tea — usually a Ceylon, Darjeeling, or Assam. When the tea is ready, the pot is brought in, cups of tea are poured and handed to each guest, with the offer of milk and sugar (but, contrary to what people around the world think, not everyone in Britain puts milk and sugar in their tea).
Guests hold the saucer with the left hand and use the right to lift the cup to sip. It is bad manners in this situation to leave the saucer on the small table while lifting the cup to drink. Cup and saucer should stay close as a pair, never more than about 12 inches apart. When each guest has been served tea, the hostess offers the food, usually savory treats first and sweet indulgences, such as scones, cookies, and cakes, later. The host offers little knives to cut sandwiches or spread generous spoonfuls of jam and cream on scones, and small forks to help guests manage their sticky cakes and creamy pastries. These small pieces of teatime cutlery are not essential but should be available for anyone who wishes to use one. The knife and fork are never used together as they might be at dinner or lunch, and if they are required, they are held in the right hand (obviously in the left by left-handers).
Everything must be done neatly and elegantly. Because the ceremony first took place in elegant aristocratic drawing rooms, with fine lace tablecloths, the best silver spoons, fine porcelain, and elegant food, today’s tea parties emulate the same fine presentation and manners. The host or hostess is responsible for everyone’s comfort, guests are expected to eat elegantly, be kind and considerate to other guests, take part in quiet gentle conversation rather than in heated debates or loud discussions, and one person may perhaps help to offer round the food, and bring empty teacups to the table so that the hostess may pour second and third cups of tea as required.
The tea party usually lasts for about an hour and a half. Even when guests have eaten and drunk enough, the plates, cups and saucers remain where guests have placed them, while the chatter continues, and it is only after the last guest has taken his or her leave that everything is cleared away.
For an interesting look at the British tea ceremony, take a look at Tea Time with Andrew Luck. The Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was in London this past summer and got a crash course on tea-time manners with etiquette coach William Hanson and TV host Vernon Kay.
Guest contributor Jane Pettigrew is a tea historian, writer, consultant, specialist working in the UK and around the world explaining and offering insight into the world of tea. She’s written 15 books and hosts regular master classes and tea tastings. You can find her at www.janepettigrew.com.
Originally published at teforia.com on November 12, 2015.
