Picking a place to host your tea times

Tea times happen in public spaces. Cafes are usually prime for this, but in some cities, hotel lobbies, parks and parklets, plazas, or rooftops are options.

Here are some considerations while thinking about good places to host tea time:

• Open when you want to host tea time (this is important to check with cafes for weekday evening tea times)
• Not loud, but not dead silent
• Not too crowded. The conversation should have good space, not just figuratively, but also literally
• Tables for 4 (they’re best for groups of 4–6, as they keep the group close together)
• Preferably easy to get to (think public transit, parking, etc.)
• A kind staff that won’t frown upon a group sitting for 2 hours with just a few teas/coffees at the table
• Preferably not too sterile or franchise-y (if you can support a local shop over a chain, we are all about it)

You can use Yelp, Foursquare, or just Google “cafes in [city] that are good for conversations.” You’d be surprised what you’ll find.

You don’t have to call the cafe in advance, but it doesn’t hurt. As far as they’re concerned, tea time is just a group of 6 friends talking for a while. If you’re not sure how busy the space is or if it’s suitable, it’s worth calling and asking about the space.

Scheduling a time for your tea times

Actually put the times on your calendar!

A few pro-tips:

1. The best time to host is a weekday evening (6–8pm or 7–9pm, but not Monday or Friday) or a weekend morning / afternoon.
2. Schedule after the first week of the month. This creates a little more time to get people to the website and attending your tea time, as we’ll start a push to spread the word on the 1st.

After you post your tea time, be sure to follow Your Before Tea Time Checklist →