How to Prepare a High Tea

What a wonderful way to share time with friends. First, a few historical facts to share with friends about this tradition. High tea was in fact dinner for our English friends, it was served at the supper table, the "high" table and hearty food served, while low tea was served earlier in late afternoon and usually in the sitting room, served on the low table, tea and pastries offered, tiny sandwiches served with scones and jelly. High tea today is what low tea was then.

What to serve.
4 to 6 pieces of delicate sandwiches and appetizers per guest.
2 to 4 scones, cookies, shortbread and miniature pastry per guest.
Tea!

Sandwiches can vary from the simplest cucumber crust less sandwich to wraps and any other kind of finger appetizer, salmon is always a good choice, perhaps served on miniature bagel with cream cheese and fresh dill or capers, mild cappicollo served on rye bread with a soft cheese etc.

Because tea is mild in flavor, it would be important to stick to light flavored foods not to overwhelm it.

As for tea, Earl Grey is a favorite, but for those that might not like drinking tea, there are always herbal teas you can offer, sold in beautiful decorative boxes, they can be set on a tray so guests can choose which to try or the boxes can be set on the table here and there and let the guests discover them.

When steeping tea, it is important that the water does not boil, it needs to be hot, but not boiling hot, once it starts to bubble in the kettle, it is ready to use. It takes only a few minutes for tea to steep and reach its full flavor.

- Tea is usually served with lemon or milk and not cream as cream will overpower it, some will want sugar or honey added to it also, it is always nice to be able to offer all of the options to your guests.

- If your guests wish to know, a tea cup is held with the thumb and forefinger only, no fingers through the handle, the small finger is lifted at an angle as to steady the grip so no tea is spilled, the tea cup returns to the saucer after each sip also. To stir tea, it is common not to swirl the spoon around but to gently go back and forth as if folding egg whites into a batter, then setting the spoon at the right of the saucer and never leaving it into the tea cup.

High tea in England would be served at a dining table, but of course you can choose where you wish to serve it, if the living room is chosen, the coffee table might not be large enough to contain all the serving dishes so another table might be used place the food so the coffee table can hold the guest's plates and tea-cups.

Linen is always a nice option to use if you have some, on the coffee table, a side table where the food is set or other tables in the living room, it gives High Tea an authenticity and the linen doesn't have to match, any of your grand-mother's, aunt's or mother's tablecloths or linen napkins are fun to use.

Last but not least, having a proper tea set is also nice, but as long you manage to put it all together, with either a matching set, or miss-matched teacups and saucers gotten from antic stores, garage sales or what not is fun enough, you will find that guests love choosing what teacup they wish to enjoy their tea in! If you do have proper linen napkins, make sure the guests know to place them on their laps so no tea spills will ruin their clothing as tea does stain. If you do not, for a few dollars, you can get the most beautiful paper napkins in dollar stores or your own food shopping store.

If you choose to decide to serve more then one type of tea, you could always borrow an extra teapot from a friend, but if you are looking to buy a teapot, and wish for one that does not drip like most, the secret is all in the beak or spout, the thinner the tip, the less it will drip, if however, you cannot get your hands on such, simply pour with a clean cloth folded neatly under the spout so when you pull back and up, you elegantly catch the drip coming down before moving to your next guest.

Small details do matter, but what matters most is enjoying the guests, there is nothing worse then a stressed out hostess, so planning is key. With this in mind, make sure to have platters you can prepare ahead of time with perhaps only a few minutes of last touches to have ready to serve, and as soon the bell rings and your first guest arrive, smile, laugh and whatever happens, happens, they will be thrilled no matter what!

Small tips:

- Make a few lists to keep your head clear,
- Buy some of the pastries at a pastry shop, but ask to have them cut into smaller pieces, and do buy some of the appetizers already made if you can.
- Think to take out the dishes, plates, serving trays you will be using the day before, and give them a good wipe down.
- Be careful not to have to many dishes that need the stove or to overfill the refrigerator.
- Have the linen ironed if needed and close by, ready to use.

Enjoy!