Posts filed under 'The Tea Party'
I write a tea party-related blog, while tea and books tend to go together. It’s been argued that in our digital/information age, the days of hardback books and the traditional publishing industry will become a thing of the past. Have you heard about/ordered an Amazon Kindle
? What do you think? Do you read more books or blogs? Can you ever imagine a time when traditional books become a thing of the past?
Tea Party Girl is almost one-year old and in that time I’ve sold more books based on my recommendations than anything else (even tea!). It’s fun because I used to dream of opening a brick-and-mortar bookstore, a dream which has become obsolete for many in the age of Amazon and the big box bookstores.
I like to think that books will never become obsolete because they will continue to be passed from one generation to the next.
So just for fun, here’s the number one best seller at the Tea Party Girl bookstore since July 1, 2007:
More readers inquired (clicked) on these two book links over any other:
And the single book that’s generated the most discussion through comments:
Please leave a comment and share with us some of your thoughts about the questions posed above.
June 11th, 2008
I shared this poem in May 2007 and wanted to repost it. This is still the most common misunderstanding about afternoon tea. Google sends me a daily email alert of all tea-related news stories. Community groups announce “High Tea” often. And those of you from the search engines, please take note!
High Tea vs Afternoon Tea
High Tea (essentially It’s Supper)
Beans on toast and leftover roast,
the last meal of the day.
Jeans and shirts, or comfy old skirts,
Slippers are quite okay.
Tea that’s black, the pot with a crack,
placemats for everyday.
Neighbors, mates, or long-standing dates:
Pets won’t be in the way.
Low Tea (Indubitably a Party)
aka: Afternoon Tea
Cakes and tart and scones shaped like hearts,
an afternoon affair.
Frocks and pearls topped with hats and curls,
Perfume applied with a flair.
Fine Earl Grey, a fresh bouquet,
The table set with care.
Invited guests (some dear, some pests).
Manners? Beyond compare!
Poems by J. Camille Korsmo. First appeared in Tea a Magazine Autumn 2005.
Reprinted with permission from the poet.
Did you ever call afternoon tea high tea? Please post a comment and let us know how you learned differently. Was it here?
May 21st, 2008
This guest post was written by Amy Puetz. A homeschool graduate, she loves history, sewing, and working as a computer graphic artist for her company A to Z Designs. In her spare time she enjoys traveling to different historical eras via books and movies! A columnist for Homeschool Enrichment Magazine, she also writes for her series of e-books, Heroines of the Past. Visit her website at www.AmyPuetz.com.
“You can ask Diana to come over and spend the afternoon with you and have tea here.”
“Oh, Marilla!” Anne clasped her hands. “How perfectly lovely! You ARE able to imagine things after all or else you’d never have understood how I’ve longed for that very thing. It will seem so nice and grown-uppish. No fear of my forgetting to put the tea to draw when I have company. Oh, Marilla, can I use the rosebud spray tea set?”
“No, indeed! The rosebud tea set! Well, what next? You know I never use that except for the minister or the Aids. You’ll put down the old brown tea set. But you can open the little yellow crock of cherry preserves. It’s time it was being used anyhow-I believe it’s beginning to work. And you can cut some fruit cake and have some of the cookies and snaps.”
“I can just imagine myself sitting down at the head of the table and pouring out the tea,” said Anne, shutting her eyes ecstatically. “And asking Diana if she takes sugar! I know she doesn’t but of course I’ll ask her just as if I didn’t know. And then pressing her to take another piece of fruit cake and another helping of preserves. Oh, Marilla, it’s a wonderful sensation just to think of it.”
This scene from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery is a good example of the importance of Victorian Tea Time. Tea time in Victorian society was usually a light meal eaten between breakfast in the morning and dinner in the evening. The typical hour was four o’clock. Drinking tea was not limited to one meal a day. It was also consumed at breakfast and dinner. During afternoon tea ladies would have cold meat, bread (such as rusk, crumpets, biscuits, etc.) and some kind of fruit (either preserves, stewed apples, or jellys). Traditionally either green or black tea was served. It was common to offer both if the preferred beverage was not known. Victorian ladies also enjoyed afternoon tea parties. Friends would be invited and tea time would be shared with a group.
Tea would be served with sugar and milk. For many families tea was the final meal of the day. Breakfast was eaten early, dinner was consumed at noon and then tea was in the late afternoon. There was great variety among individuals when lunch, dinner, supper, and tea were taken depending on a person’s wealth and work schedule. Although tea was a popular beverage before the Victorian era we get many of our traditions from them, such as the practice of having afternoon tea! Here are some good cookbooks about Victorian food.
To end I must tell you about Anne Shirley’s tea party. Before the actual tea Anne served Diana some raspberry cordial and Diana soon became very sick. Apparently it was currant wine and not raspberry cordial that Anne gave her guest. Perhaps she should have supplied tea, instead!
Tea Party Girl’s note: At what age did you first read Anne of Green Gables? Did you have a bosom friend in junior high? My kindred spirit was also red-haired and now makes movies for a living, having married an Italian filmmaker. She was definitely the Anne Shirley to my Diana Barry, with her rich imagination. Tell us about yours in the comments below.
May 16th, 2008
Because I must believe I’m not the only one.
You see, many of you are perfectly content with and competent putting together darling, theme-appropriate, and within budget crafty items for your parties. You don’t mind the time you spend scouring the dollar bins and hunching over your glue gun. A little ribbon, a gauzy bag, and voila’! You create magic.
HOWEVER. Out of sheer necessity, I have had to come up with different options for tea party favors. Here is a list of my three favorite choices.
- Adagio Tea wedding favors for the large group tea party. These tea wedding favors are not for weddings alone! For less than two dollars you receive YOUR choice of looseleaf tea in a tin WITH a personalized label IN an organza bag of your color choice. I think that’s a bargain! There’s TWENTY-NINE different teas to choose from including blacks, whites, greens, oolongs, decafs, AND herbals. A minimum order of sixty is required and the more you buy the more the price goes down. Imagine the time you’ll save letting Adagio assemble your favors for you when you need a large amount. I think these would be especially helpful for the fund-raising tea or any tea party where you sell tickets and the favor cost is included in your budget.
- Dover Thrift Paperbacks for the small group tea party. I’ve written often at Tea Party Girl how well literature and tea go together. And for just a couple of dollars each, you can purchase entire classics or anthologies in paperback, like this one by Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass: The Original 1855 Edition. Your local bookstore could order them for you so you can save on the shipping. The Jane Austen tea party is very popular right now (though you may want to think twice about inviting the history purist) and you can provide one of her novels to your guests as a simple and beautiful favor. You may want to take the time to design a book cover for them that ties more into your theme with the date of your event included for a special memento. That wouldn’t take too much creativity, would it?
- Sugars by Sharon for wholesalers. I love, love, love these sugars. In fact, I am tempted to begin stocking these again just for Tea Party Girl readers because I like them SO much and know you would, too. If you have a wholesalers license and want to work with Sharon, do. She is extremely attentive and accommodating while running her cottage industry. She will prepare sugars for you in any color combination in practically any shape AND design you a personal label. You may find her sugars at your local tea room, but must be a wholesaler to order from her directly. Here’s a picture of the sugars I ordered back when I was Wellspring Tea to give you an idea. Aren’t they darling?
Please let me know in the comments which of these three suggestions appeals to you the most.
April 21st, 2008
Now that you’ve learned about how to find what you really like on eBay, maybe you have some older items you need to clear out. Last week, I received an email from Deborah Bonelli explaining that she was organizing a tea for wounded soldiers, their family members, and caregivers at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX. Could I let my readers know about their need for donated tableware? Absolutely! Here’s more information.
Annual Tea Honoring our Wounded Soldiers
China Donations Needed
On May 16th 2008, Operation Tea Time volunteers from New York and Texas will be hosting a tea at Brooke Army Medical Center for our wounded soldiers, their family members, and caregivers. China is needed. After the tea, the china will be donated to the medical center’s Fisher Houses.
Many of our wounded are confined to the hospital for an extended length of time.
Their road to recovery is long and arduous. Laden with china, linens, flowers, children’s artwork, and fine baked goods, we transform the provided patient floor space into a country tea room. Add live music, and for one afternoon our guests have left the hospital behind.
What the soldiers said about our last tea:
“I didn’t know that going to tea could be so relaxing.”
“Wow, everything was donated right down to the teacups.”
“This is great…the food is like back home…this is special, thank you.”
Reprinted from Tea in Texas fall 2007
Items needed: new or slightly used china teacups and saucers, teapots, creamers and sugar bowls.
Ship to: Operation Tea Time
P.O.Box 1355
Bronx, NY 10471
Deadline: April 30th.
Contact: operationtexastea@earthlink.net
April 2nd, 2008
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