pic from weheartit
Tea is such wonderful comfort to me. There’s nothing like curling up to a cup of warm tea with a splash of milk and a few spoonfuls of honey (I know, I’m such a glut!). I try to enjoy it wherever I go, be it at work, at home or out with friends. I’m sure many of my fellow princess friends out there share my love for this warm delight.
I love how tea has come to be such a symbol of friendship and hospitality both in Western and Eastern culture. From the tea parties of England to the tea ceremonies of Japan, tea is used as a way for us to reach out to one another and share a quiet, delicate moment in time together.
My mother took me to my very first tea house when I was fifteen. I was enchanted by the entire experience – the ambiance of delicacy hidden in little lace doilies, tiny pastries and painted china teacups. It was being in my very own dollhouse!
From then on I was hooked. My mother and I started collecting teacups in our travels. We tried out new teahouses when we could and started to delve more into the history and culture of tea. Our focus was mostly on Victorian style tea and etiquette, but my interest expanded once I studied abroad to Japan. While in Japan, I decided to be bold and joined my host university’s tea ceremony club, as the only foreigner. I was delighted to find them as excited to teach me about it as I was to learn.
Tea ceremony, known as Sado in Japan, is considered an art form, and like its Western counterpart of afternoon tea, it has its own unique set of ritual and etiquette. When one acts as the host of a tea ceremony, your goal is to create an environment of perfect harmony. Your every movement needs to be precise and graceful. It is like a dance. As a guest, you are expected to be reverent and gracious with your movements just as seemingly natural and delicate as the host. It takes time to get used to, especially when you must sit in seiza the entire time. Seiza is a formal sitting position in Japan, in which you kneel on the ground with your heels tucked under your tush. Girls generally keep their hands neatly folded in their laps while gentlemen keep their hands on their thighs. After a while of sitting in such a way, it is easy for ones feet to fall asleep, as I experience on a regular basis. In fact, my first (and only) try at hosting, my feet were not so much asleep as in a coma. I could no longer feel them, but at the end I had to stand and take the water away. Relying on a wish and a prayer, I went to stand and proceeded to fall face first, spilling the water all over the tatami mat. Hardly a picture of grace or harmony!
Regardless, my dear sensei and fellow classmates forgave the transgression and allowed this clumsy foreigner to stay. It was an amazing and rewarding experience, and it gave me the great opportunity to see the way tea is appreciated in other cultures.
From East to West, having tea offers us the chance to find some inner peace and share in the warmth and companionship of others. I hope you are able to find the comfort in this timeless and worldwide appreciation of a simple, yet elegant little beverage.
Tea Etiquette
These are probably already known to many of you tea enthusiasts out there, but here are a few, quick etiquette tips if you’re going out for tea or hosting a party.
– The proper way to drink tea is to hold the saucer in one hand and raise the teacup with the other, setting the cup on the saucer between sips.
- It’s considered improper to eat with your gloves on, so if you’re having food with your tea, please remember to take them off.
- The protocol for placing food on a three tier stand is for scones to be on the top, tea sandwiches in the middle and sweets on the bottom.
- Don’t leave your spoon sitting in your tea cup. When you are done stirring, make sure to place it on the right side of the saucer.
- If your tea is hot, do not blow on it. Simply leave it to cool and make polite conversation while you wait.
- Be sure to place your napkin in your lap. You don’t want to spill something on that pretty dress of your, do you? If you must excuse yourself, set the napkin on your seat and not on the table.
Never forget that even though rules of etiquette exist, the point of tea is to give you a break. If you find formal teas too stuffy, then there’s certainly nothing wrong with throwing out tradition and flopping on the couch in ones pjs and watching American Idol. Even princesses need a break from protocol!
For those of you thinking of hosting a party, here is a super easy recipe for clotted cream for your scones:
Devonshire Cream
Ingredients
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, cream together cream cheese, sugar and salt. Beat in cream until stiff peaks form. Chill until serving.
Told you it was easy!
And last but not least, I would like to share with you some of my tea related favorites…
My favorite tea house is Alice’s Tea Cup. It is an Alice in Wonderland themed tea house here in New York City. Most of the pictures of my tea time adventures are taken here. If you get the chance to go, I recommend the Lavender Earl Grey, the Phoenix Dessert Blend or the Rose Mélange.
For those of you who collect teacups, you might want to check out the Franz Porcelain tea collections. These pieces are true artistry and really capture ones imagination. What could be lovelier than drinking from a teacup surrounded with butterflies and flowers? A perfect match for any princess.
Lastly, TeaMuse is a wonderful online, monthly newsletter. It’s a great source for all your tea related needs. Whether it’s to find reviews of local teahouses or swapping recipes, this place has it all.
Are they any tea related resources you’d like to share with me? If so, please comment – I would love to check them out!
February 22nd, 2010 at 3:21 am
You have such a lovely blog! It’s very beautiful and has so much interesting information
I just posted a new post on my blog declaring my love of Thai tea
It got me thinking about other types of tea and tea etiquette, and that’s when I came across your site and this post!
It was a wonderful coincidence and I’m definitely going to use that recipe for clotted cream next time I buy scones
February 22nd, 2010 at 8:44 am
Tea really is so much fun to learn about and there are so many varities to try.
I’ll check out your post on Thai tea, I’m always interested in learning about new types!
Glad you found this post useful ^_^
February 24th, 2010 at 11:38 am
The scones go on top? That’s good to know because at the last High Tea I attended (at a famous place that shall remain anon) they placed the scones on bottom and the sweets on top. Tea time is so wonderful! Thank you for the tea cup link.