Shades of Earl Grey

Teatime Entertaining Ideas

You don’t have to travel to Charleston and the

Indigo Tea Shop in order to enjoy a specialty tea.

Simply invite a few friends in and be creative.

Choose a “theme” for your tea.

Try a Garden Tea in the out-of-doors when flowers are blooming and breezes wafting. Serve tiny triangles of chicken salad, cucumber sandwiches, deviled eggs, and date nut bread. For dessert don’t forget tarts topped with the season’s fresh berries. A Darjeeling is ideal, although on hot days, nothing refreshes like iced tea. Invite all your guests to wear floppy straw hats.

A Valentine Tea is a grand excuse to nibble an assortment of chocolate cookies, bars, truffles, and bonbons. To complement the chocolate, serve teas that offer blends of orange, vanilla, and spices. Put a white lace tablecloth over red fabric for extra punch and dress up the table with roses!

Quiche, blinis with sour cream, Eggs Benedict, or fruit compotes make a Brunch Tea extra special. If you have a chafing dish, this is the time to use it. Assam tea, with its rich, refined flavor is a delightful complement.

A Midnight Christmas Tea is perfect at this most special time of the year. Serve brioche, roasted chestnuts, and crepes in front of the fireplace. Cardamom and cinnamon teas warm the heart.

A Mystery Tea can mean a rousing game of Clue, reading tea leaves, or enjoying a mystery book discussion. Break out the candles, douse the lights, and serve steaming cups of Lapsang Souchong, the traditional tea of mystery.

If you have a group of friends who enjoy doing crafts together, why not have a Quilters Tea or Scrapbookers Tea? Don’t bother to match teacups with plates; just jumble all your patterns together for a creative look. Jasmine tea or an Indian chai would be lovely.