In serving tea, the table should be arranged before any visitors arrive. Its cover may be a linen tea cloth embroidered or trimmed with lace, while the cups and saucers, with the spoon resting in each saucer, the thin slices of lemon, the small wafers, cakes or sandwiches on plates or pretty doilies, should be artistically arranged upon it. The teakettle should be in its place, the teapot just in front of it. The cream pitcher and sugar bowl should be within convenient reach. If the hostess pours the tea, she allows the guest to put in the sugar and cream for themselves. If she expects many visitors, then there will be wisdom in asking a friend to pour the tea for her. —-Ladies Home Journal, 1897
The custom of taking afternoon tea is one of England’s most charming rituals, and has long been regarded as a lovely gesture of gracious hospitality, and as one of life’s most elegant and enduring pleasures. And though the four o’clock hour is considered by many to be a “graceful time for gathering,” tea is a sweet indulgence which may be savored at any hour of the day, serving as a lovely occasion to gather friends, old and dear, and to bask in the sweet fellowship and the cozy warmth of friendly conversation. During the reign of Queen Victoria, afternoon tea was so highly regarded, it was often the subject of many old time lady's manuals and household guides, which provided detailed instructions on the correct methods and accoutrements needed to host a proper tea party, enabling women of every social background to share in the graceful world of taking tea. In those days, such things as “daintiness of service” and “congeniality of guests” were important hallmarks of an afternoon tea party, with every proper and hospitable hostess endeavoring to make her gathering a notable and sweet success. Afternoon tea was so esteemed by Queen Victoria that an old journal entry, written by one of her closest servants once stated:
Her majesty has a strong weakness for afternoon tea... She always brews it in the urn herself.
An Old Fashioned Cup Of Tea
"Unless the teakettle boiling be, filling the teapot spoils the tea"
To make a fine cup of tea, a pot of water should be placed over the fire and brought to a boil. The water should then be poured into the teapot and swished about for a few moments to warm the pot and to prepare it to receive tea. After the pot is warm, the water should be discarded. Meanwhile, another pot of freshly drawn water should be placed upon the fire and brought to a good rolling boil. The tea should then be placed in the teapot, observing the old rule of using one teaspoon of tea for each cup of water along with “one for the pot.” The boiling water should be carefully poured over the tealeaves and the tea allowed to “steep.” If one prefers to drink their tea black, the tea should be allowed to steep for three minutes. If milk is to be added, the tea should be allowed to steep for five minutes.
Pineapple Apricot Tea Bread
1/3 Cup chopped dried apricots 1 ¼ Cups flour ½ Cup butter, softened ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 Cup sugar ½ teaspoon salt 1 egg, lightly beaten ½ Cup quick cooking oats 1-8 ounce can of crushed pineapple, (with juice)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch loaf pan and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the pineapple, mixing well to combine. In small bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add to the pineapple mixture. Fold in the chopped apricots. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes before turning the loaves out onto a wire cooling rack.
A good name is better than precious ointment. —Ecclesiastes 7:1 263
