Are you thinking about having a tea? GREAT! They are so much fun, both to attend and to host. The whole point of tea is a time where people can connect, it is not rushed or hurried, it is just an opportunity to relax and enjoy good company.

Ready to get started? We have had tea in some fabulous exotic places over the years (Bangkok, Vancouver Island, Singapore, England), some very funky ones (Austin tops the list), and some small but very sweet ones (Checkers Hotel in Los Angeles was SO NICE! We were sad to see it fade into the history pages). We enjoy having friends for tea, and cater an annual Trinity HOPE afternoon tea fundraiser. Based on my own tea experiences, I would like to share some things to think about and ideas to get you started...

What kind of tea do you want to have?

• Formal or informal? How many people will you serve? Keep in mind your seating spaces and serving dishes - will people be on a sofa, eating off of a coffee table, at a little bistro table, or at a large dining table? That will determine how many you have room for, and how many courses to serve.

• Just tea and a snack, or a full meal? The Cream Tea is tea and scones, served with cream (or butter). The Afternoon Tea adds savory sandwiches plus other sweets to the scones. Really want to live it up? Serve a glass of champagne and a small serving of fresh fruit along with your Afternoon Tea, and you now have a Royal Tea!

• How many teas will you offer? Traditional black tea, middle-weight Oolong, crowd pleasing herbals, they all have a place at the table. We offered five, along with pink lemonade for the kids. We found, at least with the crowd we had, that hibiscus tea and lemon lavender were the two favorites. My personal favorites are Earl Grey and Oolong.

• How many tea pots do you have? Most people may have one, but don't be daunted, fine teas can also come as single serving bags if you can't brew a full pot of each type.

• How much time do you have, both to prepare and for the actual event - allow plenty for the event, they are not to be rushed!

• Are you, as host/hostess, also sitting down to enjoy the tea, or are you serving for others to enjoy?

Now that you have been thinking about having your very own tea, it's time to get started!

Gather the supplies, assess your inventory and pantry, it's an opportunity to borrow serving dishes from others, also. Haunt your local thrift store as a great place for beautiful, gently used formal china. Those traditional three-tiered servers? With some creativity and access to a shop and handy-man, you can have your own on the cheap! Fortunately, George has both the skills and tools to get them done. I found mix and match porcelain plates of various sizes, marked the center spots for drilling the holes, George drilled them and assembled the hardware, and voila! We had 12 beautiful tiered servers for the largest tea we have ever hosted.

Need tea pots? It's crazy how expensive they are! Ask around to see if friends have them, it's amazing how they lurk at the back of kitchen cabinets. Want your own supply? Here's a hack for you- it takes some creativity and sewing skills for this one. Our local thrift store in Nashville didn't have them, and I needed five china tea pots. We looked at buying them- nope, too expensive! Well, we were taking a road trip to see some relatives in a small town in Illinois, and decided to hit up the local thrift store there, just to see what was available. They had an amazing supply of tea pots! The beautiful patterned ones were $15 - $20, still more than I wanted to pay. Then I saw a tea pot for $3 that had "40th Anniversary" printed on the side - something that was a one-time use for an event, then who really needs it? That was the spark I needed, and immediately started looking for Anniversary Tea Pots - we scored! With a couple of of quilted pillowcovers, other scrap fabric and a few yards of ribbon, they make an adorable lineup of tea pots in cozies!

Now- the most important thing - Enjoy it!

Tea is to be taken slowly and savored, don't stress about anything. When you set your date and time, prep the day (or days) before and that morning. The table, coffee table, bistro table, or whatever you will be serving on, can be set in advance. Pre-heat your tea pot(s) with hot water for several minutes, then dump it and put in a fresh fill of hot water right before your guests arrive. The food plates up easily, let your guests select their tea, individually or as a group, your choice, then once it is served you can sit down and enjoy with them!

When we planned the Afternoon Tea fundraiser we knew we wouldn't be able to serve 20 people arriving all at once, so we planned the event for each table to arrive in 30 minute intervals. That was perfect! We could greet, seat and serve each group before the next one arrived, that way each group was able to have individual service. The idea of tea is to socialize while you sit and sip. This is NOT a cocktail party where people mingle during the event. We had groups from 2 - 6 people and would seat each table at one time. If you do not leave a full pot on the table with them, be sure to be attentive when your guests need refills on their tea - maybe offer an opportunity to make another choice, so they can try more than one! We had some guests who stuck with the same tea the entire event, and many others who tried 2, 3 or even 4 different kinds. Give an opportunity for discovery, many of them hadn't tried the varieties that we were offering at the event.

We hope that you give it a try, and have many enjoyable tea experiences to come! When George and I both retired from the full-time career scene, and had the time to start our own little bakery business, the food that goes with tea was a natural for us. It's delicious and brings so many fond memories of tea that we have shared. Start with a Tea Package from Small Batch Bakery, add some little sandwiches, fruit and chocolate, and you are ready for tea!

For those that want it all (or can't decide), there is a Tea Pack or Event Pack just right for you - with Tea Cakes, Scones, and Shortbread or Brownies.

Contact me if you have questions or special order requests at Ruth@SmallBatchBakeryTN.com or through our Contact Form

If you are in the greater Nashville area- we can provide custom order cakes, pies, platters for your events also!