Any community organizer worth her salt hosts tea parties. It's a lovely way to build relationships, enjoy each other's company, and generally just be civilized. Teas draw people out, and the traditional British tea table is just so pretty. I grew up with pretty china around, but teas were not a thing. I am not sure quite when I got into the whole convention, but our house on Cliveden Street certainly lent itself to teas, and I guess when I inherited the silver tea service, it was asking to be used. My mother used it on very special occasions. I am the reverse, I like to create an occasion and make it special by using it! [I have since donated the silver service but the same rule applies - use your beautiful things.]
Teas can be simple. I use them as an excuse to bake things I never would have in the house, because they are loaded with butter and sugar, take a lot of time to prepare, and are generally treats. The staple is dressed up
Dorrie Greenspan scones, iced with simple confectioners sugar glaze. Put about 1/2 c. confectioners sugar in a bowl and add water DROP by DROP until it's just smooth enough to spoon on the baked scones. Easiest is to dip each scone in the bowl of icing.
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Sugared grapes on a glass platter
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Another fun treat, a new experiment, is sugared grapes. They are so simple it is ridiculous. Cut a bunch of grapes into clusers of 4-5 grapes. Dip them in sugared, honeyed, or agaved (?) water and then into a container of sugar. Or you could put the sugar in a container with a top and shake them. Then set them down and the sugar hardens. You can freeze them and eat them frozen or just eat them room temperature. They are prettier in clusters than individually.
It's nice to have a pretty cake at a tea, and little tea cakes. The ricotta cookies make good tea cakes. Quickbreads do too, like a banana bread. The
blueberry or cranberry crumbles, baked in silicon muffin tins, would be ideal for a tea - individual portions, and colorful.
Tea sandwiches are a fun British tradition. Basically you need a loaf of fairly soft sliced bread. Any filling is fine, and a thinly sliced cucumber is a good addition. You need soft butter. Take one bread slice, but a thin filling of, say, egg salad, add a cucumber slice, put the top on, and carefully slice off the crusts. Then slice in four diagonals, for pretty little sandwiches. Salmon works well, cream cheese, some add watercress for crunch. Don't know why these are so appealing, but they are!
