The Afternoon Tea for Mother’s Day – Best Gift Ever

What if Your Mother Isn’t Available?

Everyone thinks Mother’s Day is to just celebrate your mother. But not everyone is lucky enough to live near their mother. Does that mean you can’t celebrate? Heck no! The perfect gift for Mother’s Day, or any other day you want to make special, is an afternoon tea. Yes, you read that right. I’d be willing to bet a tea experience will never be refused. I had an ex-fiance, whose mother balked when I tried to take her to one, but she acquiesced and had a great time.

That’s why I’m talking about Mother’s Day a month before it happens. It’s time for some fast planning! Maybe contact her closest friend for some help to show your mother how much you love her, even when you can’t be there.

And, you can do it with others as well. What about other people who are mothers? A mentor? A friend? A sibling? What about you? Are you a mother?

What is a Tea Anyway?

Let’s start with the definitions.

Many think the tea in all British movies is called a high tea. Nope. High tea is actually for the working class, and is a substantial meal after a long day’s work, usually from 5-7 PM. It’s called a high tea because it is served at a “high” table, think the British pub, for example.

What most are looking for is called an afternoon tea. That is the one with all the fancy sandwiches and pastries, and is served about 3-4 PM.

Other Facts about the Tea

Do not extend the pinkie, it is considered pretentious. It was originally done because they used handleless cups, and it helped balance the cup. Another, less known, explanation is that the people who ate at the tea didn’t trust the staff to have clean hands and wash the cups correctly, so they kept as little skin as possible touching the cups.
The proper way to eat a scone is to break it apart. Do not use a knife to cut it.
Tea bags were invented by accident, when a man sent samples in a silk bag, and the recipients thought they were supposed to dunk the full bag in the water.
How do you dress a scone? In Devon, the cream goes on the scone, and then the jam. In Cornwall, you put the jam on first, then the cream.
Even though the afternoon tea was originally created by the Duchess of Bedford, who was hungry in the middle of the day (they’d eat dinner about 8-9 PM), today’s afternoon tea is more about socializing while nibbling. – And don’t I say communication is key to any relationship?

The Easiest Way to Plan The Afternoon Tea

Every large town, and many small towns have tea room options where you can take your mother or friend:

Check out the nicer hotels in town
What about a Bed and Breakfast
Sometimes a restaurant will have them, especially for special days like Mother’s Day
And, there are places in most countries where there is specifically a tea room year round (or at least during the correct seasons (some are only open certain days or months)
You don’t have to dress to the nines (unless you want to), but you should dress nicely, in business attire or let’s say a garden party (think Glenn Close in The Stepford Wives). No jeans or tennis shoes, please
Ask if they have hats you can borrow for the tea. Many places do

Creating an Afternoon Tea at Home

What if you can’t find a tea house in your area? You can seriously make it at home, with a bit of planning.

Nice plates, silverware and linen napkins if you can, else punt
A tea kettle filled with very warm, but not boiling water for more delicate teas and a second kettle with boiling water for stronger teas
A couple of flavors of tea, with at least one with no caffeine
Cream, lemon and sugar
A fun thing to add is cold soup (it’s usually some dressed up yogurt)
A three-tiered plate with some of the following:
- Finger sandwiches (no crusts allowed). The most popular are cucumber and cream cheese, pimento (why?), egg salad, chicken salad, and ham with mustard
- Scones (easy recipes everywhere) and they are usually cut with a 2-1/2 inch biscuit cutter or an 8 inch round cut into 8 slices
- Butter, a couple of jams, and clotted cream (yes, you can find it in many grocery stores
- Bite-sized desserts, like petit fours, macarons (not the ones with coconut, those are macaroons), fruit tarts and eclairs
Ask everyone to bring a hat of some kind, any kind, and wear some kind of spring dress (or if your friends balk, have everyone wear jeans)

A Final Note

If you want to learn a bit more about the history of the afternoon tea, click Destination Tea, a wonderful website all about the afternoon tea, with recipes, etiquette, and everything tea related.