But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.

The title of this post is from John 1:12-13. We who believe in the name of Jesus are qualified to be children of God. And guess what! This is why I am such a tea party fanatic. It reminds me that I am a princess, daughter of the King. So I am telling you, tea is a spiritual thing. Plus, I just have so much fun throwing a proper tea party, every time!

I had a big tea party at my house yesterday morning. This is probably the biggest tea that I've ever thrown, 26 women total. Praise the Lord that the weather was beautiful so we could sit outside. I just want to give my readers a few pointers about how to throw an English tea party. And next time the opportunity arises, you will throw the best tea party in the area!

The first thing you want to decide is what kind of tea party you would like to throw. There are three:
1) Cream tea: tea, scones, clotted cream, and jam.
2) Light tea (sometimes calls part tea): tea, scones, clotted cream, and sweets.
3) Full tea: tea, scones, clotted cream, sweets, and savories.

You can use the above terms at a hotel in England and they will know exactly what to serve you. But be aware, a full tea could cost you up to £51 at a hoity-toity hotel.

So if you want to do something simple with a few friends, a cream tea would be an excellent choice. A light tea would be my favorite because I love making sweets and those tiny sandwiches are not my expertise. But I usually do a full tea because it can be a replacement for lunch or even dinner.

Another thing, the term high tea is often thrown around in the United States, but high tea is often refer to a full meal, which the British used to have for dinner. So if you are having a full tea as a meal, it might be ok to use the term. But otherwise, you are having a low tea. The term has nothing to so with how classy or not the event is.

The second thing you need to do is preparing for the tea. You will find some recipes in a few posts under dessert/sandwiches. But I am including the scone recipe here since it's not quite a tea party without scones.

Cream Scones
Whisk together:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Then cut it:
1/3 cup sold butter till pea size

Then mix in until just combined:
1 egg
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Roll the dough out immediately or chill until ready to bake the scones. I like to bake the scones right before they are ready to be served but they can be kept for a little while too. It's really up to you. Roll the dough out to about 1/3-1/2 of an inch in thickness. I cut them into small circles using a biscuit cutter instead of triangles. Trianglar scones are rather American. British tea scones are made into circles. I do believe they taste better too because the scones come out smaller, leaving you wanting more. Bake for 14 minutes in a 375 degree preheated oven. These scones are to die for. They are light and sweet, a perfect companion with any kind of tea.

Clotted cream/devonshire cream can't be forgotten (I did forget yesterday though, I was quite ashamed) to top those heavenly scones. I think clotted cream is the best thing the British ever came up with. It is rather hard to find such a thing in the US. In bigger cities, you can find it at a higher-end grocery store. But in a small town like Blacksburg, VA, it is almost impossible. I spotted some at a kitchen store, Gourmet Pantry in town a little while ago. But they were out when it came time for a tea party, quite sad! This is what a bottle of devonshire cream looks like:
You can also order a bottle online. They have very good shelf life in the fridge before opening. They last around 2 weeks after opening. Can't find it online, make it yourself!

There is only one ingredient: heavy whipping cream (best if unpasteurized or pasteurized instead of ultra-pasteurized and find one with the highest fat content possible). Use as much as you want. The clotted cream will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Pour the cream into a heavy-bottomed oven-safe pot. The cream should come up the side of the pot between one and three inches. Cover the pot and put it in the oven on 180 F. Leave the covered pot in the oven for at least 8 hours. It is done when there is a thick yellowish skin above the cream, which is the clotted cream. Let the pot cool at room temperature, then put it in the refrigerator for another 8 hours. Remove the clotted cream from the top of the pot. You can still use the cream underneath for cooking or baking.

The work above is not your cup of tea? You can settle for this recipe:
Whip together until thick:
4 oz mascarpone cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar

Much easier, eh? Doesn't taste the same though. But it will do the trick!

Here is a list of a few sweets that you can have with your tea: chocolate truffles, chocolate cups (see my post on chocolatier-ship), mini muffins, petit fours, tea cakes, fruits... The list goes on. Be creative, use your favorite cake recipe and cut them in bite size. The list is endless with bite size as the rule of thumb.

Recipes for savory sandwiches can be found here. As I said before, this is not my strongest suit. The only piece of wisdom I have to offer is slightly freeze the bread will help cutting them neater.

Lastly, setting the table! Go all out! Need fine china tea sets? Let me know and I'd be more than happy to help you out as long as you are within 20 miles of my abode. Get your friends to help! There are a few guidelines to setting the table: Napkins are to be placed on the left side of the place setting. Tea cups are to be placed right side up on the saucer with handles facing the the right side, teaspoon handles facing the same direction. Tea pot is to be placed close to the hostess since she will pour the first cup of tea.


As much as I like tea ettiquettes, I'd rather my guests have fun and enjoy the party than making them feel like they have to follow every single rule ever exists. I would explain a few guidelines just for fun though.
The pinkie up, title of this blog, is my favorite thing to do. The reason is to hold the handle of a tea cup, you don't loop your finger around your handle, you put your thumb and a finger on each side of the handle. The pinkie has no choice but to stick up for balance, absolutely adorable! Black tea can be served with milk while herbal tea is much better with lemon and/or honey. I prefer to serve lemons in slices and not wedges. They are just more elegant.

One more thing, always keep some boiling water in your kettle!! It's a pain to have to wait for more water after the teapot goes around half of the table.

I think that is all you need to know about throwing a tea party, big or small! I was a little busy running around getting things taken care of that I didn't get to take a lot of pictures. I will have to post them once I get a hold of some. Meanwhile, I hope you can feel like a Prince/Princess through the name of Jesus as well!