Keep these guidelines in mind on the day of the tea. Be attentive to your personal grooming and think about this process as a form of self-purification. Use your own judgment to dress appropriately depending on the weather and the culture in which you live. (We cannot think of any culture in which jeans and a tee shirt are presentable attire for afternoon tea.) Plan to arrive exactly at the appointed time. The concept of “fashionably late” does not apply to afternoon tea, but it is just as inconsiderate to arrive early as it is to arrive late. Don’t forget the small gift that you have chosen to give to the host. Finally, and very importantly, do not bring your cell phone with you to afternoon tea. Nothing is more annoying than interrupting the serenity of the occasion with personal cell phone conversations.
You have arrived at your host’s home. You ring the doorbell, and your host greets you at the door. It appears that you are the first guest to arrive and the host has fallen behind schedule in his preparations. He is still wearing his chef’s apron, which is covered with flour, and there is flour on his hands. “Come on in,” he says, “I’m just getting the scones ready to go into the oven.”
You have arrived at your host’s home. You ring the doorbell, and your host greets you at the door. It appears that you are the first guest to arrive and the host has fallen behind schedule in his preparations. He is still wearing his chef’s apron, which is covered with flour, and there is flour on his hands. “Come on in,” he says, “I’m just getting the scones ready to go into the oven.”
