Afternoon tea should be a leisurely event, and guests should feel welcome to linger and enjoy their time together as the sweet course comes to a close. As the host or hostess, you should never start cleaning up while the guests are still in your home. Nor should you make plans for later in the evening. Your guests should never feel rushed. All of the courses should be generous enough so that everyone can eat as much or as little as he or she wishes. The hostess should not single out a guest who is not eating as much as the others and pressure that person to eat more. Interrogation is not in the spirit of afternoon tea. This guilt-free zone helps to add to the harmony and respect of the occasion. It also sets the tone for the final phase of the tea party—sending the guests home.
The hope of afternoon tea is that the guests will carry the lovely sense of contentment, wellbeing and community with them back to their homes, work places and extended families. After spending a few hours in a beautiful harmonious setting enjoying considerate conversation and ethereal food with respectful people, wouldn’t one naturally want to share this experience with others? How could one possibly return home and grouch at one’s family after eating a warm, fresh and lovingly baked scone covered with jam and cream? How could anyone engage in road rage after a hot and perfect cup of tea? At the end of afternoon tea, guests part from their hostess and one another with grateful hearts and return to the world better than they were before. This is the road back to civilization.
The hope of afternoon tea is that the guests will carry the lovely sense of contentment, wellbeing and community with them back to their homes, work places and extended families. After spending a few hours in a beautiful harmonious setting enjoying considerate conversation and ethereal food with respectful people, wouldn’t one naturally want to share this experience with others? How could one possibly return home and grouch at one’s family after eating a warm, fresh and lovingly baked scone covered with jam and cream? How could anyone engage in road rage after a hot and perfect cup of tea? At the end of afternoon tea, guests part from their hostess and one another with grateful hearts and return to the world better than they were before. This is the road back to civilization.