Inspiration! Tea Parties Everywhere!

Ok, so maybe the title is a bit of an exaggeration, but I have had a couple of tea party inspirations recently. Let me first say that I am obsessed with tea. No, but really. In the past year, I have bought three teapots, a tea tumbler, and over a hundred different teas (mostly sample sizes, but still a lot!). If you love tea, I suggest checking out Steepster, where my addiction became full blown (my cupboard here). 

I also occasionally browse the tea subreddit on Reddit. This one user posted pictures of her own birthday tea party and it was amazing (link to album). Mini sandwiches and pastries galore! And amazing teas to pick from. I just couldn't believe that she did it all herself. Because I already love baking and I love tea, hosting a tea party seems like a perfect combo of my two most current obsessions. 

Secondly, I went to my first proper afternoon tea at a restaurant inside the Boston Public Library. There were finger sandwiches, scones, pastries, and of course, TEA! I always wanted to try Harney & Sons tea, and they served it there, so it was perfect. Here are a few pics I awkwardly snapped of the room while others weren't looking.

There was a lovely statue in the courtyard directly outside. It started to snow lightly, and it created this wonderful little winter wonderland for our viewing pleasure. Next up, the tea! I ordered the Japanese Sencha (pictured below) and my mother (who was visiting from sunny California) ordered Dragon Pearl Jasmine. The little white teapots they had were the same as the green one that I have at home! Instead of using the infuser inside the teapot, they had strainers for our cups. As a result, my sencha became a little too bitter, so I shared some of the jasmine tea. 

If the tea didn't get so bitter toward the end, I would love to use those strainers at home. They just added that classy feeling toward the whole experience. As we were enjoying our teas, the finger sandwiches and pastries came out!

Even though many of the pastries and finger sandwiches didn't taste all that great, it still inspired me to someday hold a little tea party with perhaps 3-5 different little pastries or sandwiches. Unfortunately, one of my tea-loving friends moved out of the country today, so I'll have to recruit/convert some more tea lovers to do this with me! Anyone want to join? ;)

-jennkay

Categories: afternoon tea, tea, tea party