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Tea Time !

And what a wonderful way to share time with friends. First, a few historical facts to share with friends about this tradition. High tea was in fact dinner for our English friends, it was served at the supper table, the "high" table and hearty food served, while low tea was served earlier in late afternoon and usually in the sitting room, served on the low table, tea and pastries offered, tiny sandwiches served with scones and jelly. High tea today is what low tea was then.

What to serve.
4 to 6 pieces of delicate sandwiches and appetizers per guest.
2 to 4 scones, cookies, shortbread and miniature pastry per guest.
Tea!

Sandwiches can vary from the simplest cucumber crust less sandwich to wraps and any other kind of finger appetizer, salmon is always a good choice, perhaps served on miniature bagel with cream cheese and fresh dill or capers, mild cappicollo served on rye bread with a soft cheese etc.
Because tea is mild in flavor, it would be important to stick to light flavored foods not to overwhelm it.

As for tea, Earl Grey is a favorite, but for those that might not like drinking tea, there are always herbal teas you can offer, sold in beautiful decorative boxes, they can be set on a tray so guests can choose which to try or the boxes can be set on the table here and there and let the guests discover them.
When steeping tea, it is important that the water does not boil, it needs to be hot, but not boiling hot, once it starts to bubble in the kettle, it is ready to use. It takes only a few minutes for tea to steep and reach its full flavor.
- Tea is usually served with lemon or milk and not cream as cream will overpower it, some will want sugar or honey added to it also, it is always nice to be able to offer all of the options to your guests.
- If your guests wish to know, a tea cup is held with the thumb and forefinger only, no fingers through the handle, the small finger is lifted at an angle as to steady the grip so no tea is spilled, the tea cup returns to the saucer after each sip also. To stir tea, it is common not to swirl the spoon around but to gently go back and forth as if folding egg whites into a batter, then setting the spoon at the right of the saucer and never leaving it into the tea cup.

High tea in England would be served at a dining table, but of course you can choose where you wish to serve it, if the living room is chosen, the coffee table might not be large enough to contain all the serving dishes so another table might be used to

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