Here Comes the Sun!

On Tuesday of this week, my girlfriend, Lori, and I returned to O'Mara's restaurant in Berkley, MI for their June theme tea, "Here Comes the Sun!"  Another friend joined us, and we spent a lovely afternoon together.  44 ladies and 1 gentleman were at Tuesday's tea. It's so exciting to see the teas being supported by increasing attendance each month.  It reminds me of that line in the movie, Field of Dreams - "If you build it, they will come!"

Our place settings had bright, sunny, yellow napkins! 

The flowers on our table were sunflowers - my favorite flower!  

All three of us wore hats for tea time!

L-R:  Linda, Me, and Lori

The yellow rose teacup was at my place setting and I chose Peaches and Ginger black tea.

The teacup below was at Lori's place setting and she chose a Lemon Herbal Tisane.

Our soup was Yellow Corn Cheddar Chowder, and was delicious!

Chef Anita did a demonstration on preparing an Edamame [soy bean] Salad while we enjoyed our soup course.  [The salad was part of our tea meal.]   Eating soy beans was a first for me, but they were quite good with the citrus dressing that Anita made.  Michigan's auto magnate, Henry Ford, was big on soy bean consumption.  He felt they should be a part of every meal, so he would have been pleased to see them on the tea menu! ;-)  

Next came the savory course on a three-tiered server.  The top tier had Apple and Boursin Cheese Sandwiches on Walnut Raisin Bread.  The middle tier sandwiches were Egg Salad with Yellow Mustard, Bacon, and Cheddar on White Bread, and Ham with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Spread on Wheat Bread.  The bottom tier had a Tomato Basil Sandwich on White Bread, and an Artichoke & Lemon on Wheat Bread.  All were very tasty.

The main course was an Edamame Salad in a Phyllo cup, with Honey Lemon Basil Dressing.

It was followed by a plate of Brie in Puff Pastry with Thyme, and Fresh Fruit and Crackers.

Dessert was Lemon Poppy Seed Scones, Popovers with Honey Butter, and Chocolate Covered Pineapple.

I'm not sure what July's theme is going to be yet, but whatever it is, I know it'll be good, and I'm looking forward to it!   Thank you, O'Mara's, for providing such a wonderful Afternoon Tea!

Buckingham Palace Garden [Tea] Parties

Yesterday's post focused on the Coronation Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II, and several Internet photos depicting tea's dominant role in the Monarch's life.

Today's post is about the Queen's Buckingham Palace Garden [Tea] Parties.  

Garden parties have been held at Buckingham Palace since the 1860's when the Queen's great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria, instituted what were known as 'breakfasts' that were held in the afternoon.

Since the 1950's, Queen Elizabeth II has hosted three Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace every summer to reward and recognize those in public service.  Individuals cannot request an invitation to attend.  The government, Lord-Lieutenants and organizations such as the Civil Service, Armed Services, Diplomatic Corps, charities, and societies all receive quotas for nominations and recommendations.

The Garden Parties are from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., although the Palace gates are opened around 3:00 p.m., for the guests to stroll the Royal Gardens [which span almost 40 acres!].  The Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by other members of the Royal Family, enter the garden at 4:00 p.m. as the National Anthem ["God Save the Queen"] is played.  Then they circulate among the approximately 8,000 guests, eventually making their way to the Royal tea tent where special guests and dignitaries await their arrival. 

Plentiful refreshments are served from long buffet tables in guest tea tents.  At a typical garden party, about 27,000 cups of tea, 20,000 tea sandwiches, and 20,000 slices of cake are consumed, requiring a wait staff of about 400!  One guest wrote that the tea sandwich selections were cucumber, smoked salmon, and scrambled egg [crustless, of course], while the delicious array of cakes included Victoria sponge and miniature Battenbergs, plus mini-tarts, pastries and scones.  

[Internet Photo - Courtesy of Buckingham Palace Press Office]

I read [but I don't know how valid it is] that they prepare enough small tea sandwiches to allow 14 per person, plus desserts.  Yikes!  That's a lot!

Around 6:00 p.m. the Queen and Royal Family leave the garden, when the National Anthem is played again to mark the end of the party.  

The garden tea parties are said to be a highlight of the Queen's calendar.

The Queen at a recent 2013 Buckingham Palace Garden Party

  Royal Family Members at a 2013 Garden Party

L-R:  Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge

Front:  Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip.  

Back: Granddaughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Princess Royal [Anne], & Prince Andrew

Princess Beatrice of York, and her sister Princess Eugenie

2012 Buckingham Palace Garden Party

Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall & Prince Charles

The Radiant Queen!

Her Majesty mingling with the guests.

Kate mingling with the guests.

For those fortunate enough to be invited to one of the Queen's Garden Parties, it's a never-to-be forgotten experience!

From across the pond, I'm lifting my teacup in tribute to the Queen!

Celebrating Queen Elizabeth II...Over Tea!

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor took the throne February 6, 1952, upon the death of her father, King George VI.  To allow for a period of national mourning, she was crowned 16 months later in London's Westminster Abbey.  She celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, but June 2, 2013 marked the 60th Anniversary of her Coronation.  She was 26 years old when she took the throne.

[My Coronation Trio]

The 87-year-old Queen spent her anniversary day at her favorite residence - Windsor Castle - where she attended a private church service to celebrate the anniversary.  More than 8,200 guests attended her coronation, and as many as 27 million people watched it on TV - Britain's first major TV event.

The official commemoration will take place today, when the Queen will return to Westminster Abbey with the Royal Family for a service with 2,000 guests.  The Archbishop of Canterbury will deliver the sermon, and Prime Minister David Cameron will do a reading. The Queen and her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, are the only U.K. monarchs to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee.  

[My Diamond Jubilee Commemorative Teacup]

It is said the Queen's day begins when she is woken at 7:30 a.m. by a chambermaid who brings in her tea tray.  Since tea has always been a big part of her life, I searched the Internet for tea photos to share in today's post.  

The Duke and Duchess of York with Princess Elizabeth having a tea party on July 30, 1929.  

[A Marcus Adams photo - The Royal Collection]

I purchased this print of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth [Queen Mum], and Princesses Elizabeth [seated] and Margaret [standing] having tea, when I was at the National Portrait Gallery in 2007. It's called "Conversation piece at the Royal Lodge, Windsor" by Sir James Gunn, 1950.

The Queen relaxes with a cuppa during a picnic on grouse moors.

[Internet Photos]

The Queen drinking tea in Kyoto, on a State Visit to Japan in 1975.

The Queen having tea in a private home in the Castlemilk area of Glasgow, Scotland  July 7, 1999.

The Queen takes a break with hospital staff during a visit to Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Queen Elizabeth having tea with U.K. pensioners, November 28, 2008.

July 27, 2011

The Queen sat down to tea with couples celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary during her Diamond Jubilee tour of Britain in May 2012.

With tea in hand, the Queen inspects a decorated Indonesian sword on display from the Royal Collection during the Indonesian State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, March 2013.

The Queen sipping tea.

The Queen enjoying a cup of tea at a reception for the World Cup Winning Team at Buckingham Palace.

The last three photos are "spoofs."  The Queen's beloved corgies don't share her bed while she has her morning tea tray.

In 2012 to celebrate the Queen's 60 years on the throne, Tetley Tea had 60 handmade,  60-cup street party tea bags made.   To launch their Diamond Jubilee tea bag, a look-alike of Her Royal Highness gives the jumbo tea bag the royal seal of approval.

In the last photo, the Queen's look-alike is using her Royal Guard's Bearskin hat as an urn with a spigot to make sure her royal brew can be topped up at all times.

Here are a couple of tidbits about the Queen and tea:

• Darjeeling and Earl Grey are her teas of choice.
• Afternoon Tea is her favorite meal of the day.  It's a time when she can relax in her sitting room as she boils the water in the silver Victorian kettle [which Prince Philip had converted to electric], and dips her old silver spoon into a jade tea caddy.  She makes the tea herself, and takes milk in it, poured from a silver cream jug shaped like a cow that has been in the Royal Family for generations.
• Prince Charles was once quoted as saying, "In our family, everything stops for tea. I have never known a family so addicted to it."

God Save the Queen, and long may she reign!

*  *  *  

Today I'm linking to Bernideen's Tea Time Blog for "Tea in the Garden."

Another Purpose...

When I first saw an eighteenth century tea caddy with two tea compartments and a small glass bowl in the center, it was explained the bowl was for mixing or blending green and black teas, hence it's name "mixing bowl."  

Below is a photo of my tea caddy that I featured in a post on May 23, 2013.  I referenced the bowl in the center as a mixing/blending bowl.

E-bay listings for tea caddies describe the center compartment as being for a mixing bowl. However, the glass bowl often doesn't survive the passage of time.

This past Friday, May 31st, one of America's leading tea authorities, Bruce Richardson, wrote a very interesting article about adding sugar to tea on his blog, The Tea Maestro.

In his article, a Regency tea caddy [1811-1820] is pictured, and he refers to the center bowl  as a "sugar bowl."  He concluded by saying "Read more about British and American tea history [in his soon-to-be released book this September, co-authored with Jane Pettigrew, well-known British tea authority and historian] in A Social History of Tea."

My interest in the center bowl of tea caddies was piqued.  I own a copy of A Social History of Tea authored by Jane Pettigrew in 2001, published in Great Britian by National Trust Enterprises Ltd., London.

I pulled the book from my shelf to see what Jane had to say about the tea caddy bowl back in 2001.  Sure enough... on page 87 she stated:  "Cabinetmakers were fashioning wooden tea boxes to replace the porcelain jars that had first come from China during the previous century.  The lockable chests contained two or three boxes for tea and sugar..."

That prompted more research about sugar.  We take the readily available, fairly inexpensive sweetener  for granted today, but in times past, it wasn't readily available nor was it inexpensive.  

I knew tea chests were made with sturdy locks for the purpose of safe guarding tea, due to its high price, but I never knew the same was true for sugar.   Use of imported cones of hard brown sugar was reserved for rulers and rich merchants. Sugar, like tea, was an expensive luxury up through the early part of the 19th century.

Mr. Richardson states it's unclear who first introduced the addition of sugar to tea [definitely not the Chinese], but it is documented that in the mid 17th century Queen consort, Catherine of Braganza, initiated the habit of adding a spoonful of sugar to hot tea at Hampton Court Palace.  The habit spread to aristocratic households, and over time filtered down to the working class who catapulted sugar's consumption to record highs. 

It was interesting to learn the glass bowl in the center compartment of tea caddies was used to hold expensive sugar, as well as perhaps mixing green and black teas.