High Tea..

 

Tea, not just the beverage can be referred to as a meal -- dinner in England or an afternoon snack in the US. High tea is a fancier manner of having an afternoon tea with petite fours, tea sandwiches, and all that fancy goodness.  When I was growing up, drinking tea was not really a part of our culture/family, tea was said to provide relief for upset stomach and is said to be good for the complexion.  My mom had these fancy tea cups that you can't hold the handle without your pinky poised up. 

So delicate that it seems more of a ritual than actually appeasing hunger.  Found these old pictures from a High Tea that I went to in Rockridge, can't even remember the place, you will notice that the pictures were not as rich as the newer pictures.  But going back to the high tea, it is actually a good social activity, it somehow forces one to be demure and gentle.

 The picture below was taken from the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, a birthday celebration.  The place is grand with ornate decors, but they don't seem to have high teas anymore.  The petite fours are soo good, I remember it was a pre fixe deal.  A certain amount for limitless tea and an assortment of pastries and tea sandwiches, yum. 

Looks like this tradition is dying, with the present way of life being so busy, there doesn't seem to have time for events like this. Before we forget how it is, I had to have my own version, as I have a little bit of a collection of different tea pots-mostly Asian inspired.  I got the tea sandwiches from Whole Foods--egg and cucumber. Not so great, it was dry, such that the crumbled eggs were not even bound together.  I did love setting this up, this was for someone at work, but I brought in my stuff. It is actually a fun activity.  You can even make your own tea sandwiches and pettite fours. Perfect in this stormy, wet weather.