The Tea Journey continues… Seasonal Teas in Donna’s Backyard
Seasonal Tea Journey Begins
Upon retiring from education after 36 years, I became convinced that I needed to open a tearoom. I had the desire and some of the knowledge. Taking it a step further, I enrolled in Bruce and Shelley Richardson’s tea seminar in Lexington, Kentucky. On Day 2, I realized that I probably didn’t have the finances and the full-blown passion needed to open a business. So, I decided to take a tiny step and do seasonal teas in my home.
Thus, my tea journey continued. I assumed my sister Peggy would want to do this with me. However, she knew what I didn’t want to admit—doing teas was way too much work to do when retired. Plus, she was into quilting which took up her time on most days and satisfied her creative side. Two things kept me going on my tea journey—this was a very creative endeavor which partly satisfied my creative soul and my own daughter, who started baking at 3 years old with her dirt and baking powder pies, wanted to join me!
Elizabeth Joins Mom!
A little aside about my daughter Elizabeth. She is strong-willed, bossy, and very bright. When working with her, she is the boss! She loves to cook, bake and create edgy menus. I am her sous chef and kitchen help. I do the dishes! I hand her utensils. I have the organizational skills, the perfect venue and the contacts that complement her cooking creativity and skills. She loves creating menus and being the chef. I make that happen. Plus, she allows me to do the tablescapes and decorating which I love to do. At present she is a General Manager for a large restaurant chain. She would love to have her own food business but at this time it is not possible. So, partnering with her mom is the next best thing!
Autumn Tea…Our first and our last
Our first seasonal tea together was our autumn tea almost ten years ago. We had so much fun with this tea! Autumn is my favorite time of year. The seasonal flavors abound in fall so my daughter delighted in menu planning. I believe this first tea was our “fanciest” menu ever! She even had a beet & goat cheese with fried sage menu item. We had to convince our guests that it was okay (and even tasty) to eat the fried sage. Here is our menu:
Menu
Fig almond scone with orange honey butter, Devonshire cream, and apricot jam. Blue cheese, dried cranberry petite salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
Pork loin crostini with apple chutney, Tarragon chicken salad on pita flower, Beet with pistachio crusted goat cheese, Egg salad with watercress sandwich, Cucumber sandwich, and Sugared grapes & mandarin slices.
Orange scented coconut macaroons, Apple crostata, Pumpkin cheesecake, Lemon curd tassie cup, and Brownie bite with cherry mousse.
Plate Garnishes and More
I always feel we need a garnish on tea plates to make it “pretty”. The sugared grapes on this first menu were my idea. However, making the sugared grapes was something else entirely! It wasn’t as easy as I thought but once I got it right, the presentation was beautiful.
Adding a petit salad to our menu added a new healthy dimension. Salads are so easy to make, look lovely and make you feel like you have had at least one thing that is healthy! We also started our love affair with pumpkin cheesecake at this time. We learned that frying things on the day of a tea is not wise since it smells up the entire house. This first tea was outside, so we were okay this time. I loved the bruleed figs on the scone plates and our guests did as well! I thought this was an elegant and delicious addition the the tea plate but in later years I learned that figs have a very limited sell time in Southern California.
Logistics
For this first seasonal tea we had about 30 guests. I sent out an email invitation to my work friends, the Victorian Tea Society group, my neighborhood friends and two groups from a charity silent auction. Many of these people are now faithful attendees at our teas. Over the years my tea invitation list has grown substantially, which I am thankful. Although always worrisome at first, getting reservations is no problem now.
My daughter and I realized that with 30 guests we needed help! Having learned from the Victorian Tea Society teas that guests want HOT tea and do not like to wait, we recruited two of my young high school neighbors to help serve tea and to wash dishes. Plus, my son-in-law pitched in that day and helped us. Our help always gets money for their efforts and they are pleased with this extra pocket change. For this first seasonal tea, it was hot, and our guests did not want a lot of hot tea so we served them lemonade and iced tea which kept our young helpers busy.
Renting tables and chairs became a must for these teas. My collection of seasonal plates and teacups grew as did my silverware collection. I love collecting dishes for teas but have almost run out of room to store them. My linen and table topper collection grew as well. At this time I became a serious book keeper for all tea expenses. For the first few years the cost of the tea covered menu ingredients and help (including a little for my daughter). My capital costs (dishes, linens, etc.) were nevered recovered and I usually didn’t make any money for myself. Since this is mostly a creative process for me, I have gladly given my daughter all the profits from our teas.
Menu Cards and Favors
For this first seasonal tea I started making fancy menu cards that would be a good momento of the event. I glued a photo collage of the tea to one side of a card and printed the menu on the other side. I love making menu cards and always try to do something a little different each time. After this tea, I started making little favors for the guests. These favors have included book marks, tea packets, and candy packets.
Elizabeth and I loved doing this tea. The tablescapes were beautiful and the guests enjoyed the food. However, as you will learn in a later post, this was our one and only Autumn Tea. I still do private Autumn Teas, but they are very small and Elizabeth does not help me due to work constraints.
