What goodies would you like to see

[Trishiad]

Nope, I read it on the menu, "Heavenshire Cream". Maybe it is simply Devonshire cream with a cutesy name but that's what my tea house is calling it.

[alligande]

A cream tea is an Afternoon tea with scones and clotted cream. She must of meant Devonshire cream, but Heavenshire would be a cute brandname.

←

I was about to post this, to clarify (I hope) you can have afternoon tea with or without cream. Cream is just more decadent.

The other thing is clotted versus whipped. Clotted cream is a tradition of the west country, when you have a "cream tea" in most parts of Britain the cream will just be whipped.

[halloweencat]

btw, re clotted cream... i know the food photogs like to photograph it slathered on the item, but you really don't need a lot of it. fwiw (imho).

cheers --

[Beanie]

K8Memphis,

I was beginning to think you had abandoned us , but am so excited to see the reason for your absence . Good luck!!!!!

There's a unique tea room near Saratoga Springs, NY called Whistling Kettle Tea Lounge (it's actually in a place called Ballston Spa, south of SS). They sell hundreds of varieties of bulk teas and accessories. The cafe is furnished like a living room with an eclectic mix of chairs and tables. It has the laid-back feeling of a coffee house, but with tea. Here's a link to their website and menu. I'm not sure the menu will provide any new ideas, but it's well done and I thought you would be interested. You can download a more extensive menu with descriptions of teas, etc.

On another note ... don't spread yourself too thin. Now that you're legally your "own boss," you can easily get preoccupied with business matters, employee issues, etc. and won't have time or energy to bake and decorate those fabulous cakes. That would be a shame.

[halloweencat]

some more thoughts re the tea room....

1. you might include information +about+ tea, the difference between high tea and afternoon tea, different kinds of tea, why some put milk in the cup before the tea, and why some do the reverse. lots of your customers would love to learn more about tea and its rituals, i'll bet.

2. if you're presenting the teapot to the table still in the steeping stage, let your customers know (in a casual way) that they should take out the bags or strainer or whatever in X minutes or so...you'd be surprised, but some people might not realize you should only let tea steep for a set time (3-5 minutes, per average and according to taste), and some customers might not realize the tea bags are still in the pot. to be on the safe side, i'd just let the tea steep in the back room and bring it out when the timer goes off -- friends chatting merrily away might easily forget to remove the bags in time, and then they might come away from your establishment with the idea that the tea wasn't so good (when actually it would have been due to their own inattentiveness or ignorance).

3. introduce the fabulous world of tea accoutrements: sugar shakers (muffiners), suger nips, leaf strainers, toast racks, sugar loaf racks. some of these are pricier items but some can be obtained quite inexpensively (like antique sugar cone forms). you can do a side line by selling antiques or reproductions of them.

4. mismatched china and silverware, as long as it's vintage and sweet.

5. re silverware: i think a lot of eating establishments don't think of this at all, but i and my friends (even non-tea house friends) notice the weight of the silverware. diners and cheap restaraunts tend to use newer silverware that is so light it almost seems like it could fly away. it certainly is bendable. getting weighter silverware (whether new or vintage) would be a nice thing to have, in the atmosphere you're providing.

6. events -- 1) you could have tea classes or seminars. teach them yourself or bring in experts. 2) period tea events -- an edwardian tea, a halloween tea, a valentine's tea; encourage people to dress specially for the occasion. if you want to do the period teas right -- connect with local collectors of victorian and antique clothing. they will more or less get things correct, and your customers will likely +love+ seeing authentic period attire worn correctly. i know people always go nuts whenever i or any of my friends wear our vintage clothing.

cheers ---

[Swisskaese]

If you want to have few very English offerings, here is a great website:

The Great British Kitchen

This site has loads of scone, biscuit and cake recipes.

I love eccles cakes.

Victoria Sandwich Cake is also very nice.

Bath Buns are also an afternoon tea offering.

Edited February 26, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[LaurieA-B]

Tea and Sympathy is a great book to look through for ideas (I haven't tried the recipes, so can't speak for them). It's from the teashop of the same name in New York, and offers both sweet and savory, including lots of the dishes annachan's husband prefers like pasties and shepherd's pie. I had delicious high teas at T&S with Welsh rarebit and shepherd's pie; I also love to get finger sandwiches (egg or cucumber) and scones for afternoon tea. Definitely good to offer different options.

I was just reading a Rosamunde Pilcher novel in which tea is served at a Cornish country home, 1940s: "Sponge cakes, lemon-curd tarts, gingerbread, scones; tiny sandwiches of cucumber and gentleman's relish, iced fairy cakes and shortbread biscuits."

[etalanian]

Oh, K8! I am really happy for you! I was wondering why you had disappeared, also. Now I know.

What is the nameof your tea shop?

I wish you every kind of good luck - lots of customers, trustworthy employees with a great work ethic, and lots of great press.

Please email me if I can be of any help.

Eileen

ps- Gordon says HI! I'll tell him about your tea shop.

[K8memphis]

I just can't thank each of you enough for your invaluable information helping me get up to speed on tea stuff. Ahh, as close as possible anyway

....

Firstly - please ensure you offer a proper scone. Not one of those random triangular weird scone wanna-be things that were served in places like starbucks and sadly, most of my local bakeries when i lived in CA. That's not a scone. That's like a rock cake but with strange flavours. It's very very wrong. I prefer the plain scone - but currants and sultanas also rock my world. And the date scone - also good. For a touch of Australian fabulous-ness that might be too strange for an American palate - the pumpkin scone.

.....

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Portia, what is the definition of a proper scone?

The pumpkin scone recipe in your post looks good but... I would end up adding a mix of spices as you would to a pumpkin pie -- cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice... Perhaps some pecans...

I don't want to sell "triangular weird scone wanna-be things" -- I want to sell scones!

←

Explaining food across continents can be a bit tricky. Scones look like the "biscuits" I've seen in pictures from the U.S. Round, that is. Pumpkin scones on the otherhand are a fairly moist dough so are "plopped" onto the baking sheet although these too can be cut out of a stiffer dough using a round scone cutter. Pumpkin scones are best without added spices IMHO but with cold butter in top.

Other tea fare can include hot crumpets, english muffins, toast (artisanal breads).

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How light is clotted cream??? Lighter, less dense than yogurt??? (there's just got to be another word for 'clotted'--gotta check the thesaurus )

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Clotted cream is definitely more dense than yogurt, even Greek yogurt. It's a nice rich cream with a little sweetness to it. I just got to have that with my scones whenever we go to the local tea house.

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Wonder what's the difference between clotted cream and devonshire/heavenshire cream?? King Arthur's has them both I guess I need to break down & get some. I mean I can make a great tasting 'cream spread' out of creamcheese, confectioner's sugar, lemon juice & vanilla maybe add a little mayo or sour cream to loosen it up a bit. But the clotted stuff you have to use unpasteurized cream to make it, so I'll just be purchasing it, if I carry it. My Canadian friend's father is wintering in Florida and he is possibly going to swing by on his way home so I hope the King Arthur stuff is good.

What's the difference between devonshire cream and clotted cream??

Explaining food across continents can be a bit tricky. Scones look like the "biscuits" I've seen in pictures from the U.S. Round, that is. Pumpkin scones on the otherhand are a fairly moist dough so are "plopped" onto the baking sheet although these too can be cut out of a stiffer dough using a round scone cutter. Pumpkin scones are best without added spices IMHO but with cold butter in top.

Other tea fare can include hot crumpets, english muffins, toast (artisanal breads).

←

I agree on all counts, and please do not alter the pumpkin scones before trying them once. They are a very unusal article.

Palmiers could be nice way to go. What about fruit toast with ricotta and honey.

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So maybe they are akin to our dropped biscuits??? Not rolled out just plopped or dropped onto the baking sheet?? I had cinnamon toast on the menu for a while.

i have never heard of "heavenshire cream" -- i believe what was probably said was "DEVONshire cream," which, iirc, is slightly different than clotted cream (i think there's some distinction made, if only for regionality).

k8memphis, i'm so glad that any of my comments were helpful. i'm so excited for you, and wish you every sucess!

cheers --

←

Thank you so much!!!

My son's guitar teacher has started teaching out of the back of a tea-room which specializes in organic foods, herb teas etc. When classes are in progress, a folding screen is put up to block off the back tables.

They do the tea-cosy thing, and it's a great idea. That's partly because people often stay for quite long periods. Also, because the interior is woody and dark, the tea-cosies brighten things up! I have tea-cosies of my grandmother's which were double-layered - there was a thickly quilted inner layer, and an easily laundered embroidered or patched or appliqued starched loose outer cover over that.

The tea-shop encourages repeat business by providing big, wooden tables where people can spread out their papers, and attracts people with a bit of work to do, and also local community groups holding meetings.

I usually wait in the tea-shop while son has his lessons, working or chatting with the owner or other guitar students, so I know the entire menu by now! I notice that the owner concentrates mostly on variations of cheesecake and chiffon cake, which allows her to ring the seasonal changes while not taking customers too far out of their comfort zone or costing her too much effort. She also often offers a cube of something new she's trying along with my order, and invites comments, swaps recipes, etc. It's set up like a bar - she and her husband prepare tea and give change over a waist-high counter, and nip out to a galley-kitchen to prepare more complex items.

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Yes, I'm already eyeing an adjacent room to rent--we're gonna do children's tea parties too--I have washable brimmed hats that I am covering with lace and then I'll pin up the brim with a flower and I even got some angel wings for angel tea--the kids can wear the wings during tea. Geez I just wish I was 5 gain. The tea parties will be at set times, so they won't be disruptive to the atmosphere but will add to it immeasurabley I'm sure. No balloons or clowns or magicians just tea & angels & teddy bears & stuff. Oh yeah and they get their finery out of a 'treasure chest' and I have feather boas too. And and and who wouldn't love to bring their little Mom or Auntie or sweet neighbor in for tea and have a little party in her honor too.

Come to think of it, one thing I *don't* like is lots of hot snack food - I like the predominance of cakes and sandwiches and other cold foods, so that my fragrant cup of tea is not competing with the smell of garlic, grilled cheese, and chicken fried in aging fat!

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Good point Helen, thank you.

A cream tea is an Afternoon tea with scones and clotted cream. She must of meant Devonshire cream, but Heavenshire would be a cute brandname.

←

But no cream in the tea?

Nope, I read it on the menu, "Heavenshire Cream". Maybe it is simply Devonshire cream with a cutesy name but that's what my tea house is calling it.

←

Wish I'd a thought a that

A cream tea is an Afternoon tea with scones and clotted cream. She must of meant Devonshire cream, but Heavenshire would be a cute brandname.

←

I was about to post this, to clarify (I hope) you can have afternoon tea with or without cream. Cream is just more decadent.

The other thing is clotted versus whipped. Clotted cream is a tradition of the west country, when you have a "cream tea" in most parts of Britain the cream will just be whipped.

←

Oh, so whipped cream floating on the tea or for the scones??? I'm almost utterly clueless y'know.

btw, re clotted cream... i know the food photogs like to photograph it slathered on the item, but you really don't need a lot of it. fwiw (imho).

cheers --

←

Good, it seems a bit pricey. Wish I could make it.

K8Memphis,

I was beginning to think you had abandoned us , but am so excited to see the reason for your absence . Good luck!!!!!

There's a unique tea room near Saratoga Springs, NY called Whistling Kettle Tea Lounge (it's actually in a place called Ballston Spa, south of SS). They sell hundreds of varieties of bulk teas and accessories. The cafe is furnished like a living room with an eclectic mix of chairs and tables. It has the laid-back feeling of a coffee house, but with tea. Here's a link to their website and menu. I'm not sure the menu will provide any new ideas, but it's well done and I thought you would be interested. You can download a more extensive menu with descriptions of teas, etc.

On another note ... don't spread yourself too thin. Now that you're legally your "own boss," you can easily get preoccupied with business matters, employee issues, etc. and won't have time or energy to bake and decorate those fabulous cakes. That would be a shame.

←

Thank you, Beanie, how sweet of you!!! Boy their (food) prices are low I think, except for the tea. Great menu though. Oh yeah, I wastotally gonna do salads this way where you pick your components--I went crazy doing it--if I had a nifty salad refrigerator with all the little umm, y'know containers that you just keep there all the time. But I fill stainless steel pans with ice & keep things out on ice during service and I tell yah I went crazy with the make your own salad thing--I do a house salad now with spice pecans & a couple house dressings, raspberry vinaigrette is the most popular.

Yes, don't spread myself too thin is great advice. I am currently open 6 days a week and feeling the huge bite. If I ever get my sign up I'm going to 5 days a week.

some more thoughts re the tea room....

1. you might include information +about+ tea, the difference between high tea and afternoon tea, different kinds of tea, why some put milk in the cup before the tea, and why some do the reverse. lots of your customers would love to learn more about tea and its rituals, i'll bet.

2. if you're presenting the teapot to the table still in the steeping stage, let your customers know (in a casual way) that they should take out the bags or strainer or whatever in X minutes or so...you'd be surprised, but some people might not realize you should only let tea steep for a set time (3-5 minutes, per average and according to taste), and some customers might not realize the tea bags are still in the pot. to be on the safe side, i'd just let the tea steep in the back room and bring it out when the timer goes off -- friends chatting merrily away might easily forget to remove the bags in time, and then they might come away from your establishment with the idea that the tea wasn't so good (when actually it would have been due to their own inattentiveness or ignorance).

3. introduce the fabulous world of tea accoutrements: sugar shakers (muffiners), suger nips, leaf strainers, toast racks, sugar loaf racks. some of these are pricier items but some can be obtained quite inexpensively (like antique sugar cone forms). you can do a side line by selling antiques or reproductions of them.

4. mismatched china and silverware, as long as it's vintage and sweet.

5. re silverware: i think a lot of eating establishments don't think of this at all, but i and my friends (even non-tea house friends) notice the weight of the silverware. diners and cheap restaraunts tend to use newer silverware that is so light it almost seems like it could fly away. it certainly is bendable. getting weighter silverware (whether new or vintage) would be a nice thing to have, in the atmosphere you're providing.

6. events -- 1) you could have tea classes or seminars. teach them yourself or bring in experts. 2) period tea events -- an edwardian tea, a halloween tea, a valentine's tea; encourage people to dress specially for the occasion. if you want to do the period teas right -- connect with local collectors of victorian and antique clothing. they will more or less get things correct, and your customers will likely +love+ seeing authentic period attire worn correctly. i know people always go nuts whenever i or any of my friends wear our vintage clothing.

cheers ---

←

Hey, what are sugar shakers (muffiners), toast racks, sugar loaf racks and antique sugar cone forms??? I've been careful to remove the teabags but it's a better idea to tell them to remove them in a certain few minutes. It's true, we don't know when to remove them. At one restaurent we go to they have the clever iron individual pots. The tea only steeps until you pour the first cup, then the leaves are above the water and can't steep anymore. But in my pots the infusers go all the way down so we do need to be careful.

Oooh, great idea on vintage clothing--maybe for our next big store wide sale we can do the period clothing too.

Because I do wedding cakes, I'm gonna see if I can't do some kind of bridal registry too--ha!!

Ok, but why do some put the cream in first & some put the cream in last?????

If you want to have few very English offerings, here is a great website:

The Great British Kitchen

This site has loads of scone, biscuit and cake recipes.

I love eccles cakes.

Victoria Sandwich Cake is also very nice.

Bath Buns are also an afternoon tea offering.

←

Thank you, Swisskaese, great link! I gotta lookup those recipes.

Tea and Sympathy is a great book to look through for ideas (I haven't tried the recipes, so can't speak for them). It's from the teashop of the same name in New York, and offers both sweet and savory, including lots of the dishes annachan's husband prefers like pasties and shepherd's pie. I had delicious high teas at T&S with Welsh rarebit and shepherd's pie; I also love to get finger sandwiches (egg or cucumber) and scones for afternoon tea. Definitely good to offer different options.

I was just reading a Rosamunde Pilcher novel in which tea is served at a Cornish country home, 1940s: "Sponge cakes, lemon-curd tarts, gingerbread, scones; tiny sandwiches of cucumber and gentleman's relish, iced fairy cakes and shortbread biscuits."

←

Thank you, LaurieA-B, great link and information.

Oh, K8! I am really happy for you! I was wondering why you had disappeared, also. Now I know.

What is the nameof your tea shop?

I wish you every kind of good luck - lots of customers, trustworthy employees with a great work ethic, and lots of great press.

Please email me if I can be of any help.

Eileen

ps- Gordon says HI! I'll tell him about your tea shop.

←

Thank you, Eileen!! It's called Trink's TeaRoom or Trink's Cafe. I've been open a month and I don't have my permanent sign up yet, (it's soo hard to put up a sign--making decisions when you don't know what you're doing & they lost the proofs blahblahblah so I'm still in the valley of desision a bit on the final name. And with the OJT I've been doing (on the job training) I think Trink's Tea will win out. Trink is a nickname of a nickname of mine. Mom used to call me Katrinka or Katrink and then it got shortened to Trink.

Yeah, cool!!! Tell him I said Hey!!

Edited February 27, 2006 by K8memphis (log)

[alligande]

To claify a cream tea. It has nothing to do with the tea you get tea, a scone served with jam ( or preserves what ever you want to call it), butter and clotted/whipped cream. generally the fixings are served on the side, as it is very indivual think how much you put on the scone. The scones served are either plain or currant, always round and hopefully fluffy!

In a british cup of tea you never use cream, only milk and if you want to be very fussy the milk goes in first

good luck

[K8memphis]

To claify a cream tea. It has nothing to do with the tea you get tea, a scone served with jam ( or preserves what ever you want to call it), butter and clotted/whipped cream. generally the fixings are served on the side, as it is very indivual think how much you put on the scone. The scones served are either plain or currant, always round and hopefully fluffy!

In a british cup of tea you never use cream, only milk and if you want to be very fussy the milk goes in first 

good luck

←

Thank you so much. I got it. The confusion comes in of course when you say, Cream Tea. And knowing that Britains like milk (interchangeble for us coffee drinkers with cream) in their tea, well, there you go, but I understand now. However, my scones will probably not be round but yes hopefully fluffy.

[Cadbury]

Re: Pumpkin Scones

The link that Portia provided gives a recipe for the type of Pumpkin Scone that is firmer and is therefore cut into rounds. If you are interested in trying the softer "plop" style, here is my recipe.

60 g butter

1/4 cup caster (fine, not powdered) sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons Golden Syrup (our spoons are 20ml each)

1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin (no milk, butter etc.)

2 2/3 cups (400g) Self Raising flour

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup milk

Cream butter and sugar, beat in egg and golden syrup. Stir in pumpkin and 1/2 the flour, then remaining flour with enough milk to make a soft, sticky dough. Use a tablespoon to make large mounds on a baking sheet. Cook in a very hot oven (210 - 220C) for 15 - 20 minutes.

[jackal10]

Must have Honey (and not in little packs, either)

In the words of Robert Browning's "The Old Vicarage at Grantchester" (1912)

"Say, is there Beauty yet to find ?

And Certainty ? and Quiet kind ?

Deep meadows yet, for to forget

The lies, and truths, and pain ? . . . oh ! yet

Stands the Church clock at ten to three ?

And is there honey still for tea ?"

It should be added that the church clock was broken and stuck at ten to three, and that Jeffery Archer now lives in the house.

Scones, (which must be round, about an inch across). I agree witht he plain school, possibly a few currants. Reserve the pumpkin, or leek and bacon ones for canape bases.

Small, triangular sandwiches, with the crusts cut off. Cucumber certainly, possibly smoked salmon (lox) or tinned salmon mashed with some vinegar. Shippams spreads. Egg and cress.

Cakes: Iced fancies or butterfly cakes. Fruit cake. Mini-eclairs.

High tea is quite different, and is a working man's supper. Breakfast dishes are appropriate: kederee, devilled kidneys, and the like.

[SweetSide]

I second the note above about milk... Tea drinkers (and I am one, preferring the loose tea) don't use cream in the tea. They use milk. The cream is too rich for the tea itself. On a personal note, I can't stand when I'm given those little half and half jobbies for my tea, especially if it ain't even all real half and half. Just give me a little pitcher of milk...

And, if you go all out and buy the loose tea, please don't confine the poor leaves in some kind of strainer. The whole point of them being loose is to have the freedom to bloom and expand and steep.

[Chezkaren]

Hi Kate! I'm glad to hear that all is going well at the tea shop.

Whenever I think of tea, for whatever reason, I think of crumpets. I don't know much about their shelf life as I've never made them myself...just eaten them! I believe there is a crumpet place in Seattle at or around Pike Place Market. I'll do a search and see what I can find.

Next time I'm in Memphis, I'll be sure to stop in! Karen

[halloweencat]

re putting the milk in first or second...

i have always heard that putting the milk in first was a class distinction that signified that the person was from the lower classes. it was upper class to put in the milk last.

if you want to see this in action, take a look at the scene in "gosford park" when the inspector is being offered tea in front of lady sylvia. he puts the milk in first, and she gives a slight shudder.

perhaps it no longer signifies anything any more (the order of milk) or perhaps this meaning has been reversed (which sometimes happens with anthropological rituals), but i believe that long-standing, early practice indicated milk first = low class / milk last = upper class (or more sophisticated).

can our brit or brit ex-pats chime in?

some definitions...

a muffinier looks like a giant salt shaker, but with more holes. you put powdered sugar in it and folks sprinkle the sugar over whatever.

a toast rack sort of looks like a vertical file system, but for toast.

a sugar loaf rack is what you put rectangular loaves of sugar in -- not sugar cubes...those little loaves of sugar that look like tiny books.

search on ebay. you'll get some picks for sure (look under antiques and look under collectibles: metalware).

cheers --

Edited February 27, 2006 by halloweencat (log)

[K8memphis]

Re: Pumpkin Scones

The link that Portia provided gives a recipe for the type of Pumpkin Scone that is firmer and is therefore cut into rounds.  If you are interested in trying the softer "plop" style, here is my recipe.

60 g butter

1/4 cup caster (fine, not powdered) sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons Golden Syrup (our spoons are 20ml each)

1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin (no milk, butter etc.)

2 2/3 cups (400g) Self Raising flour

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup milk

Cream butter and sugar, beat in egg and golden syrup.  Stir in pumpkin and 1/2 the flour, then remaining flour with enough milk to make a soft, sticky dough.  Use a tablespoon to make large mounds on a baking sheet.  Cook in a very hot oven (210 - 220C) for 15 - 20 minutes.

←

Hey guess what, I'm kinda getting this scone thing. The cream & jam provide the flair--you don't have to bake it in. If I get all the fruits & spice & flavor baked in, then you need the sweet cream & jam for what?? So the pumpkin ones sans spices make more sense too. You can teach an old...yeah never mind, but I'm getting it

Must have Honey (and not in little packs, either)

In the words of Robert Browning's "The Old Vicarage at Grantchester" (1912)

"Say, is there Beauty yet to find ?

And Certainty ? and Quiet kind ?

Deep meadows yet, for to forget

The lies, and truths, and pain ? . . . oh ! yet

Stands the Church clock at ten to three ?

And is there honey still for tea ?"

It should be added that the church clock was broken and stuck at ten to three, and that Jeffery Archer now lives in the house.

Scones, (which must be round, about an inch across). I agree witht he plain school, possibly a few currants. Reserve the pumpkin, or leek and bacon ones for canape bases.

Small, triangular sandwiches, with the crusts cut off. Cucumber certainly, possibly smoked salmon (lox) or tinned salmon mashed with some vinegar. Shippams spreads. Egg and cress.

Cakes: Iced fancies or butterfly cakes. Fruit cake. Mini-eclairs.

High tea is quite different, and is a working man's supper. Breakfast dishes are appropriate: kederee, devilled kidneys, and the like.

←

Ahh, whatsa butterfly cake??? 'Deviled kidneys' is a term scarry enough to go into the circular file with the word 'clotted' You gotta mean kidney beans right???!!! Oh, but I LOVE that passage!!! Needs to go on the menu or on the wall (framed) at least!!!

I second the note above about milk... Tea drinkers (and I am one, preferring the loose tea) don't use cream in the tea.  They use milk.  The cream is too rich for the tea itself.  On a personal note, I can't stand when I'm given those little half and half jobbies for my tea, especially if it ain't even all real half and half.  Just give me a little pitcher of milk...

And, if you go all out and buy the loose tea, please don't confine the poor leaves in some kind of strainer.  The whole point of them being loose is to have the freedom to bloom and expand and steep.

←

When I get to (offering) loose tea, I'll keep that in mind. Oh oh oh, milk not cream--thanks for the heads up on that one.

Hi Kate!  I'm glad to hear that all is going well at the tea shop.

Whenever I think of tea, for whatever reason, I think of crumpets.  I don't know much about their shelf life as I've never made them myself...just eaten them!  I believe there is a crumpet place in Seattle at or around Pike Place Market.  I'll do a search and see what I can find.

Next time I'm in Memphis, I'll be sure to stop in!  Karen

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It will be great to see you!!!! I'll check on the crumpet thing.

re putting the milk in first or second...

i have always heard that putting the milk in first was a class distinction that signified that the person was from the lower classes.  it was upper class to put in the milk last.

if you want to see this in action, take a look at the scene in "gosford park" when the inspector is being offered tea in front of lady sylvia.  he puts the milk in first, and she gives a slight shudder.

perhaps it no longer signifies anything any more (the order of milk) or perhaps this meaning has been reversed (which sometimes happens with anthropological rituals), but i believe that long-standing, early practice indicated milk first = low class / milk last = upper class (or more sophisticated).

can our brit or brit ex-pats chime in?

some definitions...

a muffinier looks like a giant salt shaker, but with more holes.  you put powdered sugar in it and folks sprinkle the sugar over whatever.

a toast rack sort of looks like a vertical file system, but for toast.

a sugar loaf rack is what you put rectangular loaves of sugar in -- not sugar cubes...those little loaves of sugar that look like tiny books. 

search on ebay.  you'll get some picks for sure (look under antiques and look under collectibles: metalware).

cheers --

←

Halloweencat, thanks so much for filling in gaps again in places I didn't even know existed

Hey, but I'm not giving a choice of sandwiches yet, I'm doing two cucumber triangles on white, a mini cream puff with the chicken apple walnut salad, and two triangles of egg salad on wheat. No choice of--I think I'd go crazy if I had to offer choices at least at this point. And I understand the meat makes it not exactly afternoon tea, neither does the time I serve it, from 11 to 2 ish. But anyway, do some places offer choices??? I'm pretty sure I'd go crazy.

Now for the wee ones, I'll do a simpler arrangement with peanut butter & stuff (cheese like that for little kids palettes.

[Swisskaese]

You can find the butterfly cake recipe on the website I posted.

The clotted cream and jam (preferably homemade) are served with plain scones. I don't think you should serve them with pumpkin scones.

Also, if you are going to serve clotted cream, make sure it is clotted cream and not whipped cream.

Here is a picture of a cream tea cream tea. That is scones slathered with lovely clotted cream and a spoonful of homemade strawberry jam.

This is clotted cream. This happens to be Cornish clotted cream which I like very much. I am a bit biased because I spent some time on the Cornish coast.

Edited February 28, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[alligande]

re putting the milk in first or second...

i have always heard that putting the milk in first was a class distinction that signified that the person was from the lower classes. it was upper class to put in the milk last.

if you want to see this in action, take a look at the scene in "gosford park" when the inspector is being offered tea in front of lady sylvia. he puts the milk in first, and she gives a slight shudder.

perhaps it no longer signifies anything any more (the order of milk) or perhaps this meaning has been reversed (which sometimes happens with anthropological rituals), but i believe that long-standing, early practice indicated milk first = low class / milk last = upper class (or more sophisticated).

can our brit or brit ex-pats chime in?

Not a clue, this is the first time I have ever heard this explanation, I have been in all sorts of social situations and the milk goes in first, unless like me you think it nonsense nonsense always have and as an inquiring child when I asked for reason I never got one!

[alligande]

Butterfly cake, is a cupcake any flavor, but you take a small cone shaped piece of cake out of the center, put in filling cut the cone in half, place back on top of the cake in the shape of wings, just the way brits serve cup cakes.

Glad you figured out the cream tea, when you grew up with something you never think about how odd it might sound!

[jackal10]

Dr Julia King, head of the Institute of Physics, said the secret was to keep the water temperature at 98ºC.

Putting the milk in first was a cultural quirk that "has nothing to do with taste", she said. "It is a habit we have retained from the times when only the rich could afford porcelain which, because it isn't as porous as china, could withstand the hot tea being poured in directly.

"Those of us with cheap china had to put the milk in first to cool the tea slightly to prevent our cups cracking."

[K8memphis]

You can find the butterfly cake recipe on the website I posted.

The clotted cream and jam (preferably homemade) are served with plain scones. I don't think you should serve them with pumpkin scones.

Also, if you are going to serve clotted cream, make sure it is clotted cream and not whipped cream.

Here is a picture of a cream tea cream tea. That is scones slathered with lovely clotted cream and a spoonful of homemade strawberry jam.

This is clotted cream. This happens to be Cornish clotted cream which I like very much. I am a bit biased because I spent some time on the Cornish coast.

←

So umm, castor sugar is superfine granulated sugar right??? I love the butterfly cakes!! No vanilla??? Everything's gotta have vanilla! I was actually doing a cream puff swan on the dessert trays but I like the butterfly cakes better especially for kids. But umm, are they using a regular sized cupcake paper or a mini one??? I'm thinking a regular sized one. Swans would still be good for bridal showers though.

And I was reading that a scone's texture is in between a biscuit and a cake??? I thought they were more biscuity but but but I made some yesterday and they were actually between a biscuit and a cake and so that was cool. I love self rising flour.

I'm gonna have to purchase the clotted cream in jars--I'm sure it would be uber difficult to make it according to all the right standards. I mean just getting unpasteurized cream would be a miracle in itself. Maybe next year I'll have some homemade jams.

But the Devon Cream or Double Devon--I mean I can make a great creamy spread. I'm thinking that if I have the clotted cream and I offer either that or my own home brew (of creamy spread stuff) I'll be good. And all things considered, I can get three pounds of cream cheese for the same price as a 5 ounce jar of clotted cream so I'll have to charge a bit extra for it too. And I probably should get the 1 ounce jars so I don't waste any, huh. Like a three day shelf life after opening-ish?

And umm, I can make round scones but I gotta at least have a fluted edge. And maybe just a couple hearts & stars even fewer flower shapes

Edited February 28, 2006 by K8memphis (log)

[jackal10]

OOh Crumpets! With Marmite, or Gentleman's Relish. Excellent, hot with butter, but only from October to May. If you have hot crumpets, then no sandwiches. Hot toasted spiced buns, maybe. Mince pies at Christmas.

NOT chicken apple walnut salad - entirely alien. You'll be serving hot dogs or even bridge rolls next.

If clotted cream is difficult, just use whipped cream or chantilly. Not cream cheese - you don't want the sour note.

[Trishiad]

So many rules for a midday snack. I'm trying to think of one single American rule for snacking..........

[Cadbury]

I've added my pumpkin scone recipe to recipe gullet . http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1639.html

This is not the same as the one I posted above but one I use more often.

I have to agree with the "scone additions" rule : plain scone = jam/preserves + cream fruit/flavoured scone = plain butter

Jam, cream, butter etc should always be on the side of the plate or more correctly in little pots for people to place on the plate themselves.

And yes, scones should be soft and light and fluffy.

Edited to add that my scone cutter has a fluted edge - they look nicer imho

Edited March 1, 2006 by Cadbury (log)