Give an Ode to the British Tradition of the High Tea

The first rule of High Tea is that is has to be served at 4 o' clock and not sooner or later. Technically, you can serve tea at any time of the day, but for afternoon tea to be extra special and really be considered High Tea, you have to adhere to this strict rule. This is because High Tea is often meant to take the place of dinner. Follow the rule to a "t", so to speak. However, many shops offer High Tea at extended times - as a concession to customers who want the experience but are not aware of the time restrictions.

Since you will be entertaining guests, a hospitable atmosphere conducive to conversation should be attained. You can start by arranging your furniture a certain way. Surround a round table with comfy chairs. This round table will serve as the serving table where all the teapots, cups, saucers, and food will be placed. This way, your guests can reach out and serve themselves, getting rid of the need to ask someone for something and disrupting the conversation. Place fresh-cut flowers in a simple vase and use your best tablecloth and matching cloth napkins for best effect.

You have to spend a little for the proper teatime equipment. One of the best teapots you can have is a "Brown Betty". A short, stout, traditionally brown teapot, this classic will last you forever and is worthy to be passed on to your heirs. With a great teapot are good implements. Cups, saucers, teaspoons, a creamer, and various other accessories will turn a typical afternoon tea into a proper High Tea worthy of royalty. Although it is ideal to get everything in one go to have all of them match, with the right mindset, you can make mismatched pieces work just as well. For anything, curiously mismatched pieces add character.
The tea you serve is still the focal point of all of this. Cover the basics first and then venture out into the exotics as you gain confidence. Assam and Ceylon are always safe bets. Loose tea requires the use of an infuser and is easier to get wrong. However, it is deeply rewarding if you get compliments on an expertly-prepared cup. If you are intimidated, teabags are a perfectly acceptable alternative.

Your choice of food to serve your guests is only limited by their ability to eat them conveniently. Although you can serve anything, limiting the menu to finger foods is a sound idea. Tiny sandwiches, cupcakes, petit fours, yummy nut breads, fruit tarts, cream puffs, scones and jam, and crackers or cookies are all good ideas. The trick is to serve a variety of foods to have your guests looking forward to tasting everything. Even though crock pot beef stew is a delicious recipe making crock pot meals is for later in the evening as high tea food is meant to be small nibbles rather that one main course.

All that's left is having a good time. Steer the conversation into something light and you will have a grand time sticking your pinkies up as you sip tea from dainty cups.