An Autumn Tea

Today, I  am joining my friends Pam at Everyday Living and Mary at Home is Where the Boat is, as a guest blogger, for Tea on Tuesdays. They share this fun virtual treat on the third Tuesday of each month. At the end of this post, there will be links to view their beautiful and creative posts for Tea on Tuesdays.

I'm setting up an Autumn tea time in my garden. The weather is glorious. I chose a brass container for flowers and found golden mums, persimmon Shasta daises, ruby-tinged peach roses, chartreuse button mums, and limelights cut from my garden that have turned from white to that pretty shade of green. Don't you love the colors of Autumn?

My teapot is Johnson Brothers Ironstone and was a wedding gift.  That makes it vintage, as we just celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary in August. I  fondly remember the sweet lady who gave it to us.

In reading about teatime rituals in Victoria, The Art of Tea, I remembered my English tea caddies. The workmanship of these antique boxes shows the pride and dedication of a bygone era. The bright autumn colors in the tablecloth and flowers bring out the warm wood tones of the caddies.

This fabulous book has exquisite photos and information about the art of tea and would make a great gift.

This Tunbridge English tea caddy with a dome lid is circa 1890 and has stunning marquetry inlays and detailing.

The tag on this footed tea caddy read the late 1800s. What is the first thing you want to do when you examine a box? Of course, you want to open it. 

You'll find most caddies have two compartments, as do mine, one for tea and the other for sugar. They also have locks and keys. They are made of rosewood, mahogany, and satinwood. They not only had a utilitarian purpose, and earned pride of place in the home but also as elegant decor. ( Victoria -The Art of Tea). These boxes were treasured as much as the tea, and many examples remain today as collectible items.

Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford in1840. The Duchess would become hungry around four o'clock in the afternoon. The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late at eight o'clock, thus leaving a long time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread, and butter be brought to her room during the late afternoon. (Historic UK-Afternoon Tea by Ben Johnson)I am serving one savory item, a dainty pimento cheese open-face sandwich. For something sweet, a lemon square and a slice of pumpkin roll. My favorite tea is Earl Grey which is a black tea blended with real oil of bergamot. I love the bergamot flavor. 

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." Henry James

As I mentioned, our weather has been beautiful, with cooler fall-like temperatures. To sit in the garden having tea and peruse some issues of TeaTime magazine and Victoria's, The Art of Tea can't be beaten.

In 2013, my husband and I enjoyed a Crème Tea in the Lake Country in England. You can read a blog post about it here and view a Crème Tea I had in my home for friends. Thank you, Pam and Mary, for inviting me to join you today for Tea on Tuesdays. I wish we could sit and enjoy a real cup of tea together☕️, as well as with all our readers!🧡Click on the links below to view Mary and Pam's lovely and creative posts and leave them a comment, so they will know you enjoyed their post. I love your comments also!🧡🧡🧡

             Mary at Home is Where the Boat Is.

                                   Pam at Everyday Living

                   Living Thankfully,

🍁🧡🍂🍁🧡🍂