Choosing a Tea
The Star of an Afternoon Tea is of course the tea, choosing the right tea can make or break any tea party. Westerners prefer black tea, a dark and rich flavour that has spanned centuries and continents. In Britain the more traditional Earl Grey is still quite popular. Earl Grey tea is made from black tea but has the addition of the oil of the Bergamot Orange, which is extracted from the peel of this small pear shaped sour orange from Italy.
Other recommendations that would be suitable would include a light refreshing fruit or mint blend for a hot summers day, during the afternoon Darjeeling is a good choice, and for those cooler times a rich, robust Chai tea would be just the thing to spice up a social get together.
After you have decided on the type of tea you wish to serve here are a few hints before actually buying the tea.
Make sure you get fresh tea, the longer the tea has set on the shelf the less robust flavour it will have.
Depending on how much of a gourmet your guests will be, most individuals find that loose tea provides a fuller flavour than tea made from bags.
Under no circumstance should you ever use instant tea.
The best tea is stored in airtight containers, and kept in low light. Tea that has been stored otherwise will have a stale taste to it.
If you are choosing a blended tea, make sure that the tea is evenly blended… improperly blended tea can throw off the entire taste and turn a sweet tea rather bitter
Make sure your source of tea is quite reputable; you can only guarantee the quality of the tea if you use a reputable source.
You get what you pay for, while discount stores may save you money this is not the area you want to save. The tea is the focus of this social hence one must be willing to pay for quality.