Teas
Teas.—Afternoon tea is not in fashionable circles regarded as a meal; but merely as a light refreshment, to break what would otherwise be a 6 hours’ abstinence between a 2 o’clock luncheon, and an 8 o’clock dinner. Tea is served, or brought into the drawing-room at 4-5 o’clock, but not later than 5; it is not served in the dining-room, save when an “at home” or large 5 o’clock tea is given. The housekeeper, lady’s maid, cook, or whoever may be acting as housekeeper, makes the tea, fills the hot-water kettle with boiling water, fills the sugar-basin and creamjug, and places the teacups on the tray, with teaspoons, a plate of thin bread and butter or cake, if not both. The footman, before taking in the tea, places a low table in front of his mistress, or of the seat usually occupied by her when pouring out tea, or he sees that the table near to her chair is clear of articles, that he may at once place the tray upon it. The small tea-table is not covered with a white cloth; but if covered with a smart drawing-room table cover it would not be taken off; the tables used for tea are chiefly small round tables, covered in velvet or embroidery, and trimmed with lace, or are square wicker-work tables; tea is not served on large tables, neither are chairs placed in order around the small tea-table, but remain in their usual position in the drawing room. Neither plates, doyleys, or serviettes are used at afternoon tea. The hot-water kettles in use are hanging silver kettles on stands, or silver or china kettles, about the size of a teapot, which do not require a stand. Teapot stands, or tea cosies, are not used, and are considered bad style. When the mistress pours out the tea, cups of tea are not handed by a servant.
When the mistress does not care to give herself the trouble of pouring out the tea for an indefinite number of callers, cups of tea according to the number of persons in the drawing-room are brought in on a salver, with cream and sugar, thin bread and butter and cake. If two servants are in attendance, one hands the tea, the other the cake and bread and butter; if only one servant is kept, all is placed on the same tray. The servant hands the tray first to his mistress, if no guests are present; but when guests are present tea is first handed to the lady of highest rank, and to the married ladies before the unmarried ladies. He then takes away the salver or tray, with its contents. He does not leave it in the drawing-room, or put it down while he is there. The tea is either brought in at the usual hour for having tea, or, if required earlier, the mistress of the house rings the bell, and orders it to be brought in. She does not mention how many cups of tea are required, as if she were giving an order at an hotel; but says vaguely, “Bring some tea, please.” It is the servant’s duty to notice how many persons are in the drawing-room, and how many cups of tea are consequently required. It is advisable to bring in an extra cup, in case another visitor should arrive in the meantime.
At small 5 o’clock teas, when the number of the guests does not warrant tea being served in dining-rooms—and the size of the drawing-rooms determine this matter—the tea is served in the back drawing-room. A good-sized square table is placed in a convenient corner of the back drawing-room, a white damask tablecloth is spread on the table, and as many cups and saucers are placed upon the table as there are guests expected. The cups include teacups and coffee-cups, but more teacups than coffee-cups are usually required; the cups are placed in rows. The teacups are placed at one end or side of the table, and the coffee-cups at the opposite end or side. The urn occupies the centre of the table, 2 small teapots and 2 small coffee-pots are placed in the centre of the rows of cups. A silver jug of cream, and a basin to correspond of loaf sugar, a basin of crystallised sugar, and a jug of milk for the coffee. Slop-basins are not used on these occasions, neither are plates, doyleys, serviettes, or small knives. The sole eatables provided are thin bread and butter, biscuits, coffee-biscuits, macaroons, and pound cakes; sponge cakes are rather in favour at children’s teas, but not much fancied at drawing-room teas. When tea is served in this fashion, in the drawing-room, the ladies of the house, or some intimate friend of its mistress, pours out the tea, with the assistance of some of the gentlemen present. The servants do not remain in the drawing-room after they have brought in the tea, and when anything extra is required in the way of additional cups, fresh tea, more bread and butter, &c., the mistress of the house would ring and give the necessary orders. The tea-table would be prepared in the drawing-room half an hour before the hour at which the guests had been invited. The tea and coffee would not be brought in until the hour named in the invitation, say, 4 or 5, either hour being considered equally fashionable. The tea-table is not cleared, or the things removed, until after the departure of the guests, when the parlour maid would perform that duty, and re-arrange the drawing-rooms. It is the footman’s duty to prepare the table for tea, and to bring in the tea and coffee; the butler carries in the urn; he also announces the guests as they arrive.
At afternoon “at homes,” or large 5 o’clock teas, tea is served in the dining-room; a buffet is formed of the dining-table, which is placed at the upper end or side of the room, if the doing so affords greater space; thus the buffet extends the length of the room or the width of it; the buffet is covered with a white damask tablecloth, and the centre of it is occupied with plated urns containing tea and coffee, or silver teapots and coffee-pots, and an urn for hot water and jugs of iced coffee, dishes of fancy biscuits, cake, thin bread and butter, fruit, &c., are also placed the length of the buffet. Decanters of sherry and jugs of claret, champagne and hock cup are placed at distances in front of these, a space being left clear at the outer edge for the teacups when used. The cups and saucers are placed in rows behind the urns, and relays of the same on a small table, or butler’s tray, stand close at hand; wine-glasses are placed near the decanters, that gentlemen may help themselves to wine. When claret-cup or champagne-cup is given, small thin tumblers are placed near the glass jugs. Jugs of cream and milk, and basins of sugar, are placed on the buffet at intervals. Small plates, doyleys, and serviettes are never used at this class of tea, unless strawberries and cream are given, when they are handed on a plate with a dessertspoon and small fork on each side of it, ready for use. When ices are given at afternoon teas, they are handed on a small glass plate, with an ice spoon on the side of the plate; tall ice-glasses are not good style; a fashionable way of serving ices is in small paper cups placed on ice plates.
The tea is always poured out on these occasions by the lady’s maids and upper female servants, but never by the men servants. These women servants stand behind the buffet, and pour out the tea and coffee, and hand it across the buffet when asked for.
Ices are not usually under the charge of the servants who pour out the tea, but under that of the still-room maid or cook, and are served from a side-table at the back of the buffet, and are handed to the servants at the buffet when asked for. Piles of ice plates, paper cups, and spoons are in readiness on the side-table for immediate use. The guests help themselves to cake and biscuits, or anything they may require, from the buffet, but the ice wafers are placed on the ice plates when the ices are served in paper cups, otherwise a dish of wafers is handed to the lady by the gentleman who has asked for the ice for her, or she takes it herself. The men servants are constantly engaged in taking away the glasses that have been used, and the teacups and saucers. The former are taken to the pantry to be washed, and the latter to the housekeeper’s room or still room, and sufficient quantity of glass and china is always provided, so as to avoid a shadow of inconvenience from the want of either. The decanters of wine and the jugs of claret and other cups are replenished by the butler, who replaces empty decanters and jugs with full ones. When the dishes of cake, &c., show signs of their being exhausted, the footman replaces them with fresh dishes, which he procures from the housekeeper’s room. Dessert dishes and glass dishes are used for this purpose. Where only one man servant is kept and small “at homes” are given, one of the women servants attends to this duty, as the men servants would be engaged in opening the door to the visitors on their arrival and for them on their departure, and in announcing them in the drawing-room.
Rows of seats are not placed in the dining-room for the guests, and the room is cleared as far as possible of all movable furniture to allow all available space.
The much-increasing fashion of giving invitations to high tea has been adopted by many hostesses, especially by those who, with limited establishments, find it difficult, if not impossible, to undertake the requirements of a modern dinner without the objectionable alternative of hiring assistance. So late a meal as supper may not be expedient for many reasons, and many a young hostess finds her difficulties vanish before the less formal appellation “high tea,” which, if well managed, may be a comfortable repast, but otherwise, a most uncomfortable substitute for dinner.
Various are the modes of arranging this meal. At the “highest” of “high teas” the principal dishes consist of hot poultry, game, and small entrées, which, if placed at once on the table, must be kept covered while a light fish course is handed round, with which sherry or other light wines are offered.
Vegetables are not necessary, except where they form part of a dish, such as stewed pigeons and peas, cutlets with tomatoes, sweetbreads with mushrooms in white sauce, or stuffed vegetable marrow. Large mushrooms may be served au gratin, and roast fowls on watercress. Potatoes may always be handed round, either mashed and browned, or, better still, beaten up with egg and cream, seasoned with pepper and salt, rolled into dainty little shapes, breadcrumbed and fried.
Should macaroni cheese, a fondue, or any such preparation, usually most welcome to the men of the party, be included, it must be brought in hot, after the removal of the substantial dishes.
The table is of course tastefully arranged with growing plants and cut flowers; and at this season bright hedgerow leaves and berries make charming decorations. Small dishes of fresh or preserved fruits, bonbons, &c., are placed amongst the creams, jellies, and dishes of light pastry, also cake, plain and fancy biscuits.
If the hostess be an accomplished tea maker, she will probably prefer to undertake this important duty herself, having (unless the table be very large) a small tray by her side with the necessary paraphernalia, a kettle over a small spirit lamp, and coffee percolator.
Sometimes tea and coffee are dispensed from the sideboard, but the person entrusted must be competent, as nothing will tend more to spoil the enjoyment of the repast for some guests than lukewarm or weak tea, or muddy coffee. In each case let the cream, hot milk, and sugar (which must be broken into small pieces) be handed round, as it is impossible for one person to suit the varied tastes of others in these items. It may be found more convenient to serve all the eatables cold, such as cold game, chaud froid of chicken, lobster or prawn salad, pigeons or other small birds in aspic jelly, mayonnaise of turbot or salmon, prettily arranged moulds of minced veal and ham, with sliced eggs, &c.; pies of game or poultry, boiled turkey sauced with oysters, and many other preparations in cold-meat cookery, too numerous to be here mentioned. Here also will fruits, sweets, creams, &c., find their appropriate places, and plates of thinly cut white and brown bread and butter must either be conveniently placed or constantly handed round; also plain and fancy bread. Small glass or china tubs should hold butter made into tiny balls or shapes, and enough saltcellars be provided to prevent the continual passing and repassing of them. Inattention to these apparent trifles often create discomfort in a large party.
Hot buttered toast, tea cakes, and scones frequently appear at a repast of this description, especially in Scotland, where the variety of home-made tea cakes is so great.
Then there is the high tea, where the party includes but 4-6—actually a small dinner, but without the name—the soup, heavier dishes and their adjuncts, a succession of small dishes (from fish to miniature light puddings) being served à la Russe, accompanied perhaps by wine, the tea or coffee tray being only introduced near the termination of the repast. Happily, sitting over wine is not now essential to the enjoyment of most men. Well-managed high teas are often better appreciated than the more formal, and probably imperfect, so-called dinner. (M. M.)