Over the last few months we have been thinking a lot about all of the wonderful interpersonal aspects of tea. From tea journeys to Tea Joy, there is so much more to a lovely cuppa than just leaves and water. Relationships and experiences that come to us through tea is one of our favorite things about being in this business. One of our most special relationships is with the Kansas City Chapter of the English Speaking Union (or ESU for short)!

Every year we are privileged to host the Kansas City Chapter of the English Speaking Union for an annual British Tea Party. They are always a wonderfully English tea experience, complete with a toast to Queen Elizabeth II! As always, this regal event will be complete with Brenda’s Signature Scones and endless tea.

There’s lots to celebrate this year in the monarchy including Queen Elizabeth II’s 91st birthday and the Queen and Prince Phillip’s 70th wedding anniversary.

Don’t worry, the fun is open to everyone! Just like all of our monthly tea parties, anyone can join us in the 1913 house on Liberty Drive for an ESU Tea Party Fit for a Queen. 

This year we are also hosting a second exciting event in conjunction with this wonderful group.

In November, we are honored to be hosting Lord Alan Watson!

Lord Watson will be speaking about his newly published book Churchill’s Legacy: Two Speeches to Save the World.

How thrilling to be able to enjoy tea with a genuine British Lord!

Just like our other ESU tea parties this is not limited to members of the ESU. Don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to take tea with Lord Watson! We can hardly wait!

We’re very lucky to feature guest writer Sandy Lane! Sandy is a longtime tea friend as well as a wonderful human being. Please enjoy her piece on the history of tea parties below!

If you have had the pleasure of attending a tea party at Anna Marie’s Teas in Liberty, Missouri, you may be wondering how tea parties actually got started.  It is believed that sometime between the late 1830’s and early 1840’s, taking tea in the afternoon, along with assorted edible treats, became a new English social event which provided some nourishment during the long hours between lunch at noon and the evening meal.  Legend has it that Anna Maria, the 7^th Duchess of Bedford, experienced afternoon “sinking feelings” which led her to seek relief from her hunger.  She requested her footman to bring to her private room a tray of “tea things” (probably something similar to the Buckingham Breakfast or Kenilworth Estate blends sold by Anna Marie’s) and something to eat, possibly bread and butter and cake.  She so enjoyed this refreshing afternoon indulgence that she began inviting her friends to share it with her.  Over time, afternoon tea became an enjoyable and well-established event in British countryside villages as well as in the court of Queen Victoria, an enthusiastic tea drinker.

As the years passed, tea party rituals evolved and included such things as tea times and invitations, tea selections, standard menus, equipage (or, “tea things” as Jane Austen referred to them), china, attire, hats, and etiquette.  The format, gentility, and popularity of tea parties spread to other countries and cultures, and today, tea parties remain a most pleasant pastime for tea lovers of all varieties.

When you attend a tea party at Anna Marie’s, you will notice tea tables beautifully set with tablecloths and napkins, china, silverware, decorations, clotted cream and jam.  The servers deliver to each table a three-tiered cake stand containing three courses of traditional tea party treats: first, savories, which are usually tiny tea sandwiches; then, scones; finally, sweets, which are an assortment of pastries.

Throughout the tea party, the servers will visit each table to keep tea cups filled from steaming teapots of nicely steeped loose-leaf tea.  Brenda Hedrick, owner of Anna Marie’s Teas, strives to create a welcoming, friendly, and satisfying experience for tea party attendees.

If you’re in search of an opportunity to be greeted by some lovely people, to have a relaxed visit with friends or family, to be served delicious tea and tea treats, to spend some time in a grand and gorgeous 1913 historic home . . . come to tea at Anna’s!

Two wonderful books were used in preparing this blog entry:

Tea & Etiquette, by D. Johnson & B. Richardson; and

A Social History of Tea, by J. Pettigrew & B. Richardson