Serving tea to guests is a time-honored tradition across the world. Indeed, in some countries if you do not partake of tea offered to you by your host, it is considered a very large breach of social etiquette, such as in parts of Morocco and Ireland. However serving tea to your guests helps to ensure that their visit is enjoyable and welcoming.

One way to delight your guests with tea is to prepare a visually attractive tea, such as blooming teas or Jasmine Dragon Pearls in either a clear teapot or in clear glasses to appreciate the unfurling of the leaves. Flowering teas are wonderful topics of conversation which add to the “entertainment value” of the tea.

Of course, if your guests have a special preference in tea and you happen to have that particular type of tea, by all means, serve that. However it’s always nice to have a nice “guest tea” on hand for general servingoccasions . Remember to offer your guests milk or sugar with their tea, although as their host you can certainly make recommendations as to how they might like to take their tea. Be sure to also ask your guests if they prefer their milk to be poured before or after the tea, as many people have different opinions on that subject.

And be sure to prepare for guests who say that they do not like tea. For these guests you may either offer an alternate beverage, such as coffee or water, or you can make a suggestion on a tea they might like (e.g. “I know you don’t like tea based on current supermarket selections, but please try this Single Estate Assam and see if you might like it”). Oftentimes, guests will not have much foreknowledge of tea past Lipton, PG Tips or generic bagged black tea (usually fannings or dust), and can use your recommendations to lead them into the world of good quality teas.

[Editor’s note: Our blog is chock full of great articles on this topic. Use our search feature to find them!]

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