Tea Blog

Celebrate the moms (or mums) in your life this year by giving her a tea to remember. Try our menu below for a few quick ideas.

Berry and Citrus Salad with Fresh Mint. Slice strawberries, peel and section oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits, and add blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries. Chop 1-2 sprigs of fresh mint and toss with the fruit. Make sure the mint does not overpower the flavor of citrus.

Garden Salad. Toss some green or red lettuce with tomatoes, a little red onion, and avocado. Add some cheese like goat, feta, or English cheddar if cheese is preferable.

Serve with some balsamic vinaigrette dressing or drizzle a little olive oil.

Tea Sandwiches

Chicken, Tuna, or Egg Salad

Some of the easiest sandwiches in sandwich history, you simply can’t go wrong with a salad sandwich. Mix up some canned or shredded cooked chicken, canned tuna, or chopped hard boiled eggs with mayonnaise or ranch dressing. I usually mix enough mayonnaise according to my preferred creaminess which is usually just a few spoonfuls. For added crunchiness, add some cucumber chopped into small cubes.

Chicken, Brie, and Apple

Shred up cold rotisserie chicken and place on soft white or wheat bread, adding a slice of brie and Gala apple on top. You can also cut the white rind off the brie for those who like brie but not the rind.

Smoked Salmon and Cucumber with Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese-

Spread cream cheese mixed with garden vegetables (most grocery stores carry this) and place thinly sliced smoked salmon

When making tea sandwiches, be sure to cut the crusts off your bread and cut into squares, rectangles, triangles, or any other shape you desire. If mom likes hearts use a heart shaped cookie cutter.

Iced Sweet Tea

The weather should finally be stable enough for iced tea. My mother-in-law, a Southern gal, always enjoys sweet tea when the weather is lovely. A word of warning, though, it’s not called sweet tea for nothing. Sweet tea generally calls for a lot of sugar. 

When making sweet tea, brew 3-5 black tea bags in 2 cups of boiling water to your preferred strength for about 10-15 minutes and add your desired amount of sugar (about 3/4 cup to 1 cup) while the tea is still hot. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

Allow the sweet tea to chill and serve in a pitcher with plain ice or, if you feel fancy, ice cubes with strawberries or peaches frozen inside.

Hot pots of tea with milk and sugar on the side

Cookies, Cake, or Scones

Jam and Clotted Cream

Serve everything with your favorite tea set or fine china. To display everything more broadly, use a tiered cake stand.

For decor, use a lovely tablecloth and place a vase of fresh flowers in the center. Peonies make a beautiful but wide display.

-CD