August 17, 2015
Host a Regency Tea Party
Hosting a Regency Tea Party
Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, is credited with creating the ritual of afternoon tea sometime in the early to mid 1800’s as a remedy against the “sinking feeling” she felt between luncheon and the late hour of Court dinners. The practice soon caught on among her friends in the upper class circles and the rest is history.
Sir John never came to the Dashwood’s without either inviting them to dine at the Park the next day, or to drink tea with them that evening. Sense and SensibilityIf dinner had been late, supper might be replaced by light refreshments served with the tea, such as toast, muffins, or cake. Tea or wine and refreshment of some sort or other would be offered to visitors who stopped by throughout the day. During the Regency, tea was also served at Breakfast and could be found throughout the day at any of the popular Tea Gardens or Tea Shops, which served tea and light refreshments for a small fee. A formal invitation to tea always implied an after dinner gathering with some sort of entertainment whether games or music or conversation. An evening such as this might end in an informal dance if there were enough partners and a willing accompanist.

Posted in: Afternoon Tea, china, cooking with jane austen and friends, dining, DIY, host, laura boyle, party, regency tea, shower, tea, wedding
4 comments
interesting
Tuppence2
July 26, 2020
interesting facts after reading a book which the author tends to have a cup of tea far too frequently
Tuppence2
July 26, 2020
Very interesting that ‘afternoon tea’ was a later invention.
Helena Korin
July 26, 2020
It is nice to learn a little bit of history behind what we consider now “Tea Parties”
LadyRadford
July 26, 2020