Having Tea: Recipes & Table Settings

What could be cozier on a blustery winter's day than a mug of tea by the fire with freshly baked Irish soda bread slathered with sweet butter and tangy orange marmalade? Or more invigorating on a crisp, cool afternoon in autumn than a picnic in the country with sharp English cheeses; crusty white peasant bread; vegetable, cheese, and apple tarts; and Thermoses of steaming warm tea? Or a better way to celebrate the ripe berries of summer than a dessert party tea in the garden with lemon-curd tartlets, raspberry shortcake, raspberry sorbet, sugar cookies, and tea served in flowered china cups?

A cookbook and style book, Having Tea includes a range of stunning locations with recipes, menus, table settings, and serving ideas for tea. There are formal and elegant teas that ring in the winter holidays with rich dark fruitcake, shortbread, brandy snaps, and sherried English trifle; a tea for one in the study with spicy ginger Bundt cake and a plate of cookies; and tea for two in a loft, with slow-scrambled eggs, cornmeal muffins and apple butter, and panfried tomatoes sprinkled with fresh tarragon. Each menu provides suggestions for the ideal tea to suit the meal.

Since the American style of tea drinking originated in England, Having Tea goes to the source to show two classic English tea rooms, tea at the Savoy Hotel in London, and a tea dance at London's Waldorf. In addition, there are special sections on the history and different varieties of teas, selections of teapots and tea services, and directions for brewing the perfect pot of tea. A final section, the "Tea Larder," offers ideas for tea trimmings from honey to mint or ginger, tea sandwiches, and a directory of mail-order sources for tea.

With approximately fifty recipes for tea sandwiches, crumpets, scones, cookies, and cakes as well as hearty tea-time meals, Having Tea will make you want to make having tea part of your day. It shows how, far more than a beverage, tea is a grand indulgence that provides food for the body and the soul.