Placemats:

Napkins:

The turquoise cups seem to go well. I actually like all of these colors ...

Will also use Godinger water goblets, gold-rimmed champagne flutes, and gold flatware. I have a crystal sugar and creamer, but might like something a bit more fun.

Would these Fiesta cups in Peacock work? If so I can get them for a very nice price. Will still need saucers though.

Found these too, with saucers.

I realize I'm just talking to myself at this point. 😁

A mockup ... Maybe bring in more of that green?

I’m no expert, but really like the look! It’s very inviting and cheerful. :)

I remember when you found those wonderful plates!

What cheerful placemats! They are a great jumping off point for colors. If you go the Fiesta route, I think a more casual champagne flute would mix well, perhaps even a clear stemless flute so it has more visual weight against the heavier dishes. The lime green cups seem to be a little out of place, but I love the blue and orange.

Oooh...look at these orange goblets!

All so lovely!

Colors look more summer/fall to me. I have always been a fall kinda gal.

Sounds like a fun get together. Love your teapot. It reminds me of these cups.

Love the placemats, napkins, and colorful dishes!

I agree with Fun2B, the champagne glasses look too formal next to the informal dishes and linens. If you want something with a stem, these from Crate and Barrel might be a good option

I’d also find chunkier glasses for the water. I found some colorful Duralex Picardie on the C&B website, but I think I’d use clear glasses and let the dishes and linens carry the color.

Thanks so much! I do have stemless flutes that I could use. I get the point about using clear glasses, but oh my, those orange goblets are wonderful! I have such a fondness for orange anyway, so am tempted!

The green cup matches a color on the teapot, but if I go that route I will need to introduce that color in another element. Green macaroons perhaps!

Love the suggestions and will keep thinking on this. Local, where'd you find those teacups?

Wonderful! Dont forget you can always bring in green with a centerpiece of flowers and greenery. Some pretty green foliage might just be the right green you need to pick up the teapot color and then use yellow flowers for the rest.

Ooh Kaya, you sent me down a rabbit hole. Your teapot has a daisy on it, and I LOVE daisies. I am a daisy kinda woman. Give me daisies over roses any day of the year. Even my wedding flowers were daisies.

So those lovely tea cups are on Etsy, Noritake Upsa Daisy , here is a better picture.

This one is also swoon worthy. Denby Blue Dawn, oh be still my heart, cant you just smell the Earl Gray.

I dont have any suggestions for your serving pieces and dishware because it all goes together beautifully! I like the lot of variously colored cups and saucers you posted to add to the plates, napkins and teapot.

I dont know how you serve tea at your gatherings, but a trick I learned from attending innumerable teas in the Deep south is to brew whichever tea you are making at four times the normal strength. and put this in your decorative teapot. Have an electric urn of boiling hot water on the table as well—or a pretty thermos if you just have four people. When you serve, pour a quarter capacity of concentrated tea into the cup and then fill the rest of the way with very hot water. No more running out and brewing a new pot, drinking cold tea or people waiting for a bag to steep.

With really large groups this is the only way to go. With smaller geoups you can do a tea tasting with an assortment of bags to choose from, but that can be messy and feel like a restaurant instead of a home tea.

I love giving afternoon teas and make one kind for everyone. No one has complained yet! 😉

Afternoon tea devotee here . . .

I got one of those large Thermos hot water dispensers just for the reasons Kswl mentions. I also have a stainless steel electric hot water kettle, so much easier and faster for boiling water. And then there are teapot cozies/cosies. I only have one but it's a pattern that doesn't go with anything else I have so always room for more . . .

The Internet is truly a rabbit hole for tablescaping, between eBay, Etsy and Mercari for starters, plus new from various companies . . .

My only other comment is that the lime green is great but I agree, bring in green with some kind of centerpiece.

There are also table runners and tea set trays . . . I keep my tea set (teapot, sugar and creamer) on a tray with a washable doily on it because that keeps any spills or condensation from getting on the table . . .

Also, some daffodils would look fab as a flower choice, along with of course daisies. If they have some smell to them, all the better . . .

Excellent idea about the Thermos dispenser for hot water! I have a stainless electric kettle (one of my favorite kitchen items and wouldn't want to be without it), and usually have two teapots going when I host a tea, but the hot water "on standby" is a good add.

I've just made an offer on those orange goblets! They'd be great with this setting, and also with my Deruta Raffaellesco dinnerware. Also like that it's a set of 6.

ETA: Just purchased the goblets! They'll be a fun addition and for less than $39 total? Heck yeah!

Now ... need to settle on teacups. Thanks for those ideas, Local!

Here are some of my Deruta dishes. You can see I'll be able to pull double-duty with the goblets and napkins.

Gorgeous teapot.

Love the teapot with the dragon!

Ya know I was just thinking that some day, maybe when I retire, I've got to open a tea parlor where you walk in, select your tea table setting from some display shelves at the entrance, and then it gets set up for you. There was actually a place sort of like that in Grand Rapids when I lived there in the 90s, there was a glass display cabinet with teacups that you could chose if you wanted. I have a set of small white tablecloths from when my grandparents had a restaurant, that would put them to use as well.

I doubt I could make a profit doing it, but it would be fun. I also heard from a friend who used to live in CT that she knew a woman who catered tea parties and brought all the tea service stuff with her. Apparently that was somewhat viable too.

I'll be happy if I can just get my act together enough to host a tea party at my house . . . I've managed only about one a year . . .

What a delightful experience that would be, Pink! I have loved the UK tea rooms where all of the china was mismatched, usually vintage, and everything had some wear to it. You just knew that those cups and pots held stories and memories!

My most recent tea was the first week of April and I went with a mostly blue and yellow theme. I used fake daffodils (fake? The horror!), and enjoyed being able to use my blue and white Cornishware, which doesn't get out of the cabinets often these days. The teapots (also Cornishware) were on the kitchen island, since we were already crowded around the table.

We had so much fun! Of course, these things are always so much more work than I think they'll be, but definitely worth the effort.

I’m confused and maybe this needs to go on a separate thread. Several times members here have posted about afternoon tea. The table is set as if for a meal and then everyone sits around it. Where I am from (deep south) afternoon tea is more like a cocktail party where people take their cup of tea with a nibble on the side of the saucer and either stand talking to their friends or sit on a sofa or chair. Generally the tea is at one end of the DR table and there might be coffee at the other end. Someone presides over each pot. The food is arrayed on the table like a cocktail party. Is it a regional thing?

If you go to afternoon tea at a hotel, it is a seated affair with tiered trays of tea sandwiches and pastries, IME.

In our "region" afternoon tea at someone's home is not common enough to have any common protocol at all, LOL.

After doing some research, and also after experiencing "afternoon tea" in Great Britain but also hearing them refer to dinner/supper as "tea" I discovered that there is both a "high" tea and a "low" tea. The reference is to table height. High tea is more of a meal and at a table, low tea is more of an afternoon snack and usually served in a parlor from a tea cart. But one can certainly serve tea whenever and however one wants and call it whatever one wants. Some of this is space and accoutrements dictated. Low tea can be problematic if you don't have places to set all the dishes, which is why low tea is usually just tea with a little finger sandwich or sweet on the side balanced on the saucer if it's being served in the parlor. I like "high" teas because I am clumsy and also I like a little more food to go along, even something that might have to be eaten with a fork. So like a tea luncheon, which would theoretically be a high tea although in Great Britain they say "high" tea in reference to what we would call dinner, although they just usually say "tea" as in "What are we having for tea?" which would translate in the US to "What are we having for dinner." Of course one could get into a discussion on whether the appropriate term is "supper" or "dinner" but I dunno, beware. Folks have stormed off the forum for far less wordage issues . . .

Afternoon tea in someone’s home is not as common here as it once was. And morning coffees seem to have fallen out of favor also.

I had to find a picture to confirm my recollection. When DH and I had tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, I was seated on a small settee and he was in an arm chair. And here’s the picture! I see they also have tables and chairs.

OK now I want to host a tea, and I have no idea exactly what it means! haha. Please explain how the afternoon proceeds in detail if you don't mind. I did wonder how you get hot tea for all at same time, so like that idea of boiling water on hand.

bbstx, Oh, how I miss those kind of teas!

I’d think it would be a pain to eat and drink while on a sofa per se. And by the pic, it looks like you were the only ones to be so lucky!

Ahh, bb, I loved what little time I got to spend in Victoria. I so wish I’d gotten to experience that! We just went over for the day from Seattle. I want to go back!

I know, Zalco. There was a bakery in a nearby city that made dyed bread - pink, green, and yellow - sliced very thinly. I never saw it used for anything except tea sandwiches.

@patl8, I’ve photographed the pertinent pages out of “Stop and Smell the Rosemary,” a cookbook published by the Houston Junior League. Specific recipes are in the book. If any particularly appeal to you, I’ll make a picture of it for you.

Like Kaya is doing, I’d also offer champagne or Prosecco.

Pink is absolutely correct on the usage of the term "high tea" in the UK, although I have seen that term applied even there to what is actually a formal afternoon tea. I think that's an affectation that may have started in America to convey what sounds "highfalutin", but was originally meant to denote a casual supper. I like the ring of "afternoon tea" (it just sounds like a gracious mid-day break) and have experienced it in very posh settings as well as in casual cafes. One of the things I have always loved about traveling in England is the ability to pop in to any number of establishments and order a pot of tea and scones with jam and clotted cream. Yum!

Mtn, if you enlarge the photo, I think you can see other grouping of small sofas and chairs. I remembered them more than the tables.

Kaya, I think I’d like to try your lemonade! Is that Rose’ or rose flavored? I love the flavor of elderflower! In the summer, I prefer G&Ts made with FeverTree Elderflower tonic.

Oh, I love that Cornishware. Congratulations on winning the goblets. I hope they work well with all of your dishes. I could even see them with the Cornishware with orange solid or patterned linens.

When I lived in the north of England, my working class family called the evening meal tea (supper). Mid-day meal was dinner. They didn't do High Tea. However, I know they would have enjoyed being invited to one.

IMHO, table height and serving accoutrements for serving food should adhere to rules of practicality rather than etymology!

As per morning (or even afternoon) coffee, I recall when such goings on were referred to as a coffee klatch, which I just found out is of German origin and the "klatch" refers to gossip. I knew it was definitely a function where one could discuss the "news of the day" or "news of the neighborhood." I found out, much later, that when I was in elementary school, the moms in the neighborhood got together for a regular coffee klatch. Later on, such a thing would be less likely to happen as almost all of the moms went to work during the day, either by choice or necessity. My mother has the memory of going over to her grandmother's house on a regular basis for afternoon tea. My great grandmother had eight daughters and one daughter-in-law and five of them lived near her so it was a regular type of family gathering. I experienced it as a child with my grandmother and my great aunts. This is what cultivated my love of all things tea. My mother kept up the tradition, although she worked for 25 years, but still did it on weekends and other days off, etc.

Also, coffee houses at one time were considered great places to meet for conversations regarding the great ideas of the time, back before central heating was such a common thing. I experienced that also in Great Britain since many of my friends were young and rather bohemian in their living arrangements and still without much heat in their apartments. They spent a lot of time "down at the pub" for that reason.

In my one experience of a fancy afternoon tea in Great Britain, a friend treated me to tea at a hotel in Picadilly Circus. The tea room was very plush, plush carpet, woodwork all around and velvet curtains. Big ornate fireplace going, very cosy and quiet. The seating was around small tables, not sure of the height but they were round, covered in fine heavy white linen tablecloths and seated maybe four people tops. The chairs were plush wingbacks with wide wings, so as to obscure the person seated from the noise and view of the rest of the patrons in the room, other than their tea party. My friend and I had fun joking about the supposed famous people that we recognized at the other tables. Of course we were making it up, as in "Isn't that Yoko Ono over there?!" :) The tea was from silver teapots, servers in black formal suits, fine white bone china for the serving, and also my first experience with clotted cream . . . aaaaahhhh.

Edited to add for Pati8, that the servers came around with scalding hot refills and also refilled your tiered tray of goodies. That's one reason I can't indulge in a tea in the same way now as in my youth, all the carbs and fattening foods! Of course now in Great Britain they offer "vegan teas" and all sorts of things. One can go down an equally fascinating rabbit hole looking up menus for British afternoon teas . . . or even anywhere on the globe, there are variations in many other cultures. I think I either have or saw a kids book about "tea around the world."

Edited to add that there is also an Internet wormhole of tea carts which are how the low teas are served and brought to the parlor or conservatory. I've been longing for one for quite some time, but even with a gazillion options, I have yet to find one that is just right. Since this is a "first world problem" I haven't sweated it much to insist on completing my quest. When the time is right, the right tea cart will appear . . .

thank you bbstx. I could come up with the food, just wasn't sure how to proceed. :) So you just pour tea and eat your goodies? I think it sounds fun, will have to try soon. I like the table setting part.

One of the main ways I experienced "tea" in Great Britain, is you get home after a walk in the rain and the place is freezing, and you say, "Can you turn on some heat?" and your friend says, "I've got an extra jumper I can loan you, and I'll just brew up a spot of tea." Then you all hover around the teakettle holding a cuppa to keep your hands warm and scarf down a little packet of biscuits to go along. Revived, you have enough energy to raid the cupboard for beer or cider and you drink until you don't feel the cold anymore and you go about your evening, maybe even having enough sustenance to walk to the pub to meet up with your pals for a quick game of darts and a few shared fa gs.

Tea at my grandmas was a sit down on the couch and comfy chairs affair, served on special tea plates pictured below, a hot cup of tea with cream and maybe sugar, and a home made molasses cookie. All the great aunties were there, sharing the news of their lives, and since many of them had German measles when they were younger and suffered hearing loss, it was a loud, loud affair with a few rather comical misunderstandings from time to time.

What wonderful memories, Pink! That so reminds me of times when we would come in from the English damp and cold and immediately turn on the kettle! There is something so very comforting in a lowly cup of tea.

Love that set you shared! So charming!

Ida, your table is lovely! what will you serve?

Here in my area of the south, the only teas i hear of are for young girls bday party (occasionally). i dont know of adults who have teas or morning coffees. A tea does sound fun though!

Kaya your sandwiches and other foods look yummy!

Bbstx, you exactly describe the kinds of teas I have enjoyed for years. When my kids were in school we had them for volunteer meetings just before afternoon pickup, or to welcome newcomers to the neighborhood, to celebrate a friend’s birthday, or as a break in some of the longer Junior League committee meetings. Coffees served basically the same functions. We still have one after the eleven o’clock service every Sunday in the church parlor. They used to be given for young women to introduce them to their mother’s or mother-in-law’s friends —-no gifts, just a nice party to talk about the couple’s wedding plans and get to know each other. It was a social institution, and so much nicer than meeting at restaurants, which is all people seem to do now. ☹️

Pink- I read your post just as I am reading my book set in early 1900's outisde of London. I want to be there. ( well for some of it- not for the hardhips).

Ida- it was one of your posts a while ago that showed your Deruta items. I have always loved that but never knew the name until you had posted.

I never really cared for tea though I can drink it with milk no sugar . I'd still be delighted to participate. (but if you do have coffee, yes I would prefer that).

Tina, I've had teas with a full range of traditional treats - the little crustless sandwiches (oh yes, including watercress with cream cheese!), Eton mess, trifle, scones with clotted cream, jam, and lemon curd, chocolate covered strawberries, and other such yummy things. That takes a ton of prep, or so it always seems. I've also had successful events where I simply served tea and a cake purchased from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Not as elaborate as the full spread, but in many ways more enjoyable for the hostess, since it's so darn easy.

I think my table setting using the pieces I shared above is now all set. I bought the Fiesta teacups and saucers this morning. Now to find a good spot on the calendar for scheduling another event!

We will need a full recap and photos eventually!!

OT edit: A couple of years ago, one of my mother's cousins died and I attended the funeral with my cousin. Many of the grandchildren of the sisters mentioned in my afternoon tea history post were in attendance. We all had a similar childhood memory of attending one of the family tea gatherings with the gaggle of loud talkers. A tradition passed on from our great grandmother to grandmothers to mothers. I'm quite sad I don't have children to pass it on to myself, and opportunities for shared family or friendly tea gatherings are rare, due to the ranks thinning and the distances between us increasing.

Here's a photo of me unwrapping a little Blue Willow tea set when I was 3. As this clearly demonstrates, I am not to be held responsible for my obsession over tea accoutrements. This was foisted upon me at an early age. 😁

I saw a facebook group that popped up on my feed, devoted to sharing photos of tea tablescapes. I did not join for fear of never returning to real life, the site had about ten posts a week . . .

Ida, my WFM has tea sandwiches in case you ever want to have them without oersonally fussing. They are not as delicate as home made, but they get the job done quite nicely.