Tea Accessories

There is perhaps nothing more relaxing than a hot cup of tea after a hard day. Unlike coffee that has a robust flavor and fits into the hard day, tea balances the day out with a softer more fragrant aroma conducive to relaxation. It is no wonder that some countries actually set aside a time of day in which to have tea with friends. No one really knows when tea became popular but legend has it that is started in about 1300 BC when the then Emperor was heating up some water to soothe an upset stomach, and the wind blew a leaf into his water. He was instantly cured of his upset stomach and declared the beverage from the bush from which the leaf came to be a national beverage to cure stomach ailments. Today there are a variety of teas to choose from to soothe many ailments including fatigue after a day’s work and a variety of tea accessories to serve it in.

To serve your tea properly you need hot water in a tea pot into which the tea is placed and where it is steeped. If you are having a formal tea than you would want to have some fancy tea cups and saucers in which to serve your tea.

For less formal occasions you would have hot water ready in a kettle and pour it into a mug. The tea would be placed into an infuser and placed into the mug of hot water. There are two popular infusers: one looks like a teaspoon that has a cover with small holes in it, and other looks somewhat like a tiny lantern with holes in it. The latter opens at the top to accept the loose tea.

A proper tea set would have a tray, on which there would be a tea pot,
a sugar bowl, a cream pitcher, and tea cups and saucers. If you are planning on serving tea bags instead of loose tea then you should have a Lucite box or wooden tea display box in which to place the tea bags for your guests to choose the tea they like best. Also, if you are serving tea bags another necessary accessory is a small dish that is made specifically to place the wet tea bag on. Using the proper accessories to serve your tea in is almost a ritual. If you are serving sugar than it should be lump sugar rather than granulated. Again, it is more of a ritual than a dire necessity.

On a hot day in summer we all love to have a ice cold glass of tea. Iced tea should be properly served in a heavy bottom glass (not plastic) drinking glass that will about ten or twelve ounces. This size will give you a substantial amount of brewed tea and still have room for ice cubes. Iced tea, if one wants to sweeten it) should use granulated sugar rather than sugar lumps. Granulated sugar dissolves much faster. There are no special accessories necessary with iced tea, except if you are enjoying it outdoors on your patio you may have glasses that have color or some festive design. Each glass of iced tea should be served with a long iced tea spoon and a straw if preferred.