Guide lines for Hosting Tea
We are grateful that you volunteered to serve tea for the members of the Annisquam Sewing Circle. It is a lovely tradition and we thank you for keeping it alive.The Hospitality Chair will send the hosts a reminder prior to meeting. Click here for Tea Hostess Calendar for Monthly Meetings .
Prior to the meeting:
The four-team members should make a plan to share the responsibilities. If for some reason you are unable to participate, please find someone to replace you. Provide savory and sweet tea items: sandwiches, cookies, scones, tea breads and gluten free options. Fruit is appreciated and chocolates will win you great affection. On average, 30-40 members attend the meetings. This translates to roughly, 5-6 dozen tea sandwiches and 4-5 dozen sweets. A number of attendees do not partake in the tea so don’t worry about the amount; there is always plenty of food. three to four choices of sandwiches and 3-4 types of savory/sweets, 1-pint milk and (1) lemon sliced for the tea, cocktail sized napkins and some optional decorative element for the table. In the library kitchen, you will find: Black tea, decaf tea and sugar in the upper left cabinet, the cups and saucers are in the right cabinet and the tablecloths in the lower cabinet, two electric kettles and two ceramic pots for steeping tea and dishtowels. In the Circle cabinet in the adjacent hallway, you will find: The silver service and spoons stored in a container. The ASC president holds the key to the cabinet.
The day of the meeting:
Arrive 30 minutes in advance to set up. A tea service is set up at both ends of table with food arranged between. (Set up additional tea cups/saucers on the side shelf.) In the kitchen, fill silver teapots with the boiling water and leave to warmup. Refill kettles and boil more water. Put 5-6 tea bags in each of ceramic teapot and add only enough boiling water to cover the tea bags and leave to steep. (When it is time to serve, you will add the additional boiling water to one ceramic pot leaving the other to steep.) Decaf tea prep is optional. During the meeting, the president can request two members to pour tea. Let her know. Five minutes before the meeting adjourns, fill silver teapots with tea from one ceramic teapot. It may need a little water to dilute. Leave the other ceramic teapot as a backup. Set one silver teapot at each end of table and fill the smaller silver teapots with boiling water. Some members prefer weaker tea.
Cleanup:
Washed cups and saucers are matched and returned to the kitchen cabinet. Wash and dry all silver, put a paper towel inside to absorb the moisture, rewrap, place in the storage container and return to the storage cabinet. Lock the cabinet and return the key to the president. Put dish towels on the rack to dry.
Rev. 2019