I once worked at the absolutely lovely Hotel Del Coronado for a time, the hotel is an original wooden Victorian beach hotel, located in San Diego. At one time it was the largest wooden structure in the United States, possibly the world.
At the time they served the most gracious Victorian style tea service. We served it in full Victorian style costume, it was glorious!
It was completely authentic down to the silver and the porcelain. As anyone who knows me might imagine, I absolutely loved it. We had a wonderful french chef who created beautiful pastries and of course we served scones and clotted cream, finger sandwiches were also served. It was absolutely lovely.
I really love the idea and also the act of sitting down with friends in a very civil way and enjoying a formal tea and most of all some wonderful conversation. I also like the idea of taking the time to dress appropriately for the tea.
A tea should be something that you "dress up" for. This of course is just my opinion, how I see it in my head. Friends taking time for each other. I think that little things like dressing up and meeting for tea can make for some of the best gatherings and memories. It's a tradition that I would love to see come back into fashion.
