Regency Trivia – Serving Tea

The ability to serve tea gracefully was an important skill for young ladies to learn. Ladies were also encouraged to find their own blend of tea, and tea shops made it easy for a lady to try different blends. We can debate whether milk or cream was used. For whatever it’s worth, there are several accounts of gentlemen using cream. Jane Austen used milk. Most tea drinkers (like me) shudder at the mention of cream in tea. And there is still an ongoing debate over whether or not the milk goes in the cup first. Some recent discussion concluded that it depended on the quality of the porcelain of the tea cup. The better quality porcelains were able to take the heat of the tea.

If a house had male servants (butler or footmen) they would bring the tea tray to the lady of the house, not a regular maid or the housekeeper. This was especially true if the lady had guests. The lady, not the servant, would serve the tea to her guests.

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