Welcome to the Traveling Tea Cup. Here you will find information on the tea world, tea tips, recipes, tea musings and more.
Have you ever wondered how afternoon tea originated? Well, even if that has never crossed your mind it has wandered through mine once or twice! I mean really, isn’t it just lunch served with tea?! Apparently Anna Maria, 7th Duchess of Bedford (that’s Bedford England not to be confused with Bedford Massachusetts) in the 1840”s decided that dinner was way too far off, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., from breakfast and that something in between would be nice. (Of course, it took a woman to figure this out!)

Anyway, she decided it really needed to be an “event” and invited her aristocratic friends over for lunch disguised as afternoon tea. I mean do you really need and excuse to eat sandwiches and lovely pastries along with a cup of tea!? And voila’ afternoon tea was born. Of course they had to make it more complicated with rituals, what to wear, furniture placement (I wonder if they dusted when they moved furniture?), where to stand, what time to show up and when to leave (obviously the last one is easy, when you run out of food, tea and gossip!)

When I invite friends over for tea I like to keep it simple. Wear what is comfortable and come to enjoy friendship along with tea and food. Laugh and tell stories and enjoy making new memories. That’s what life is all about. It’s about cherishing great moments with people you care about.

That’s it for now. I’m off to enjoy a nice cuppa. If you enjoyed this post, share it on Facebook, Twitter and share a cup of hot tea with someone you love. Browse our products to see if something will interest you. See you around.