{"id":1592,"date":"2025-11-24T18:01:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T18:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianregency.com\/blog\/?p=1592"},"modified":"2025-11-24T18:01:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T18:01:58","slug":"tea-and-tulips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/24\/tea-and-tulips\/","title":{"rendered":"Tea and Tulips"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Glam Lamb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Entering my ninth month of pregnancy<\/strong> has had me thinking on the Regency pastimes spent largely indoors \u2013 especially those that do not require much by way of physical activity on the part of a typically exhausted, soon-to-be mother of three.<\/p>

\"Fire<\/a><\/div>\n

My current pastimes don\u2019t venture far beyond the nearest comfortable chair and as such, stay in the realm of reading, writing novels, blogging and time spent on the occasional bout of Facebook posting. This is why a cozy living room or den (aka, a twenty-first century parlor) is such a grand place to kick-back with a cup of hot tea and a delightful Regency Era book. It\u2019s during these relaxing times that a tea-tray and small vase of cheery flowers are particularly welcome companions!<\/p>\n

Care for tea and tulips, perhaps?<\/p>\n

Though the Regency Era would have seen a servant delivering a tray for tea time, it wouldn\u2019t have been quite as easy as simply warming a mug of water in the microwave and dropping in a tea bag like we do today. For Regency Era tea times, there was much more to consider:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Cost<\/strong> \u2013 The practice of drinking tea had been popular in England for well over a century before the Regency Era, but that did not mean that tea was altogether inexpensive. \u00a0\u00a0By the late 1700s, both Thomas and Richard Twining had a great impact on the practice of tea drinking, making it more popular with the opening of a tea shop in 1717 and in the effective lobbying of the government to reduce the high import tax on tea in 1784, which made it somewhat more affordable to the masses (namely, the middle class). \u00a0The cost remained steady however, due largely to the British East India Trading Company\u2019s monopoly on tea imports up until 1834.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Kristy, smiling (and happy!) at Great Britain's Twinings Tea Shop at the Epcot World Showcase (Walt Disney World, Orlando)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0Time of Day\/Menu<\/strong> \u2013 The definition of \u201ctea time\u201d varied according to the time of day and type of menu items that accompanied the tea itself.\u00a0 Usually served between the hours of 5 and 7pm, the High Tea<\/em> (also known as the \u201cmeat tea\u201d) was identified with the early evening meal. It would have been accompanied by a more substantial hot dish such as shepherd\u2019s pie, baked fish or fish and chips, or other savory dish with baked or broiled root vegetables. While Afternoon Tea<\/em> (or, \u201clow tea\u201d) did not become the fashion until the early 1840s, it\u2019s still worth mentioning in comparison as the foundation for this tea time was laid during the preceding years.<\/p>\n

As a lighter version of the traditional High Tea, <\/em>the Afternoon Tea would have been served to carry one through to the High Tea or later (and more formal) dinner. It would have been accompanied by lighter fare \u2013 a snack of finger foods such as seasonal fruit, scones, crumpets, tea sandwiches (cucumber or smoked salmon, for example), biscuits and an assortment of honey, butters, jams, and lemon curds or custard spreads.<\/p>\n

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Photo: The Foodie Gift Hunter, UK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0Etiquette<\/strong> \u2013 Distinctions between High<\/em> and Low<\/em> Tea are commonly referenced to the height of the table used for tea service (though this is not the only distinction noted<\/a>\u00a0from multiple sources). \u00a0Light Afternoon Tea would have been served outdoors in hospitable weather, either in a garden or at picnic. Indoor tea times would have been served in a less formal setting such as a parlor, study, or salon, and on the low coffee tables often found in these rooms.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0Tea Tidbits<\/strong> \u2013 It\u2019s interesting to note that \u201ctaking tea\u201d was actually a rather ill-mannered expression at the time. One would have opted for referring to High Tea time rather than the more uncultured phrase. Here\u2019s another tidbit just to make you smile\u2026 Though our post is titled to Tea and Tulips, we\u2019re of course referring to the lovely blooms that appear in our window boxes each spring. But in the Regency Era, the word Tulip<\/em> actually referred to a \u201cfine fellow who dressed quite well<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

There are numerous resources you can turn to for a complete history of tea, though here are a couple of fun links to get you started:<\/p>\n

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Photo: 18th Century teacup, Wiki Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tea in the Regency<\/a><\/p>\n

Tea at the Regency Tea Room<\/a>, The Jane Austen Centre at Bath<\/p>\n

Tea with Bea<\/a>, Bea\u2019s of Bloomsbury (Tea Room and Treats)<\/p>\n

The Foodie Gift Hunter, UK<\/a> (Making Time for Tea)<\/p>\n

Twinings Tea<\/a>, a Twinings History<\/p>\n

Association of Tea Bloggers<\/a><\/p>\n

DIY Tea Wreath<\/a>\u00a0(Kojo Designs Craft Project)<\/p>\n

With all\u00a0the tea talk we\u2019ve had, I\u2019m feeling more relaxed than ever. Between the writing and blogging, tea time that is High or Low, and the service in our parlors or salons, I\u2019m ready for a honey-sweetened cup of Twinings\u00a0best on my own tea-tray. So what\u2019s my Tea and Tulips moment? It\u2019s in the smiles of my children and the\u00a0care bestowed by my husband that has this soon-to-be mom of three rejoicing. After all, no matter what flavor of tea or time of day, God\u2019s blessings are always on the menu.<\/p>\n

What tea flavors your day? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Share your favorite Tea and Tulips<\/em> moment with us below\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In His Love ~<\/p>\n

Kristy<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Originally posted 2012-10-22 10:00:00. <\/small><\/p>

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Entering my ninth month of pregnancy has had me thinking on the Regency pastimes spent largely indoors \u2013 especially those that do not require much by way of physical activity on the part of a typically exhausted, soon-to-be mother of three. My current pastimes don\u2019t venture far beyond the nearest comfortable chair and as such, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,3,131,13],"tags":[133,132,78,580,134],"class_list":["post-1592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food","category-history","category-tea","category-tea-time","tag-afternoon-tea","tag-high-tea","tag-regency-history","tag-tea","tag-twinings"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1592"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1602,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1592\/revisions\/1602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}