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Tea has been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years, and the tradition of afternoon tea was invented by one of Queen Victoria’s personal attendants to curb hunger pangs before dinner.
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Michelle Kline, left, Brooke Kline, 10, middle, Stephanie Ayoub and Amanda Blue, not pictured, enjoy some orange pekoe and raspberrry rosehip tea during the Winona County Historical Society’s Victorian etiquette demonstration Saturday in Winona. The tea party was part of the Smithsonian exhibit, "Key Ingredients: America by Food" that is being displayed at the historical society for one more week. (Photo by Andrew Link/Winona Daily News) |
Some of these stories came to life Saturday at a Victorian tea party hosted by the Winona County Historical Society.
Janice Wheelock went to the tea party with her granddaughter, Jessica, and Jessica’s friend, Sarah Hunsicker.
Jessica and Sarah are in fifth grade at Winona Middle School. Jessica introduced her friend to tea, and both girls are avid tea drinkers.
For the Wheelocks, tea is a family tradition. It is Janice’s mother’s favorite thing to do with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“It’s the only moment when she can sit down with the children,” Wheelock said. “It teaches gentleness, manners, to an extent, calmness.”
Janice Wheelock sipped orange pekoe tea from her grandmother’s teacup — white with red roses and three legs to rest on the saucer.
She doesn’t know the origins of the teacup, but cherishes the memories.
“You weren’t supposed to talk about anything serious,” Wheelock said. “Just about a new dress you got, whose boyfriend is whose.”
Guests brought their own teacups and saucers to the Historical Society event and were served two choices of tea — orange pekoe or raspberry and rosehip. Scones, cream puffs and lemon cookies were nibbled up.
Jennifer Weaver, assistant director at the society, explained how tea became a tradition and what you should and shouldn’t do at a tea party.
“Having a tea is a great example of how we get together, sit down and have better social interaction,” Weaver said.
The group learned tea etiquette and “teaisms” — the language of tea.
The “pinkies up” ritual came about in the Victorian era, and yes, it is proper to lift the little finger.
Why? Two hundred years ago, teacups were made without handles, and the raised finger helped to balance. And avoid embarrassing spills.
Even after the handle was introduced, the pinky, just like tradition, didn’t move.
It is also poor manners to loop fingers through the handle or grab the cup like a bowl.
Tea party guests also learned that stirring tea is improper. The teaspoon is used to fold the liquid.
And where should the teaspoon go when it’s not folding? On the right side of the saucer.
The group shared other tea memories that were passed down from mothers and grandmothers, and how other cultures drink tea.
In Japan, a tea ceremony consists of turning the cup three times, then three times in the other direction.
One “teaism” to show dislike of something is “not my cup of tea.” This translates to “No tea to him,” a 15th century Japanese phrase to show dislike of a person.
Does one “drink tea” or “take tea?” To “drink tea” is proper speech. To “take tea” was a vulgar expression used by the lower class.
A low tea is a light afternoon snack; a high tea comes later in the day.
And the list goes on. There is plenty more, but that will have to be over another cup of tea.
