What makes taking afternoon tea such a joy? Is it the food or the drink that draws us in, or perhaps something more?

Afternoon tea is a tradition, a ritual, a ceremony.

People all over the world take their time in making and taking tea, realizing that it is a refuge, a moment’s respite from the demands of our lives.

Wine and coffee are tea’s only rivals when it comes to drinks meant to stimulate and accompany conversation, but ritual and ceremony are what set tea apart.

Afternoon tea is:

A Ceremony of Loveliness

A Ceremony of Comfort

A Ceremony of Sharing

A Ceremony of Serenity

A Ceremony of Celebration

These ceremonies, and their little rituals, remind us of what is truly important and are why taking tea is so much more than drink and food.

A Ceremony of Loveliness

Afternoon tea is a Ceremony of Loveliness.

“If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,

And from thy slender store

Two loaves alone to thee are left,

Sell one, and with the dole

Buy hyacinths to feed the soul.”

~Persian poet, c. 1300

Human beings crave beauty and loveliness.

We wither and cannot grow when deprived of beauty.

Tea lends itself to beauty.

In all its forms, from the simplest to the most elaborate, tea takes care.

We make it a feast for the eyes and food for the soul as well as the body.

We can throw coffee in a mug and set it down in front of someone.

But tea calls for something more.

Tea takes time.

Tea takes care.

Tea encourages civilized friendship and gentility.

It embodies quietness and rest.

For some reason, taking tea with another person is time which is set-apart, more special and meaningful than ordinary moments.

Creating loveliness for another person honors that individual. And honoring another is a true gift that fills a deep need, as the human heart was made for this.

Take afternoon tea with your families, with your dear friends.

Find something lovely to add each time.

Sometimes all you might need is a treat from the store and sometimes you might set the table with special china and linens. The more you cultivate loveliness over teatime, in any form, the more you will shed beauty all around you.

Yours for a return to Grace, Civility, Beauty, Gentility, and Excellence

Mary Alice Higbie