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Hosting tea parties should never go out of style. They’re a classy, fun way to get together with family and friends. They’re really not that expensive of an option when it comes to party planning, but still unique enough to stand out. If you haven’t thrown one, though, you may wonder what the best teas to serve at a tea party area. Here’s some ideas to get you going.
What are the best teas to serve at a tea party?
You can serve any kind of tea at a tea party. The most popular options are black tea (English style tea party), Oolong tea (Chinese style), Green tea (Japanese style), or herbal tea blends. You could also offer a selection of herbal teas for your guests to choose from.
Depending on the size and preferences of your group you might want to have a selection of teas available. Not everyone likes green tea, for example, but usually black tea is OK. Don’t forget to include some caffeine-free teas at your tea party, too.
Reasons to host a tea party
If you’re not sure whether or not you want to host a tea party here’s a few points in its favour:
- Tea parties are great all-ages gatherings
- They’re easy to host and don’t need to cost a lot
- It’s an opportunity to catch up with family and friends in a relaxed setting
- Hosting a tea party is a unique party idea
Not only are they great events on your own, you could consider a tea party for all kinds of events. Popular options are kids’ or seniors’ birthday parties, baby and bridal showers, or just because.
What else should you serve at a tea party?
Besides tea, of course, you should make sure to serve a selection of snacks (often called ‘dainties’.) Common dainties include cookies, squares and sweets, little sandwiches, and scones. Make sure to take dietary restrictions like allergies or gluten intolerance into account when choosing your serving selection.
You should also have some alternative beverages. Since the point is to drink tea you won’t need much, but having water and maybe even some iced or sweet tea would be good for those guests who don’t enjoy, or have had enough, tea.
Finally, make sure you have a variety of sweeteners and milk available for your guests. Standards are regular sugar, honey, some kind of sugar free sweetener like Stevia, as well as milk, almond milk, and cream.
Best Black Tea to serve at a Tea Party
Black tea is probably your safest bet if you’re hosting a tea party. Most people enjoy it, you can drink it with or without milk and sugar, and it’s readily available. It’s also the kind most people assume will be served when attending a tea party.
English Breakfast
English Breakfast Tea is about as British as you can get if you’re going with that style of tea party. Although it’s a morning brew you can serve it any time of the day. It’s a smooth black tea that pairs well with snacks and sweets.
What I like about English Breakfast Tea: It’s perfect for hosting a British style tea party.
Orange Pekoe or Black Tea
This is the standard when it comes to black tea. If you serve it at your tea party most people will probably enjoy it, but it’s also the most commonly consumed tea in most households. Keep it on hand, but consider serving something more exotic if you want to impress your guests.
What I like about Black Tea: It’s a good failsafe that most people will like.
Best Green Tea to serve at a Tea Party
Green tea is definitely something that people either love or hate. This brew is traditionally served in Japan but is popularly drunk all around the world. Usually you don’t sweeten it, and it does taste better when you use authentically sourced tea. Green tea is naturally caffeinated, so keep that in mind when serving.
Regular Green Tea
This is a great solution if you’re going to be dealing with green tea drinking novices. The tea bags are convenient for a crowd (so you don’t have to worry about having multiple infusers) and the flavour of this is a bit more mild. Serve it with lemon or ginger if you’d like.
What I like about this green tea: Green tea has a lot of health benefits and it’s one of the more unique teas to serve at a tea party.
Green Tea With Matcha
Matcha adds a little extra ‘oomph’ to a cup of green tea. While the tea itself is pure green tea that brews normally, the packet also contains matcha powder. The matcha will give each cup an extra kick of flavour that ends up being rich and creamy.
What I like about this green tea: The matcha powder does change the flavour for a rich and bold taste.
Best Oolong Tea to serve at a Tea Party
Where green tea is usually associated with Japan, Oolong is more popular in China. Oolong also contains caffeine, so it’s still not your best choice if you want a caffeine-free option. The flavour is savoury, kind of like a blend between black and green tea. Most people can enjoy it without sweetener, but it does taste good with milk or sugar too.
Bagged Oolong Tea
If you serve Oolong tea at your tea party bagged tea is probably the easiest choice. That way you don’t have to worry about infusers or much mess. Oolong has some hints of citrus in the flavour so it’s a pretty mild choice if your guests aren’t well-rounded tea drinkers.
What I like about bagged Oolong tea: No fuss, no mess, but it still tastes great.
Loose Leaf Oolong Tea
Oolong is known for a lot of health benefits including weight loss. While you might not be serving it at your tea party to help with that, it has an unique taste that will wow you guests compared to standard teas. Serving loose leaf tea rather than bagged tea will give it a different flavour and add an extra level of sophistication in the eyes of your tea party guests.
What I like about loose leaf Oolong tea: The flavour comes out really nicely and you don’t get a lot of debris in your tea.
Best Tea for a Children’s Tea Party
Kids have different needs than adults when it comes to choosing the best teas to serve at a tea party. You probably want to choose something with no (or minimal) caffeine, and that has a kid-friendly tasting profile. Herbal teas and white tea are great for that, although some kids are happy with sweetened black teas too.
Herbal Teas for Kids
All of these herbal teas are caffeine free so you don’t have to worry about giving kids any extra energy at your tea party. Kids usually enjoy fruit flavoured teas because they’re a bit closer to other things they’re familiar with, like juice, and have more mild flavours.
What I like about these herbal teas: You get a lot of options in fruity, kid-friendly flavours. It’s perfect for a birthday party or group of children.
Kids Naturally Sweet Tea
This tea is naturally sweet and designed with kids in mind so it’s one of the best teas to serve at a tea party with kids. It looks like loose leaf, but the tea is actually pre-packaged into biodegradable sachets so it’s ready to serve. Plus it’s certified organic!
What I like about this kid-friendly tea: It’s naturally sweet and blended with kids in mind so the chances of them liking it are higher than something made for adults.
Best tea samplers for a tea party
If you don’t know what you want, or you want to offer a lot of variety, tea samplers are a great idea for hosting a tea party. That way you can offer a wide range of tea options to serve to your guests. It’s best if you choose a sampler that has more than one of each tea choice, though, especially if you have a large crowd. Or just buy two. It’s still good to have some basics, especially black tea, on hand for less adventurous guests though.
Twinings Tea Bag Sampler
This collection is great because of the variety. There truly is something in here for everyone and your guests will be impressed with all the choices. No need to worry about the best teas to serve at a tea party when you have all of them! You might want to purchase multiples of this one, though, since there’s only one of each variety in the package.
What I like about this tea sampler: You get a lot of different flavours and there’s a good blend of regular and decaf choices.
Jaf Tea – Tea Sampler/Gift Set
This would not only be great to serve at a tea party, you could also use it as a gift for tea party themed baby shower games. Grab one variety of a few to offer the best range of tea choices to your tea party guests. This tea sampler is a little on the higher end, but perfect to serve at a fancy tea party.
What I like about this sampler: You get 10 bags of each flavour, more than enough to serve at your tea party.
A final word on the best teas to serve at a tea party
The way you want to serve tea at your tea party also makes a difference in your choice. Some of these teas don’t lend well to being brewed in a teapot like the tea samplers. If you do choose that method you’ll likely need to use multiple tea bags. Follow the brewing directions on your favourite variety of tea to adjust for your teapot’s volume.
A better option is to just have hot water in your teapot and have each guest select their own variety of tea. That way you can have all the best teas to serve at a tea party and keep everyone happy.
