DVSS Afternoon Tea at a Local Tea House

DVSS choses an area tea house to enjoy about once each year. In 2023, we took Afternoon Tea at the Lumber Baron, and we have had Tea at the Dusty Rose in Georgetown and at Dushanbe in Boulder. Since the experience is spendy, and we try to not create expectations that are beyond the means of members, once a year is quite enough.
While we are delighted to present lavish teas, taking tea at a Tea House lets us all enjoy the experience without the hauling, setting up, taking down, and most importantly, washing all the china the following week. Besides Tea Houses are beautiful! The environment elevates the experience, and we love grand and charming.

What to expect

Afternoon Tea at a local Tea House is a bit different than the teas that DVSS creates. The cost is around $40 per person (including gratuity), and reservations must be made in advance. For this reason, DVSS will be requiring reservations from members and guests to be finalized at least a week before the Outing.
Tea Houses serve tea tiers of a limited amount of food; even so, these teas are a full meal. Tea may be served in tea pots, or individually in cups with tea bags. Tea takers will be offered a tea menu from which they may can select their tea. Most Tea Houses are pleased to accomodate dietary requirements for an extra fee.
Since Tea House Teas are somewhat ritualized, there are some expectations of dress and behavior. One might call it “etiquette”. It seems stuffy (not to mention long), but it’s also immersive, and is designed to create a fully relaxing experience. Here are a few of the more typical conventions –

Dress

• Tea is the perfect excuse for wearing elegant outfits; generally, “smart casual” is the minimum rule for Afternoon Tea. As a Neo-Victorian, we expect that tea-takers will dress in some version of Neo-Victorian or Steampunk attire. While either of these sartorial choices are always admired, they are never required, so if “smart casual” is your thing, then feel comfortable wearing that. 

• Hats and gloves are typically worn to Tea. Hats may remain in place, but gloves are removed before dining. 

• Really, it’s more what not to wear - jeans, casual shorts, sneakers, flip flops, hiking boots, athletic attire, short short skirts or skimpy tops are generally not usual at Afternoon Tea. Just look neat and put-together.

Tea

• The proper way to hold a tea cup is with the handle - don’t wrap your hands around the cup like it’s a cup of hot chocolate. If the handle is too small for your index finger, pinch the handle between your thumb and index finger. Pinkies down!

• Stir your tea up and down, not in circles. It’s physics - it blends the heavy sugar upward into your cup. Make sure that your spoon isn’t clinking on the cup, and please do not tap the spoon on the rim of the china. Remove your spoon before drinking. Do not put the teaspoon in your mouth. 

• The tea saucer stays on the table unless you are standing up and walking elsewhere. Hold the tea cup in your dominant hand, and the saucer in your non-dominant hand. 

• Take small sips of tea, quietly. Don’t blow on it to cool it; the point of a tea cup is to allow the tea to cool quickly enough to drinking temperature, and then for it to be a small enough portion to drink it before it’s cold. 

• Milk and sugar typically belong in black teas, not in green, oolong, white, or herbal tisanes. 

Dining

• Pocket your phone and keys; they do not belong on the table. Eyeglasses should not be placed on the table, handbags on a nearby chair or under yours. 

• In a tea house, Tea Foods generally come out on a tier. The tier will be arranged with a selection of savory foods on one tier, biscuits, scones, and crumpets on another tier, and sweets on the third tier. The order of service is to eat the savories first, the scones and etc. second, and the sweets last. 

• Tea houses usually plate their tiers to accommodate the tea-takers. If there are four guests, they will plate with 4 scones/crumpets/biscuits, a multiple of 4 tea sandwiches and other savories, and a multiple of 4 sweets. You may take one each of the offerings but leave the remainder for other guests. Caveat - at DVSS Teas all the above is tossed out along with the old notion of covering piano legs. We provide ample amounts of all categories of tea foods on our tiers. 

• Eat with your fingers. Really. Tea Foods are designed to be finger foods, but please refrain from licking your fingers.  

• Scones should be broken into small pieces, and your choice of clotted cream, jam, and curds applied to each piece. Scone sandwiches are tacky. Do not dunk your scone into your tea. I mean, soggy crumbs are quite unappetizing. Eww.

Conversation

• Keep conversation light and relaxing. Literary conversations are always socially proper, or chat about your latest thrift store finds. Talk about your garden, tea foods recipes, or your next stunning Steampunk dress accessories. Most of us are interested in what you’re interested in, and especially if it’s interesting.

• Even though "spill the tea" has become the go-to phrase for sharing gossip, keep the following guidelines in mind before sharing any "juicy" tidbits: 1) Is it true? 2) Is it kind? 3) Is it necessary?

• Use your inside voice. Tea is meant to be a relaxing respite from a busy day. Save your loud conversations and raucous laughter for other venues.

• Keep topics appropriate for genteel company. Not everyone wants to hear the nitty- gritty details of Fluffy's latest visit to the vet or your latest medical procedure.

• Don't dominate the conversation. You may have a fascinating tale to tell, but others have their own stories to relate, and they'd like to have a turn, too. If your story takes more than a few minutes, summarize it and let the conversation move on.