How To Host A Victorian Tea Party (Original 1850s Instructions)

cereal coffee, lilac bouquet, strawberries

Do you want to host your own victorian tea party? Here are original instructions from 1852!

It says that you should serve black tea, green tea, coffee, cream and sugar, and hot water for ladies who want to dilute their tea. Don’t serve anything greasy which is injurious to gloves and dresses. Almond cake should be offered for ladies who don’t want to eat butter. It’s no longer customary to serve small cakes with the tea. They’re brought in about an hour later together with the lemonade. After that, offer jellies, ice cream, and liquors. Still an hour later, the savoury dishes are served. At the end of the evening offer a large plum-cake.

The instructions were published in ‘Miss Leslie’s New Receipts For Cooking’ (1852) and can be found here.

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