A note to restaurants about How to Serve Tea

 Sadly, the state of tea service in the United States is deplorable.

I wrote about this ten years ago.  Of course, since this is an obscure blog (I was hard pressed to locate it myself, today!)-- it made no difference.

Although there is almost certainly nothing to be gained by my writing about it again, I feel the need, as I observe the niceties of life vanishing all around me, to express some things here in my private corner.  Perhaps there is something to be gained.  It will help me feel better.

Tea is a comfort and a gift.  A warm cup of tea gives you something to do.  You hold it, inhale the fragrant steam, test the temperature with small sips.  Tea with a friend is a lovely experience, especially if combined with a small morsel of tasty baking, or a square of chocolate.

If you are a restaurant owner or manager, training your waitstaff to serve tea, here is a list of protocol to help you make your customers' experience the best possible:

***Purchase the proper equipment***  

Teapots  Tea for two should be served in a 24-32 oz. teapot, preferably an insulated teapot (tea for one should be served in a 12-16 oz. teapot). A nice ceramic teapot is even better wrapped in a tea cozy or a cute tea towel to add insulation.

Cups and saucers  Tea is nice in a mug, but this is a very informal way to have it. It is delightful to pour small cups of tea from one's insulated pot.  Small cups are easy to finish while the temperature is optimal. Saucers give a nice finish to the experience and provide a spot to rest your spoon. An extra saucer can hold a few lemon wedges for those who prefer their tea with lemon.

Trays A tray is a wonderful vehicle for gathering your teas service together and presenting it aesthetically.  To elevate the experience up another notch, add a pretty white doily to line the tray.

Small caddies  You will want to serve sugar, perhaps both white and turbinado.  Many tea drinkers love to use honey instead of sugar, so adding that option is a beautiful touch.  You can buy all these sweeteners in individual packets, which is the nicest way to handle sticky substances in a public eating establishment.  Be sure to contain them in a pretty little caddy that is easy to maneuver.

Cream pitchers  You can serve cream in the little packets with tear off tops, or in a proper cream pitcher.  Either is fine; just make sure to provide plenty.  

Timers A particularly beautiful touch when serving tea, a timer lets your customers know how long their tea has steeped.

Tea selection I assume that I am writing for a regular restaurant that wants to serve tea nicely, and not a tea house.  A tea house should know all this, and have special equipment to heat water to the optimal temperature for each type of tea that might be requested.  A tea house will obviously have a special selection of teas based on the owner's personal research and experience, and probably loose leaf at that.  But for a regular restaurant, you should offer a selection that includes: 

•     Regular and decaf varieties of a good black tea.  Twinings is probably the easiest good tea to procure.  PG Tips is excellent. Do not offer Lipton.
•     Regular and decaf varieties of an Earl Gray or a Lady Gray tea
•     Chai tea
•     Jasmine tea
•     An herbal lemon tea
•     An herbal mint tea
•     An herbal spice tea with warm spices like cinnamon, clove and/or cardamom
•     A chamomile tea
•     An herbal berry tea

***Train your servers to serve tea***

First off, you need to have a ready supply of hot water.  If you can obtain a vessel that will hold water between 205-210 degrees F, that would be perfect.  Ideally, the water provided for a tea order should be just under the boiling point.  It takes on a different flavor once it boils, even after it cools down a few degrees, and a true tea connoisseur will taste it, although many people do not notice or mind.  The most important thing, however, is that the water is hot enough. In my personal opinion, too hot is far preferable to not hot enough.

When a customer orders tea, the tea selection should be displayed immediately, and the customer should make a selection.  If two customers are taking tea together, they can share one pot of water if they select the same tea.  If they desire to drink different varieties of tea, each should have his or her own pot. One teabag produces up to 16 oz. of tea, so you need a one bag for an individual pot, two for a shared pot.

After the tea is selected, the server should ask, "Do you take your tea with cream or lemon?" and note the response.  There are teas which are never taken with one or the other, but generally it is always good to ask.

The server then retires to assemble the tea tray:  

• First, place the doily in the center of the tray (if you are using doilies).  
• Then place either one or two cups and saucers on opposite edges of the tray, at 9:00 and 3:00.  
• Wrap a spoon in a napkin and tuck it alongside the cup on the saucer.  
• Place a small caddy of assorted sweeteners (sugar, turbinado sugar, honey, stevia) just forward of the center of the tray. 
• Place a saucer of either cream cups or lemon wedges forward of the sweeteners, along the edge of the tray at 6:00. 
• Tuck in a 3 minute hourglass timer with its sand all in the bottom.  
• Place the requested tea bag(s) into your pocket.  
• After all is set, fill the appropriate sized teapot with hot water and place it on the tray in the remaining spot near 12:00.  Wrap or cover the teapot with a tea towel. You do this step last so you can best preserve the water temperature.

The server serves the tea:

• Deliver the tray promptly to the table!  At the table, place the tray attractively before your customer.  
• Remove the tea bag from your pocket, open it in front of your customer, commenting on how lovely it smells, and what a fine choice has been made.  
• Place the tea bag(s) into the teapot full of hot water.  
• Replace the lid of the pot and the towel, so the tea can stay hot as it steeps.  
• Flip over the hourglass timer and tell the customer that the tea will be perfectly steeped and ready to pour when the sand runs out.  
• Ask if there is anything else you can provide.  
• Smile and promise to check back in a few minutes (and do!).

Play beautiful music, like Mozart, Vivaldi, Telemann and Handel.  Play it softly.  Special bonus points for a fresh flower in a bud vase on each table.  The aromas of fresh bakery items, cinnamon, vanilla, strawberries and chocolate may stimulate additional sales.

Oh, wouldn't it be lovely to find a little place that does this?