HIGH TEA in November

 With my passion for cooking, baking and fine table setting...

Once again I offered to do a HIGHT TEA for the bi-annual local Rotary Club's fundraiser.

Pieter wearing his Gianni Versace jeans and I wear my sewing creation Silk Batik bolero jacket, hand painted with gold and made from Indonesian formal shawl on Escada skirt.

If you watch on YouTube you will be able to see all the text with explanation as to what was being served in detail.At 1:25 you see my Tea Cups with paper doilies and also Demitasse Coffee Cups.

Lydia is the lady in white silk blouse...

A happy group of ladies and we both enjoyed hosting them!

Tablecloth used is our Portuguese Guimarães white work, we bought in Coimbra in 1994 while on tour through Spain Portugal for 19 days.

Related links:

High Tea Prepared and Baked by Me | previous post

Merry Christmas and My Previous High Tea | previous post{Our Japanese Diospyros Kaki Persimmon} | previous post showing our Persimmon which was on kitchen table for High Tea...From Singapore to Jakarta and SURPRISE upon arrival at our Villa | previous post of when I bought the hand painted silk batik stole from which I created the bolero jacket{Angels engraved on lucky calendar coin of 1969} | final photo shows the hand painted with gold silk batik jacket...

Merry Christmas and My Previous High Tea

Merry Christmas to All of You Worldwide! 🌲💝
Sharing with you our High Tea from December 20, 1997 that we donated to our Rotary Club's auction.
Offering a High Tea for 12 and this was all done in the Christmas spirit...
We donated our time and love... Worked till 2:30 in the morning for baking and preparing it for the afternoon's presentation and use.

Everything done in Christmas style and using our Egyptian cotton damask Cottimaryanne Firenze tablecloth from Italy.
Our hand made silver coffee set that we bought while living in Indonesia, it took six men to hammer and decorate it in six weeks!

That's me checking the final details... Coffee Cups to the right.

Did use the Tea Glasses with silver plated holders instead of Tea Cups.

Also in the kitchen I'd placed edibles to savor with tea or coffee...

Table runner on red tablecloth used is our Portuguese Guimarães white work, we bought in Coimbra in 1994 while on tour through Spain Portugal for 19 days.

Our Rotary Club of Dublin, Georgia USA sponsors always a foreign student for one full year of college education.

For 1997 it was Kaisa Jogi (probably Jögi) from Latvia, she did her presentation to the Rotary Club, 3 days after this High Tea.
Kaisa was in such good humor for tasting the European culture again at our Dutch home in the USA and for touring it. 

Just like to show you this very short video of our High Tea Table
The talking is in Dutch as we always did so for my Parents to let them share in our life here across the Ocean.

Thanks for your visit and comment

Related link:

{Have YOU Ever Seen the Making of Silver in Kotagede, Indonesia?} | previous post by me showing you the silver works

Espresso with French Macarons

Still winter, even if we don't have the extreme cold here in the South...

What picks us up better than a cup of Espresso?

Got these Espresso cups years ago from dear Friend Engracia...

So here they are being used for some Espresso and French Macarons!

It is already a bonus when there is light and even better, some sunshine!

Found just enough fragrant daffodils in our garden for filling a tiny silver vase...

On a lacquered tray, a gift received while I was in Japan.

My tiny Gero Zilmeta 528 Menuet demitasse spoons are the right size for these espresso cups - IF sugar is needed.

Found these yummy French Macarons at Costco and they were excellent!

Have not yet made my own...

Also gathered some of our special pink Camellias while I was in the garden.

A close up of their special vase with just 3 pipes that hold each flower.
It is the Camellia Japonica Debutante

My perfect lacquered tray from Japan.

with the reflection of the kitchen lamp in it and my hands...

These Espresso cups are YAMASEN JAPAN, gift from a dear friend Engracia.

Wishing you stay cozy during these winter days!

For the southern hemisphere, enjoy your summer.

Thanks for your visit and comment.

{1940s - 1950s Royal Albert Princess Anne Tennis Set for Coffee or Tea}

When I was doing consulting work with my husband and partner Pieter, we were in Calgary, Canada with one of the staff members shopping at an antique store. That's where I bought my very first 1940s - 1950s Royal Albert Princess Anne piece of china. It was a handled cake plate. Over time I kept adding and I especially loved these Tennis Sets for Coffee or Tea. Did you know about them? This is something from the UK, but I love their practical approach for being able to hold this with one hand in an informal setting.



On January 18, we had our white hyacinth blooming. Got it at Trader Joe's and wish they would last forever as I LOVE their fragrance.

So here is our Royal Albert Princess Anne teapot and one each of a Tennis Set for Coffee and one for Tea.
To me it does not look quite fair as the Tennis Set for Tea is far bigger...



Don't you agree that the Tennis Set for Coffee is smaller in size?

WHY would hat be...

To photograph these two sets together proved to be very hard!

Here it is out of perspective a bit because the Tennis Set for Tea is in the front and looking way bigger.

This is the best I could do for showing both of them at more or less eye level.

You notice that the tea cup is wider and more shallow and tapered down. The coffee cup is more narrow and mostly straight up.
To the right on the sidebar you see my most popular post is: {Difference Between Coffee & Tea Cups} just click the hyperlink for finding out.
But still those Tennis Set differences puzzle me...!

When I tried to find out more, I found this interesting site from Royal Albert Patterns.com with this lovely photo. Shown is a coffee cup and saucer to the right; teacup and saucer to the left; cream & sugar set - which I have several of, also differently sized. My handled cake plate that I found in Calgary, Canada is shown here and a coffee pot which I don't have one.
To the bottom are different teacups.
They mention only the Cup Shape being Countess (for Tea) or Avon (for Coffee).
You just scroll all the way down on this site, from above hyperlink, or if you search for any other pattern you might find it there as well.
There even is a Royal Albert Patterns FB Page, just click the hyperlink.

This is the regular Coffee Cup & Saucer with a regular Tea Cup & Saucer...

We Heart It did have my photo tagged by 46 people. That shows maybe that more people are searching to find out more about those differences.

Would you know an answer for those Tennis Set differences?

A very frequently visited post...

{Difference Between Coffee & Tea Cups}

Yesterday I did mention in my post that those chevrons, pointed at the particular cups in the end of my TV Interview's video, were wrong. So here I like to point out to you the visible differences between Coffee & Tea Cups. 

Sorry for the poor photos, because of the camera focusing in on the windows... I placed each time two cups on an oak tray, placed on a ceramic pedestal. LEFT you see a Coffee Cup and to the RIGHT is a Tea Cup!

• Coffee cups are more narrow and mostly straight up. Teacups are lower and wider and often tapered down. 
• The reason that teacups are wider at the top and more shallow is because a good tea is set with BOILING water. 
• The bigger surface lets your tea cool down faster, to a consumable temperature.

To the left I also placed a smaller spoon than to the right. These cups are German Seltmann Weiden Mirabel in white.  Spoons are Gero Zilmeta 528 Menuet.

Frontal view of Coffee Cup to the left and Tea Cup to the right.

Europeans brew their coffee a lot stronger than people here in the USA and or Canada.

We do use a dark French roast, that also makes the coffee darker but always mild and never bitter.

Nowadays the famous Dutch JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS coffee, since 1753, is widely available in the USA as well.

These I do use as Coffee Cups; demitasse and regular size Coffee Cups. What is your guess? These are more tapered down.

This is WEDGWOOD CREAM COLOR ON CREAM COLOR (PLAIN EDGE). Even Replacements Ltd. does not specify the difference. It names the one to the left footed demitasse and the other footed cup & saucer.

Frontal view of the two cups & saucers.

This again is easier to judge. To the left is a demitasse for coffee and to the right a demitasse for tea. The French word Demi Tasse means Half Cup. This is ROSENTHAL SANSSOUCI ROSE-IVORY (GOLD TRIM).

Frontal view of the demitasse Coffee Cup to the left and demitasse Tea Cup to the right. For both I used the demitasse spoons from Gero Zilmeta 528 Menuet.

Again an easy to judge set. To the left is a demitasse Coffee Cup and a regular Coffee Cup and to the right is a regular Tea Cup in MASON'S MANDALAY-CHARTREUSE.

Frontal view of the demitasse Coffee Cup to the left, regular Coffee Cup center and regular Tea Cup to the right. I used a demitasse Gero Zilmeta 528 Menuet spoon for the demi and regular spoons in gold plate for the coffee and tea cups.

Christie's Mandalay by Masons

This one is again easy to judge. A demitasse Coffee Cup to the left and a demitasse Tea Cup to the right with regular spoons in gold plate. When I mean regular, it is NOT a regular American size spoon but a much smaller European size teaspoon. This is ROYAL ALBERT THE GARDENIA.

Frontal view of demitasse Coffee Cup to the left and demitasse Tea Cup to the right.

Again easy to guess: to the left a regular size Coffee Cup and to the right a regular size Tea Cup. Both with gold plated teaspoons. This is ROYAL ALBERT PRINCESS ANNE (BRUSHED GOLD EDGE).

Frontal view of regular size Coffee Cup to the left and regular size Tea Cup to the right.

Again somewhat difficult to analyze... The one to the left is called an After Dinner Cup and the one in the center a Coffee / Tea cup. The one to the right is named a Breakfast Cup...  Guess we can either pour coffee or tea in them! This is French GIEN ROSE.

Frontal view of those three cups... Here I used two demitasse spoons from ALVIN BRIDAL ROSE and to the right a five o'clock spoon.

Frontal stacked view and clear view of size difference.

Though these are not tapered down I presume that the one to the left is a Coffee Cup and to the right a Tea Cup. This is from POTTERIE DE DRIEHOEK in Huizen, The Netherlands. Spoons are demitasse and teaspoon by Gero Zilmeta 528 Menuet.

Frontal view of this Coffee Cup and Tea Cup.

Here we are facing our final set of in my opinion again a demitasse Coffee Cup to the left and a regular Coffee Cup to the right. I used Alvin Bridal Rose demitasse spoons for both. This is ROYAL DOULTON ENGLISH ROSE.

One last frontal view of a demitasse Coffee Cup to the left and a regular Coffee Cup to the right...

Now you also know what I am using when hosting a High Tea. We have quite a choice on china. Will show you photos from such a High Tea later. My idea is that more people are using Tea Cups than Coffee Cups. What is your take on that? You might be able to reflect on your own stock or maybe heirloom pieces that you got handed down.

Worldwide, it seems that numerous people look for the 'right' cup... 

A total of 94,813 views so far.

Related links:
{My Etiquette Training Interview with WGXA.TV (FOX24/ABC16)} | yesterday's post (from WGXA.TV) by me referring to the cup differences in video
So, What's This About Coffee "Cans," Reggie? | previous post from Blogger Reggie Darling with interesting facts
{Our last Datura Angel's Trumpets and TEA with a Twist} | previous post by me, showing also Japanese tea
Learn from Mariette | Classes used to being offered by Mariette's Back to Basics
The World in your Teacup | book by Lisa Boalt Richardson