Charisma Tea Party

The following is a suggested menu for a tea party centered around Charisma tea. This tea is refreshing, floral and very fragrant. It is important that whateer flavours accompany it do not overshadow its delicate aroma, but complement it. As a result, it makes for a very nice spring or summer tea party setting – where light tea treats such as citrus tarts and pastries and crunchy peppery sandwiches allows you to cool off and enjoy a cup of tea.

First of all, here’s how to Brew the Perfect Charisma Tea:
Bring water to a boil. Rinse off the teapot and measure 1 tsp. for every 5oz of tea desired. Wait until water reaches 80 degrees Celsius (176F). Steep the tea for 2 minutes and remove leaves from the tea.
A second brewing (and up to a total of 4 brewings) can be done by re-steeping the tea for a slightly shorter period (1.5 minutes) in the same water temperature.

First Tier:
Cucumber-Watercress tea sandwiches
Minted radish tea sandwiches
Ginger-carrot tea sandwiches
Avocado & Wasabi tea sandwiches
(see recipes below)

Second Tier:
Plain scones*, served with Lemon Curd (homemade or store bought), Meyer Lemon Marmalade (or any other citrus marmalade to your liking), and Devonshire Cream. Apricot jam may be appropriate for this tea as well if you don’t like marmalades.
*To make these scones savoury, you may add to the above recipe chopped chive or grated cheese for example)

Third tier:
Lemon tarts
Pear and almond tarts
Wafers or shortbread
Lemon-poppy-seed cupcakes or bite-size cut pound cake
Basboosa
White Chocolate truffles (i.e.: Charisma truffles - see recipe below) – or store-bought ones
* Keep the desserts light and airy. i.e.: dark chocolate desserts are not the best company for this tea. Citrus flavoured and flowery desserts are the best, and the lighter the texture the better.