The season is beginning to change but it is still time to have a picnic…a teatime picnic that is. I had the opportunity to host a picnic tea and incorporated the elements of an afternoon tea as a picnic. It was great fun and here is how it came together.

The whole idea of a picnic was originally a 17th Century French word, picque-nique. Its meaning was similar to today’s meaning: a social gathering where each attendee brings a share of the food. The French piquer may have referred to a leisurely style of eating (“pick at your food”) or it may, simply, have meant, “pick” (pic).

The Victorians were not only great at afternoon tea, they were skilled at picnics. Here is how to put a Victorian Picnic together. How To Have Victorian Picnic.

Menu

This menu was created to replicate small picnic food items but in the setting of an afternoon tea and in a small form. And rather than serving hot tea, several iced teas were served to my guests delight.

The iced teas were made the night before and bottled. An iced tea was selected for each course of the tea, pairing with the food.

Here is the menu and the recipes. Included are notes specific to how the recipe was presented and tips on making it for your own setting.

Savories

Chicken leg with spicy barbecue sauce – This was simply a chicken wing leg dipped in a spicy barbecue sauce. Frozen wings were used, non-breaded but seasoned. The sauce was Scherger’s Kettle Spicy Raspberry Jalapeno jam. The end of the leg was dipped in the sauce then served on the plate. I had young guests and was sensitive to their palate but they enjoyed the light spice of the jalapeno.

Mini stuffed potato salad – Every American picnic has potato salad. This was a small helping of a traditional potato salad. But the trick was how to serve it. I opted to make a wonton cup in a mini-muffin tin and then serve the potato salad in the cup. Both were edible.

Spray your mini-muffin tin with cooking spray. Take a small wonton wrapper and tuck it into the mini-muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until crispy and brown. Remove from oven and salt. Let completely cool on rack. Store in air tight container. This can be prepared the day before. Uncooked wonton wrappers can be frozen for later use. And I must say – these turned out great!

Cucumber Sandwich on Pumpernickel – Most afternoon teas contain some kind of cucumber sandwich. I am including a post I did on How To Make Cucumber Sandwiches. I substituted the white bread for pumpernickel. The filling can be made the day ahead. The sandwiches are best when prepared the day of the tea. And they were delicious.

Charcuterie Cup – One of the things common to the early 17th century picnics as well as the Victorian picnic was a charcuterie board. I replicated this in a small form putting everything you might enjoy in a charcuterie selection in a cup, topped with a crostini.

Scones

Currant Scone – A classic for any afternoon tea and one that I serve as a standard for my afternoon teas. I have inserted the recipe post Currant Scones

Dill Ham and Cheese – This is a savory scone and fit a teatime picnic theme. Dill Ham and Cheese Scones

Lemon Curd / Honey – I normally would serve lemon curd and Devonshire Cream, but with the savory Dill Ham and Cheese scone, I opted to drizzle honey on the lemon curd rather than have the additional sweetness of the Devonshire Cream. Here is the Lemon Curd recipe for your enjoyment.

Sweets

Smores Bar – One of the traditional items for a picnic is to have a delicious Smore. Everyone gathers around the fire, toasting their marshmallows. This Smores Bar is that treat in one little tasty bite.

Melon Balls – To help refresh the palate, cantaloupe and watermelon on a skewer. That simple. But no seed spitting please!

Crumb Topped Apple pie – Another tradition is apple pie. This mini pie gave my guests a taste of that tradition with a Crumb Topped Apple Pie. The original recipe called for a regular size tin but I used a mini-muffin tin. I also used store-bought crust and topped with a crumb topping rather than a double crust. Small bitesize pies.

Raspberry Mousse – This was a little treat of lusciousness, making a simple raspberry slurry and mixing it with whipped cream. This was served in a shooter glass, giving each guest just enough of the mousse to enjoy.

The Teas

I prepared these teas the night before and made sure they were very chilled. I offered ice to the guests but only if they wanted it. We had a lot of fun with these iced teas. I asked the guests to first sample the basic tea, then the variation of the basic tea. I did not offer lemon or sweetener during this tea – the goal was to have my guests taste and enjoy the teas in their pure form.

Assam Tea / Assam Lemonade Tea – Assam is a great black tea. I first served plain Assam iced tea.

Then served an Assam Lemonade Tea. This is basically using Assam tea as the basic tea and adding lemonade concentrate. Taste as you make this so it isn’t too sweet.

Georgia Peach Rooibos Tea – This is an amazing Rooibos tea. Nothing added and no recipe other than chilling your brewed Georgia Peach Rooibos tea.

Peppermint Tea / Sparkling Strawberry Tea – This was a delightful tea, I first served peppermint tea, which was great to help with all the food of the tea. It was very refreshing. The second portion of this tea was Sparkling Strawberry Peppermint Tea, which was simply adding a strawberry infused simple syrup to the tea.

Strawberry Simple Syrup – Take 8-10 strawberries sliced. Add to 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add to your peppermint tea. Enjoy…its very refreshing and amazing!

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“There are few things so pleasant as a picnic eaten in perfect comfort.” W. Somerset Maugham

Well at least….a teatime picnic! Give it a try, have fun with the menu, experiment with your teas

and most of all, enjoy the company.

When you would usually attend conferences in person, we are now exploring alternative ways to stay connected. Recently I had the pleasure of attending a virtual tea festival! That’s right…the International Virtual Tea Festival delivered on some great tea time activities.

Just like when you attend a conference in person, there was a vendor floor complete with demonstrations and swag bags. Keynote speakers and main events were available for those attending as well as breakout sessions and classes. The whole function ran on one platform and used Zoom meetings to connect. Once you registered, you received your link and you were off and running. It was very well organized. My sisters and I donned our tea time hats and got ready to attend our first ever virtual tea festival.

I want to share some of the classes I attended but first let’s hit the vendor floor!

VENDOR FLOOR

The vendor floor was open from 9AM to 5PM, so you had plenty of time to “walk the aisles” and see what was happening in the tea world. With over 40 vendors your schedule was full just checking out all the sites!

Each vendor told their own story and displayed their products. As well, many had videos on teas and live sessions to interact with the vendor and other attendees. Contests were held for merchandise and downloads of all sorts. From recipes to educational as well as coloring pages for the young tea drinkers, there was an abundance of resources. And of course, you could just shop if you wanted. Just enter the booth and browse or connect through a group. Many of the vendors followed up with an email to say thanks and just check in for any questions. Just like a live conference, you could spend hours there.

ABOUT THE CLASSES

Just a little about the classes. There were multiple classes available. Some live…some recorded…and some a combination or hybrid. You could easily have filled your day with online classes to participate in. I chose ones that I had an interest in. Though the subject matter was all about tea, the rest was anywhere from travels, cooking, history, or health benefits. It seemed like an endless catalog of options. Each instructor contacted you ahead of time to let you know what you needed for the class and posted any downloads you would need. A couple even had shopping lists for the class. When it came time to go to class, you simply went to your agenda and got started. Here’s a sample of the classes I attended.

COOKING WITH TEA: How To Infuse Your Recipes

COOKING WITH TEA: How To Infuse Your Recipes was taught by Marlys and Alan Arnold, owners of Adventures with Tea. These two have a wealth of knowledge and experience between the two of them and presented 9 techniques for cooking with tea. The class was presented in a hybrid model, meaning one portion was recorded and the second, a Q&A, was live. Chat comments and questions were going on all the time. I came away with recipes and techniques to continue my journey of cooking and baking with tea.

This dynamic couple have been cooking with tea for years. Their presentation was packed full of techniques and ideas. Here’s the list of techniques:

1. Substituting tea for water in recipes
2. Poaching
3. Flavor pairings (see chart)
4. Marinades and Brines
5. Stock or Soup Bases
6. Cold Infusions
7. Blended
8. Ground as a spice
9. Sauces and Syrups

From drinks to desserts, vegetables and meats, the opportunities to cook and bake with tea is only limited by your imagination. Encouraged to experiment with teas that you enjoy as a drink, this class opened up a world of possibilities. It was pretty amazing to see all the beautiful dishes that could be made with tea!

COCKTAILS WITH TEA

Well I have baked and cooked with tea, but I haven’t made cocktails with tea. Yes, cocktails with tea. This class showed you how to make cocktails that had a base of tea! I was intrigued. Agnieszka (Agnes) Rapacz, a Certified Tea Sommelier (German School) from Tea Gschwendner, taught Cocktails with Tea and went through 4 cocktails using 4 different teas –

• Earl Grey MarTEAni
• Proseco with White Tea Elderflower
• Bergamot and Blossoms (using Hibiscus tea)
• Hazelnut Moments (using Hazelnut Chocolate tea)

The Ear Grey MarTEAni uses Vodka that has been infused with Earl Grey tea. Add the vodka, Cointreau, shake and serve in a martini glass with a lemon twist. That easy and that delicious.

This class was live and we could make the cocktails along with our presenter. From infusing a tea in vodka to mixing steeped tea with a simple syrup, these cocktails presented a delicious taste adventure for tea drinkers.

With the winter season coming soon, the class finished with t amazing drink!

Hazelnut Moments
Hazelnut Chocolate tea brewed in hot water for 2 minutes. Add 4 oz of Appleton Estate Jamaican Rum and 1.5oz of condensed milk. Mix and enjoy! Give me a blanket and a nice fire….a Hazelnut Moment would be perfect.

As you can imagine, sometimes the technical aspect of things can be a challenge. This was the case for our speaker but she graciously connected with each of us, sent us a sample of the teas that were used in the drinks along with a teelamaas (German for measuring spoon). I am excited to give these all a try with my new teelamaas.

ESSENTIALS OF TEA TASTING

This was another great class and the last of the live sessions that I attended. It was Essentials of Tea Tasting by Suzette Hammond, an award winning teacher from being tea. This class was a live meeting where we went through the process tasting 4 different teas.

Suzette expertly guided us through the process of tasting teas, explaining about the equipment, each tea, temperatures, and most fun – the tasting process. She shared a tool that helped outline how to describe what you would taste and smell. The class focused on 4 teas with a broad range of tastes. We practiced looking at the leaf, examining the color when steeped to learning the art of slurping and sipping – this was a great class. Though a very preliminary step into the whole tea tasting journey, it equipped us daily enthusiasts with the tools to taste teas and began our understanding of the distinctions between different types of teas.

READY FOR ANOTHER VIRTUAL FESTIVAL

We thoroughly enjoyed the tea festival. Would we do it again? Absolutely. We would have enjoyed to be in person but this was a great alternative. And surprisingly, the time went by very quickly.

I have only scratched the surface of what was offered. Not only in the speakers but in all the vendors and presentations. I have included the links of the 3 speakers – their sites are full of great information and products.

After the festival, the organizers made sure that the sessions were made available for several months afterwards. There was only so much time in the day and space on the internet! Such a wealth of information and you could jump in and access at any time. No travel time, no lodging costs…..just a lot of great tea and fantastic memories.

This was a great experience. I look forward to being able to attend in person, but in the meantime – I will absolutely be attending a virtual tea festival again!