Frannie Norton’s dream is to give a tea party on “Oprah.”
“Having tea helps pull people out of their doldrums,” she said. Because Oprah Winfrey’s TV show so often has people talking about their problems and what is depressing them, “they might enjoy themselves more if they had tea and cookies with Oprah,” said Norton, who has written “A Victorian Cup of Tea” ($9.95) extolling the virtues of tea drinking.
Actually, Winfrey would be right on target if she hosted a show on the popularity of tea and tea parties. R.C. Bigelow Inc., distributor of teas throughout the U.S., said its sales of teas have increased 7 percent in the last year alone.
“We view that as a very strong growth,” said Bob Kelly, director of marketing for the Fairfield, Conn., company that says it accounts for about 45 percent of the market in total tea sales in this country.
But the increased tea sales are just a reflection of what is believed to be a growing trend in the popularity of “having tea”-that is, sitting down, relaxing and having a cup of tea.
Gloria Duarte, owner of Cafe Las Belles Arts in Elmhurst, started offering afternoon tea a few years ago.
“I thought when I first started serving it, who’s going to come to tea? But people started coming, and then I realized I’d really scored on this one. It’s been really successful for us,” she said.
Duarte first got the idea to serve tea when she had it in Mexico.
“I married a man from Mexico City and learned a lot about tea in that country,” she said. “There, it is a big thing, although the atmosphere is more continental, or European, like what you would see done in Paris, rather than in London.” In Paris, desserts are far more elegant and extravagant, she said.
When they travel to London, they always have tea there, too. “That’s the best of the best,” she said, because Londoners pay such attention to detail.
Actually, most people think of having tea as being strictly an elegant affair. But it doesn’t have to be so.
Penny Newkirk, co-owner of Cooking Craft Inc., a cooking school and gourmet shop in St. Charles, said tea in England is usually a casual affair, unless it’s high tea, which has several courses and the food is served more elegantly.
“We’re actually more formal here than they are in England,” said Newkirk, who gives classes through out the year at her shop on giving tea parties and preparing the foods that go with them, including traditional recipes like clotted cream and scones.
Norton, of Wheaton, is a great believer in keeping tea parties simple, too.
“Whether you serve from paper plates or fine china, it really does not matter,” she said, explaining that the Victorians, when they served tea, believed the food and service should be kept simple, because that was secondary to the fine art of conversation.
“And it was not just for ladies,” she said. “Husbands, brothers and intimate gentlemen friends would also be given an open invitation to drop by a gathering on their way home from work for a chat and a cup of tea.”
Tea was considered an economical way of entertaining, and the Victorians liked to be frugal, Norton said, incorporating things to reflect their own personal sense of style.
For instance, if a woman enjoyed needlework, she might make a centerpiece with balls of yarn and knitting needles on her table. “You don’t have to have lace and silver,” she said.
Plus, the tea was used as an easy way to let people from different classes socialize, Norton said.
“People of different status levels could be entertained and feel comfortable with each other because of the informality of the affair,” she said.
Norton found that taking tea is very popular along the West Coast when she traveled there recently. “Any time my husband, Johnny, and I stopped somewhere in California in the afternoon, we always had tea,” she said.
Lucinda Williams, owner of the Tea Party Cafe in Geneva, said she has been offering tea in the afternoons for about a year and a half, and it is very popular.
“We have probably about 20 (private) tea parties a week here,” she said, adding that her cafe has been listed as one of the suggested places in the Chicago area to have tea in the new newsletter Mary Mac’s TeaTimes published in Langley, Wash.
The editor of the magazine, Karen Giordano, who began the publication with her sister, Gail Jiles, a year and a half ago, never expected the kind of response she’s getting.
“We weren’t sure whether we would have enough of a market for the newsletter to do well, but we’ve been overwhelmed and amazed by the popularity of it and how into tea people are,” she said, adding that they plan to expand the size of their 16-page newsletter soon.
The popularity of drinking tea is growing for two reasons, Giordano said.
“First, people are looking for a healthier diet, trying to get away from alcohol and caffeine. There has been a great growth in herbal teas, more accurately called infusions, and caffeine-free teas, even though tea has less caffeine than coffee. Pound-per-pound, tea has more caffeine,” she explained, “but when you brew it, you don’t use as much tea as you do coffee, so it has 20 percent of the caffeine that coffee does.”
Secondly, she said, people are enjoying the social aspects of having tea.
“It’s the overall ambience, taking a few minutes away from the hectic lives we all live. When things get too much and days are crazy, people can go somewhere for afternoon tea or have some friends in.”
Children’s tea parties are another growing segment of this trend.
“That’s become very popular lately,” said Loretta Reynolds, room service supervisor at Oak Brook Hills Resort hotel in Westmont, which serves afternoon tea in its lobby. “Little girls come in with their dolls and have tea as a special occasion.”
Mother and daughter tea parties have become so popular at the Little Traveler gift shop and tea room in Geneva that they are often sold out the first day they are announced in the shop’s newsletter, said Michael Simon, owner.
“It’s an opportunity for moms and daughters to share quality time in a delightful way,” Simon said.
Norton often gives lectures on teas during the events hosted by the Little Traveler.
“She lives and breathes Victoriana, and I’m very impressed with the depth of her knowledge about tea,” Simon said.
According to “Tea Time,” by M. Dalton King, tea is believed to have been discovered in China by Emperor Shen Nung in the 28th Century B.C. He habitually had his servants boil his water because he believed it prevented disease. While they were preparing his drink one day, a branch of chamomile dropped into it, flavoring the hot water. The emperor liked both the aroma and the flavor of the brew, and a new drink was born.
Tea was not introduced to continental Europe until Elizabethan times, and then it was brought by the Dutch. The Russians knew about tea, and so did the Portuguese, but it did not reach England until the 1650s, and when it was first introduced it was not immediately popular because it was expensive and valued mostly for its medicinal qualities.
But when Charles II started drinking it, other members of the court joined him, followed by the general populace.
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the custom of serving afternoon tea and cakes was originated by Anna, wife of the seventh Duke of Bedford around 1840. At that time, people usually ate only a gigantic breakfast and no other meal until about 8 p.m., when dinner would be served.
The duchess instituted a new meal of tea and cakes at 5 p.m. to tide people over. It caught on so well that afternoon tea now is considered one of the most characteristic of British customs.
To really enjoy tea, Giordano said, a person should be careful to brew it properly.
“Loose tea is preferred over a tea bag; you get a better pot of tea,” she said, “because the leaves are able to expand while they steep.”
Use a glass or china pot to serve the tea, she said. Neither of these will alter the taste of the tea. First, fill the pot with boiling water to warm it. Then, in a separate pot, bring the water for the tea to a rolling boil. Empty the hot water out of the serving pot, put in one level teaspoon (regular teaspoon, not measuring teaspoon) of tea per cup, plus one for the pot, if you like.
Pour the boiling water over the tea and let it steep three to five minutes.
“Brew by time, not by color,” she said, “because different teas will brew to different colors. Some will not get as dark.”
Pour the tea into a cup through a strainer.
There are two schools of thought, she said, about adding milk or sugar: whether to put it in before pouring the tea or after.
“I prefer to add my milk and sugar first so it doesn’t cool down the tea,” she said. Others add milk and sugar after the tea is in the cup, the way they would with coffee.
In India, tea is actually brewed with milk instead of water. Ashoke Patel brews his this way at his Glendale Heights Ashoka Restaurant.
“I use half milk and half water, then add a little sugar, loose tea and a pinch of cardamom powder and black pepper. I call this Indian Marsala tea,” Patel said, adding that tea in India is traditionally served with salty and spicy snacks, rather than sweet ones.
Hiring a caterer is an easy way to take the stress out of entertaining with a tea. That’s the method Wheaton resident Lynne Kornecki used when she threw a tea party for friends recently.
“I have my own communications company, and because I work full time, I can’t see my friends as much as I’d like. The caterer, Spice ‘N’ Easy of Glen Ellyn, was excellent. She worked with me to develop a menu that was all finger food, tasty and pleasing as well to the eye.” (A catered tea party from Spice ‘N’ Easy costs $9 to $15 per person.)
Kornecki hired a server, too, so she could enjoy her time with her friends.
“Preparing and serving food means pressure to me, so taking that out of my hands and putting it in the hands of a professional caterer took that away,” she said.
But Kornecki had the caterer use some family keepsakes to give the event a personal touch.
“I used a beautiful old linen tablecloth of my aunt’s, some china and a serving piece hand painted by my grandmother and had a floral arrangement put in a family antique,” she said.
Kornecki would make Norton proud. She kept it simple, invited in her friends and had a great time, the essence of serving tea.
And, Norton added, there’s still a possibility she may end up serving tea to Oprah.
“They said they just might do it,” she said. “Anything can happen.”
TIPS ON WHERE TO FIND SOME SIPS IN DU PAGE
Du Page County offers plenty of places to enjoy and discover more about tea and tea parties. Here are some tips on where to sip and learn.
Have tea at:
Ashoka Restaurant, 2204 Bloomingdale Rd., Glendale Heights, 529-5560. Serves Marsala tea Indian-style with spicy and salty snacks.
Cafe Las Belles Arts, 1112 W. Park, Elmhurst, 530-7725. Serving tea from 2:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, or customized parties arranged in advance.
Oak Brook Hills Resort, 3500 Midwest Rd., Westmont, 850-5555. Tea is served from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday in the lobby, with a choice of a light tea, full tea, high tea or anything a la carte. Customized tea parties available.
Tea Party Cafe, 113 E. State St., in the Old Mill Market, Geneva, 208-6844. Call for a reservation.
The Little Traveler, 404 S. 3rd St., Geneva, 232-4200. Call for a newsletter detailing dates of tea parties.
Bulk tea and tea party classes:
Cooking Craft Inc., 1415 W. Main St., St. Charles, 377-1730.
Catering:
Spice ‘N’ Easy, 528 Crescent Blvd., Glen Ellyn, 858-0779.
Publications:
“A Victorian Cup of Tea,” by Frances Norton, available for $9.95 at Little Traveler, Geneva or Barnes & Noble, 351 Town Square, Wheaton, 653-2122.
Mary Mac’s TeaTimes newsletter, Box 841, Langley, Wash., 98260 (phone 800-331-1885); $18 for six issues.
