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How do you serve tea/coffee to a group of friends?


TheAttachedMama
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I'm just curious because this varies so much between cultures and regions...

 

If you were to have a group of close friends over, and you offered them tea or coffee, how would you serve it?   There is no wrong or right answer here...I'm just curious how different people do it.

 

It seems like in the US (at least where I live) a mom will pull open a big drawer filled with lots of boxes of teas and give you a tea bag and some hot water.    

Does anyone in the US actually make a pot of tea and serve it that way?   What kind of pot do you use to make sure you have enough?   And does anyone have any good tips on how to serve honey with the tea?  (All I have is an ugly bear shapped plastic bottle!)    How do you offer milk or sugar?   

 

 Do you serve your tea over a coffee table or in the kitchen?  

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I have a keurig coffee bar type area, so with guests over we just put out creamers, different flavor coffees, etc. and people make their own. Then we gather around and chat. I have several tins of tea- so if someone preferred that I’d just heat the kettle. 😊

Edited by mytwomonkeys
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Coffee is in the pot, on the coffee maker with cups, spoons, creamer and sugar cubes.   Tea is a water in the hot pot and with tea bags available on the counter. 

 

 

If it is a small group and they are just tea drinkers, I would make loose leaf tea in my from England, English tea pot that has a matching sugar and creamer.  My tea pot was one of the largest I saw when I was looking for one in England.  It doesn't hold many cups when using regular American coffee cups.  So really this is a two person thing.  Honestly I could drink the whole pot myself....

 

If I ever have to do a fancy tea, like as a commander's wife, I could pull out my depressionware tea cups and saucers.  They are true teacup sized. 

 

No help on honey. 

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So, if they are Muslim friends (which tend to come over in bigger groups, with husbands, kids), I'd probably make a pot of tea or chai, put out cups on a tray, a bowl with sugar cubes (big in some communities here), and a honey bear. (Yeah, that's all I got for honey.)  There would probably be a plate with cookies/brownies, and also possibly a bowl of fruit, little plates for the cookies, etc.

 

So regarding milk, I have a little pitcher that my Mom gave me....but I'm not adverse to putting out the bottle.  Condensed milk is very popular in some Muslim communities, so if I have any on hand, I'll put out a little can.

 

For American friends (usually it's just one at a time), I'd make a pot, but probably put everything on the table...no tray. (Don't ask me why)

 

 

My Turkish friends have this wonderful contraption that they make tea in.  You have a big pot filled with boiling water, and then a little tea pot on top with a more concentrated tea....so one can add extra hot water if needed.   It's like this https://www.amazon.com/Turkish-Double-Tea-Kettle-Pot/dp/B00NYA3HQM  only my friends is probably the commercial size. LOL

 

 

Edited by umsami
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Well we always used to make a pot of coffee or tea, set teacups all around, and pour everyone a cup.  Each person would add sugar / cream to taste.  Honey is OK to provide in the original honey container.  The coffee or tea would be in a decorative coffee or tea pot, or if we didn't have a coffee pot, in the carafe that came with the coffee maker.  The sugar/creamer would be in dishes that match the coffee / tea pot.

 

But now we don't have a coffee/tea pot any more.  So it's individual cups of water/teabag or Keurig or instant coffee.  I'm happy to make the person a cup of whatever, but usually they expect to make their own.

Edited by SKL
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When we have Thanksgiving here and there are coffee and tea drinkers, both, I'll have a pot of coffee and a bunch of cups and creamers, different types of sweeteners, etc. and people serve themselves. I also offer hot water and a bunch of flavors of tea. When it's a smallish dinner party, I will serve the coffee, but put a small pitcher of half-and-half on the table and some various sweeteners, including sugar on the table.

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I serve hot water and tea bags.  My brit friends do the same except for a more "formal" gathering, in which case they will make a pot of tea.  My very good brit friends just walk into my kitchen, turn on the kettle, rummage around for my tea bags, and get the milk from the fridge.  I love those friends.  :-)

 

Since coming here and getting more British friends or British influenced friends, I've had to get a lot more disciplined with asking if people want tea.  They always do.  Time is irrelevant.  If you're at someone's house, you apparently need tea.  Any time I forget to offer, they eventually find a way to slip it into the conversation that some tea might go well.  lol.  

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If I had a large group, I would brew a pot of tea and use lose leaf tea.

If I have a small number of people wanting tea, I let people choose their tea bags and brew in individual mugs.

Coffee gets made in the French press(es); I set them on the table for people to pour from there into coffee cups.

Depending on what people desire, I offer sugar, milk, or cream. Milk/cream is in a small pitcher that comes with my dishes for this special purpose. Cube sugar is in a matching sugar bowl with sugar tongs, and granulated sugar in a ceramic dish with a spoon.

Edited by regentrude
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When we did sit down teas for Valentine's Day we used sugar cubes. Kids love sugar cubes. I brewed gallons of peppermint tea in a stock pot, keeping it warm on the stove for refills and transferred it to tea pots for serving. (We usually had LDS friends in the mix and they have dietary restriction about teas.)  An LDS friend said mint tea was a safe option. We included a small candy cane on the saucer because we usually had some left over for Christmas and they work well with the tea. Some of the kids liked to use them to stir in the milk and sugar in their cup of tea.

Every December or early January when the last Downton Abbey episode was run before the new season started my mother hosted a sit down tea for all the women folk.  She did the same thing I did with brewing a large amount in the kitchen and filling tea pots for serving at the table. 

We offered cream in creamers. I had a collection of mix and match tea sets so there were a couple of creamer dishes at each table.  (We're talking about a 25-30 guests having a sit down tea.)

We have a honey pot with a dipper.  Here are some different options: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=honey+jar+with+dipper&sprefix=honey+jar%2Caps%2C267&crid=1SF8YTY08RAE6

If I were serving a group of mostly adults I would just have hot water in my electric kettle on the counter and a variety of teas in tea bags to choose from. Usually groups are big enough that it's buffet style around here. I drink green and camomile tea every single day so I'm a big tea drinker but I hate teas like Early Grey and Chai, so I would provide options.

My family get togethers typically include 25-30 people, so I have a drink station set up for cold items in a large decorative ice bin (bottles of water, bottles and cans of soft drinks and juices,) large containers of lemonade and iced tea are on the counter next to the cups right beside the ice bin, and a hot drinks station is set up for coffee in a pot.  My family doesn't have hot tea at gatherings, they prefer iced tea. 

I drink hot tea every day: green tea in the am and camomile at bedtime, but I live potent tea.  I microwave the water in a mug and put 2 tea bags of green tea in and 3 bags of camomile.

When I go to a friend's house she always offers me hot and tea and I always accept.  She gives me hot water in a mug and several teas in bags to choose from. 

Oldest drinks hot loose tea often.  She has metal infusers and uses the electric kettle to heat up water. I got her a lovely gift set of loose teas for Christmas that she chooses from most of the time. She puts honey in it with the dipper.

 

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I serve hot water and tea bags. My brit friends do the same except for a more "formal" gathering, in which case they will make a pot of tea. My very good brit friends just walk into my kitchen, turn on the kettle, rummage around for my tea bags, and get the milk from the fridge. I love those friends. :-)

 

Since coming here and getting more British friends or British influenced friends, I've had to get a lot more disciplined with asking if people want tea. They always do. Time is irrelevant. If you're at someone's house, you apparently need tea. Any time I forget to offer, they eventually find a way to slip it into the conversation that some tea might go well. lol.

😂 Yes, so true! My years in England are what got me addicted to tea. A habit that I keep even now, and I left the U.K. 18 years ago. It helps to have an equally tea addicted husband.

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If there are enough takers for a tea pot, I prepare one. Otherwise, I just provide mugs or cups and hot water. I have an electric kettle so that's easy. For casual occasions, I use a plain teapot, regular mugs, milk straight out of the bottle, and sugar in my regular sugar bowl. For more formal gatherings, I use a nicer teapot and cups and saucers, as well as a nice milk pitcher and sugar bowl.

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I offer a kuerig for casual coffee drinkers... if I know guests are more serious coffee drinkers I pull out the French press.

For tea we serve most tea in teapots - I have several and usually offer either English or Irish breakfast and/ or Earl Grey. Sugar in a sugar bowl with tea spoons and milk in a creamer. I serve local jarred honey if I serve honey which I usually don't. Lemons go on a dessert plate if needed.

 

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Most of my friends are coffee drinkers. Usually at a group function I will make a pot of coffee and put out cups and cream and sugar. I just leave it on the coffemaker in the pot for people to serve themselves and then they can also choose to add cream and sugar if they want. I usually also boil a kettle of water on the stove and put out tea bags for those people who might want tea. The coffepot is next to the stove so it makes a little service area for either one. 

 

I have one friend who always serves tea in a china teapot. She hosts our book club and it is lovely to have the more fancy set-up for that. 

 

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The only tea that happens here is the iced kind. None of our close friends would expect anything else, unless (maybe) it was a cold winter day.

 

For coffee the Keurig is right there on the counter and close friends know they're welcome to use it. Our old friends know our kitchen as well as we do, and we all like it that way. We tend to make ourselves at home at each other's houses.

 

We'd of course do things a bit differently with people we didn't know as well.

Edited by Pawz4me
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I don't own a coffee pot or have tea bags except occasionally! I offer water, lemonade, and Pepsi when my friends come over. No one has ever acted like I'm crazy. Some of my friends will have a pot of coffee and some mugs set up when we go there, but since I don't drink it, I haven't really paid much attention. I just drink water when I'm out.

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Honey in tea?  I have never encountered this!

 

Coffee: make it by the cup, sugar in a bowl and milk in a jug to add your own. Tea: one person - tea bag + milk from the fridge.  More: make a pot, just of milk, bowl of sugar.  Fruit / green tea hot water and tea bags.

 

*I don't drink any of these things.  People get uncomfortable when they realise I'm not drinking with them.  I almost always remember to offer nowadays. 

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The only tea that happens here is the iced kind. None of our close friends would expect anything else, unless (maybe) it was a cold winter day.

 

For coffee the Keurig is right there on the counter and close friends know they're welcome to use it. Our old friends know our kitchen as well as we do, and we all like it that way. We tend to make ourselves at home at each other's houses.

 

We'd of course do things a bit differently with people we didn't know as well.

 

Are you a Southerner? (Is it sweet tea?)  Or a Northerner?  Cause I do live in sweet tea country and totally forgot about that. :)

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I'm just curious because this varies so much between cultures and regions...

 

If you were to have a group of close friends over, and you offered them tea or coffee, how would you serve it?   There is no wrong or right answer here...I'm just curious how different people do it.

 

It seems like in the US (at least where I live) a mom will pull open a big drawer filled with lots of boxes of teas and give you a tea bag and some hot water.    

Does anyone in the US actually make a pot of tea and serve it that way?   What kind of pot do you use to make sure you have enough?   And does anyone have any good tips on how to serve honey with the tea?  (All I have is an ugly bear shapped plastic bottle!)    How do you offer milk or sugar?   

 

 Do you serve your tea over a coffee table or in the kitchen?  

 

For tea:

Served in a pot (filled with hot water while waiting for the water to boil), made with a loose black tea; cream and sugar cubes.* No hot water and tea bags here. I am not a restaurant, I don't feel compelled to offer each guest her own choice of tea. 

 

*These kinds of sugar cubes:

 

 

I have quite a large teapot that has an insulated metal cozy thingie, lol. I tried to find on on the Internet to post a picture of it but couldn't find one. :-) If we were to run out of tea,  I'd just make more.

 

If there are only two of us, I make us each a cup of tea using special mugs that have tea infusers, and I'd offer cream and sugar cubes.

 

If I have guests over for dinner, often we'll retire to the living room after we finish eating, and I serve coffee, poured out of a silver coffee pot into cute little demitasse cups, with cute little demitasse spoons that I bought in Williamsburg. This is not the norm in my family, nor have I ever been served demitasse in anyone else's home. But I read about it in Miss Manners' books, and it looked like fun, so I do it. My guests humor me, lol.

 

I use this for honey:

.

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I inherited some lovely tea and coffee services that I use.  Loose tea and I pour, most often at the coffee table.  There is milk, sugar, and hot water (but I invariably forget the lemon) on the tray and I always have some biscuits or something to go with (I myself get sick if I drink strong tea without eating). Coffee, I brew in the kitchen and transfer before bringing in.  I don't usually serve honey because none of my friends take tea with honey, but I do have honey in the pantry that I could serve if someone wanted it. I don't have a honey spoon though. 

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Everyone gets their own hot pot of French press coffee. I give everyone a cup, fill their French press with coffee of choice, and put cream and sugar and spoons at the table for those who want it.

 

For tea, I place the hot kettle at the table, a basket of teas to choose from. Cream and sugar and honey is also at the table.

 

Ice water is offered too. I just fill the glass with ice and water from the fridge and hand it to them.

 

I keep unsweetened iced tea in a pitcher in the fridge too, if anyone wants that.

 

This presumes we are gathered around a table. Kitchen table. School table. Patio table. Coffee table. (Which I don't actually own but will makeshift something if needed for a crowd.)

 

If not gathered, I have a makeshift coffee/tea bar set up on my dining room hutch where they (or I) can make their drink and bring the cup wherever with them.

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I like to use a tray. I use a sugar bowl and pour creamer into a creamer bowl. I always try to have a special sugar to put out. Coffee, I'd put out my coffee press. Tea, we have a lot of choices. For bags I'd pour the water out it and bring those out on a tray. Loose teas I serve in a tea pot. Cups and condiments on a tray. Even with small groups, I find everyone wants something different, so I have many coffee presses, tea pots, mugs, fine tea cups, kid friendly cups, caffeinated, herbal, etc. I collect vintage trays and supplies as well. :)

Edited by helena
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Coffee - In the pot, grab yourself a cup, sugar is on the counter, milk is in the refrigerator if you want it.

 

Tea - hot water made in a kettle, poured into a tea pot with desired tea, served with the tea pot, teacup & saucer, tea spoon, sugar in a bowl and creamer in a little pitcher.

Unless the person wants a tea bag, then it's the coffee pot routine for them.

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I would ask how many wanted tea and coffee.  If there are a lot who want coffee, we might go with our electric drip filter maker; for fewer, it might be a French press or a Moka pot.  Depending on the method, I might pour out cups in the kitchen or bring the jug to the coffee table in the sitting room.  I would warm and froth milk in a jug for people to add as they liked and take it all in on a tray.

 

For tea, I would normally say, 'Is Indian tea okay, or would you prefer green or herbal'?  Most Brits would go with Indian.  I have a largish china tea pot that I would warm with hot water, put in  two or three bags (I am not a tea connoisseur), add boiling water then cover with a tea cosy.  I'd put that on a tray with small mugs, cold milk, white sugar and spoons.  Honey would be an unusual request here, but I'd just bring out the jar and a spoon if asked.  For herbal or green I'd probably put a bag in a mug, or maybe use my small teapot.  Once I have poured the tea in the sitting room, I go back to the kitchen to top up the teapot from the freshly-boiled electric kettle.

Edited by Laura Corin
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Coffee - In the pot, grab yourself a cup, sugar is on the counter, milk is in the refrigerator if you want it.

 

Tea - hot water made in a kettle, poured into a tea pot with desired tea, served with the tea pot, teacup & saucer, tea spoon, sugar in a bowl and creamer in a little pitcher.

Unless the person wants a tea bag, then it's the coffee pot routine for them.

Whew, sounds like could spend time together!

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This is cracking me up. You guys are so fancy. First of all, I dont have a group of friends. If I did and they drank coffee Id make a pot of coffee and ask them if they wanted cream or sugar and we would just get a cup and drink it. Lol. Where Im from, the only tea drinking is sweet iced tea.

 

I know!

 

We can get fancy (although we try out best not to, ever, if it can possibly be avoided). ;)

 

But the OP specifically asked about close friends. And that makes me really wonder about some of the responses. My close friends (three of them, all of whom I've known for four decades or more) are much more like sisters than friends. Very friendly sisters. ;) They'd never, ever expect me to get fancy or wait on them. They'd grab a mug out of the cabinet and fix whatever they wanted.

 

I guess I live in a different world. But I like my world. :)

Edited by Pawz4me
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This is cracking me up. You guys are so fancy. First of all, I dont have a group of friends. If I did and they drank coffee Id make a pot of coffee and ask them if they wanted cream or sugar and we would just get a cup and drink it. Lol. Where Im from, the only tea drinking is sweet iced tea.

LOL, I was thinking something similar. I can think of one non-relative that's been in our home in the past two years, other than repair folk. That just doesn't happen. I don't know anybody!

 

I suppose I could kidnap the meat truck guy if he ever stops here and run him through all the beverage options.

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I don't know that I have ever had friends over for coffee. I might struggle to make a small pot when MIL or an Uncle stop by for dinner but we don't drink coffee.

 

I am more of a "here are your options, help yourself" type hostess. If a friend stops by they just grab water or iced tea and any cookies/brownies/snacks that might be around and go with that.

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Unless there are just a couple of people here, we will always make a pot of coffee, 12-cup drip machine.  Depending on time of day and crowd, we'll ask if anyone wants decaf, and we'll make a smaller pot of that, after pouring the regular coffee into a carafe to keep it hot.  Sugar goes into a bowl and half and half into a pitcher and they're put out next to the coffee pot, which is on the counter under the cupboard with the mugs. I leave the cupboard door open so everyone can just take a mug out. 

 

For tea, it depends on who is here. If my Canadian and Scottish friends are here, I have one of them make a pot of tea and fix it how they like it. I like tea sometimes, but they make it so milky and sweet I can't stand it, so I have coffee. (They add the milk and sugar right to the pot of tea, so it's inescapable.)  But for others, I put out a carafe of hot water, a selection of tea bags, a pitcher of milk, a bowl of sugar, some lemon wedges, and honey.  A lot of people I know prefer green or herbal teas (or infusions I should say) to "regular" black tea.  My daughter likes flavored tea so we usually have some around, and people seem to like those too. 

 

For guests, I use honey that comes in a glass jar.  I put out the jar and a small spoon.  That seems to work OK. 

 

I am not sure I understand the "fancy" comments.   I haven't read anything that seems "fancy" to me, just people trying to offer guests things they will like to drink.  :-)

Edited by marbel
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For tea:

Served in a pot (filled with hot water while waiting for the water to boil), made with a loose black tea; cream and sugar cubes.* No hot water and tea bags here. I am not a restaurant, I don't feel compelled to offer each guest her own choice of tea.

 

*These kinds of sugar cubes:

 

 

I have quite a large teapot that has an insulated metal cozy thingie, lol. I tried to find on on the Internet to post a picture of it but couldn't find one. :-) If we were to run out of tea, I'd just make more.

 

If there are only two of us, I make us each a cup of tea using special mugs that have tea infusers, and I'd offer cream and sugar cubes.

 

If I have guests over for dinner, often we'll retire to the living room after we finish eating, and I serve coffee, poured out of a silver coffee pot into cute little demitasse cups, with cute little demitasse spoons that I bought in Williamsburg. This is not the norm in my family, nor have I ever been served demitasse in anyone else's home. But I read about it in Miss Manners' books, and it looked like fun, so I do it. My guests humor me, lol.

 

I use this for honey:

.

My parents had express every night of their lives. I wanted tea. My mother would put a sneer on her face and say, 'You'll have to make it yourself. I don't want you upsetting the household routine.' Then periodically throughout the evening she would cross the cross-examine me as to whether I would be so rude as to ask for tea if I were in someone else's house. Ugh!

 

I have multiple demitasse sets, one for 24 people (well, it was originally, not sure how many cups now). I love the China, but the idea of drinking strong coffee before bed is something I would never do.

 

ETA

IF I were to invite people over for tea, they'd get tea in a teapot, poured through a silver strainer into a nice teacup, cucumber sandwiches, and so on. I actually used to do that, decades ago. Now, it's a mug and a teabag, but I have a great assortment of herbal teas. And I just bought a Moroccan tea pot that I am planning to make mint tea in. I have to look at you tube videos again, as it's a multi-step process.

 

Coffee? I no longer drink coffee. But if a friend wanted some, I could pull some out of the freezer and use either a Turkish British or a Melitta filtered pot.

Edited by Alessandra
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I don't have large gatherings at my house much. Not many friends and most family doesn't really visit me.

I gave up in serving coffee at my house. No one in our house drinks it. I asked for a Mr. Coffee when I got married (yes, a long time ago) but the coffee would get mighty old between visitors who would want it. Plus, they would have to make it themselves because I can't stand the taste (or even the smell) of coffee and wouldn't know if it was good. Perhaps it is stubbornness on my part to not learn, but it is a coffee drinkers world and I'm rebelling. I've thought about getting a French press, but I have so few visitors that, again, the coffee would get old. Any coffee drinkers who do come over know me and bring their own in an insulated tumbler.

 

I am a tea snob and I have too many delicious varieties of tea (blacks, oolongs, greens, flavored, tisanes, all loose ) to make up a whole pot of hot tea. I have a lovely teapot that is gathering dust because I hate over-steeped tea and don't have a large enough infuser for that. (Will correct that now that I work in a tea shop ... will buy a removable infuser insert (the balls are too small to let a fine oolong unfurl). When I offer tea, I let them choose from my variety of loose teas and I make up a cup using one of my IngenuiTeas. http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html. I serve it either in a mug or one of the adorable teacups that dd made in her ceramics class. I offer honey in the bear and milk from my fridge, but I can't remember the last time anyone wanted milk and sugar. I'm informal because nobody formal comes over.

 

 

 

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Edited by dirty ethel rackham
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I don't have large gatherings at my house much. Not many friends and most family doesn't really visit me.

I gave up in serving coffee at my house. No one in our house drinks it. I asked for a Mr. Coffee when I got married (yes, a long time ago) but the coffee would get mighty old between visitors who would want it. Plus, they would have to make it themselves because I can't stand the taste (or even the smell) of coffee and wouldn't know if it was good. Perhaps it is stubbornness on my part to not learn, but it is a coffee drinkers world and I'm rebelling. I've thought about getting a French press, but I have so few visitors that, again, the coffee would get old. Any coffee drinkers who do come over know me and bring their own in an insulated tumbler.

 

I am a tea snob and I have too many delicious varieties of tea (blacks, oolongs, greens, flavored, tisanes, all loose ) to make up a whole pot of hot tea. I have a lovely teapot that is gathering dust because I hate over-steeped tea and don't have a large enough infuser for that. (Will correct that now that I work in a tea shop ... will buy a removable infuser insert (the balls are too small to let a fine oolong unfurl). When I offer tea, I let them choose from my variety of loose teas and I make up a cup using one of my IngenuiTeas. http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html. I serve it either in a mug or one of the adorable teacups that dd made in her ceramics class. I offer honey in the bear and milk from my fridge, but I can't remember the last time anyone wanted milk and sugar. I'm informal because nobody formal comes over.

 

 

 

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I used to love coffee, although I never drank more than a cup a day, but now I feel better without it.

 

You can toss coffee into any ordinary saucepot, bring it to the boil a few times, and pour it through a strainer. That is essentially what is done in Greece and Turkey. They use a special pot and very fine grounds, but it works with a regular grind and an ordinary pot.

 

I have a friend who worked in tea shop too. She used a glass teapot with a removable insert, larger than those tea balls. She also introduced me to white tea, which I have just begun to drink and love.

 

Your tea selection sounds great!

Edited by Alessandra
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* Oh, and I know that my best English friend requires TWO Lipton tea bags for it to really count as a cup of tea for her.  It must be torture for her when she visits and I only have Lipton.  lol

 

I am picky about my tea.  I will ONLY drink yorkshire tea....and I always require two tea bags for my tea to taste right.  (And milk and a bit of honey.)   However, I have noticed that most of my friends prefer flavored teas, herbal, and the like.   I almost wonder if I need to buy some of these just to offer them to guests because most people won't like my yorkshire tea!   ha!

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For tea:

Served in a pot (filled with hot water while waiting for the water to boil), made with a loose black tea; cream and sugar cubes.* No hot water and tea bags here. I am not a restaurant, I don't feel compelled to offer each guest her own choice of tea. 

 

*These kinds of sugar cubes:

 

 

I have quite a large teapot that has an insulated metal cozy thingie, lol. I tried to find on on the Internet to post a picture of it but couldn't find one. :-) If we were to run out of tea,  I'd just make more.

 

If there are only two of us, I make us each a cup of tea using special mugs that have tea infusers, and I'd offer cream and sugar cubes.

 

If I have guests over for dinner, often we'll retire to the living room after we finish eating, and I serve coffee, poured out of a silver coffee pot into cute little demitasse cups, with cute little demitasse spoons that I bought in Williamsburg. This is not the norm in my family, nor have I ever been served demitasse in anyone else's home. But I read about it in Miss Manners' books, and it looked like fun, so I do it. My guests humor me, lol.

 

I use this for honey:

.

YESSSSS!!!   This is exactly how I serve tea too!   Down to even warming the pot before I pour it.   I thought I was the only one in the US who did this!    I am glad to find someone else.  ;)  

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YESSSSS!!!   This is exactly how I serve tea too!   Down to even warming the pot before I pour it.   I thought I was the only one in the US who did this!    I am glad to find someone else.   ;)

 

:001_wub:

 

Oh, and also, FTR, I let my tea steep for exactly four minutes. :-)

 

I have been known to use teabags in the teapot. For some reason, they really do taste better when they've been steeped in the pot instead of sloshing around in a single cup.

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Since there isn't really enough room for anyone to sit down for coffee/tea at our current place, I would offer to treat them at a nearby shop. If I limit myself to about a half mile radius, I can offer Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, a hipster coffee shop, a bubble tea place, and several other places that have coffee/tea on the menu. And since I don't drink the stuff anyway, I am sure these places make a much better cup that I can.

 

We are expecting to move in the near future. The kitchen will be smallish, but I am planning for the dining room to have space for entertaining. I have packing boxes full of lovely serving pieces; teapots of various types and sizes, lots of cute little cups, pitchers, bowls, etc.

 

Dh uses a small French press now, but after we move I will probably buy something with more capacity. We have about a dozen kinds of tea on hand, mostly in bags, but some loose, with strainers, etc. Dh used to have the ugly bear for his honey, but lately we get it in jars. I personally prefer creamed honey, which is much easier to serve.

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I don't have large gatherings at my house much. Not many friends and most family doesn't really visit me.

I gave up in serving coffee at my house. No one in our house drinks it. I asked for a Mr. Coffee when I got married (yes, a long time ago) but the coffee would get mighty old between visitors who would want it. Plus, they would have to make it themselves because I can't stand the taste (or even the smell) of coffee and wouldn't know if it was good. Perhaps it is stubbornness on my part to not learn, but it is a coffee drinkers world and I'm rebelling. I've thought about getting a French press, but I have so few visitors that, again, the coffee would get old. Any coffee drinkers who do come over know me and bring their own in an insulated tumbler.

 

<snip>

 

if no one in my house drank coffee, I wouldn't buy it just for guests!  Or anything else really.  

 

Lots of people I know drink pop (soda, coke) but we rarely have it in the house.  Sometimes I will buy it for the kids, or if we're having a big group over and I know some people will want it.  But, mostly, we don't have any; I don't offer it, and of course no one asks.   I would not expect anyone to keep something in the house they don't consume, just for guests.  

 

Not related to this post:  The "tea snobs" I know will not drink Lipton tea.  Most drink Yorkshire or another British import.  I know someone who will turn down tea if it's Lipton. :-)  

 

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If am serving tea to a group, it is usually iced tea (even in the winter).  I have various tea bags for those who might want a hot tea.  I have a Korean tea pot if I have a small group of loose leaf, hot tea drinkers.

 

Coffee depends on how large of a group and how formal of event (and whether I am serving decaf and caf)--I have my mom's old percolator for large groups, for smaller groups I use either a french press, drip coffee, or stovetop espress.

 

 

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I have a coffee station.  I use it personally everyday.  There is also an electric kettle and various teas for hot tea which other members of the family use daily.  I don't drink hot tea daily.   If people come over and it's casual they usually serve themselves and there will be a small creamer, sugar bowl and spoons.  We don't use cream at all for coffee or tea so that and spoons are the only extra things I add. I might stand there and make cups of coffee and pass them on for my friends to add what they like to it.

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I have a tray with a sugar bowl, and put espresso spoons on it, and napkins. For our diabetic friends, I put on some Splenda packets.

 

I make espresso drinks as requested - cappuccino or macchiato in appropriate cups, espresso in espresso cups with saucers.

 

We often make iced tea, and I have hot tea bags for the only person I know who drinks tea. Water is heated and dispensed by our espresso maker, single serve.

 

The joke in our circle of friends is that if you don't leave our house shaking, I haven't done my job. :D

 

ETA: I also make a mean americano!

Edited by Spryte
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