I had a milestone birthday coming up and I wanted to do something special. I love going out for…read moreafternoon tea, but I have quite a few vintage teacups and saucers of my own and decided instead to have a small tea party at my house instead. I had done this in the past, but it was so much work - getting all of the ingredients, making the sandwiches, cut the crusts, etc., and I certainly didn't want to do that for my birthday. I searched online and found Yellow Rose Tea caterers, and it sounded like exactly what I wanted - someone to come to my house, set everything up, serve tea, and then clean everything up afterwards!
I contacted Sarah at Yellow Rose Tea, and she responded back right away and answered all of my questions. She then provided a quote, and I chose an available date. There are several tea packages available, depending on if you just want tea, sweets, and scones, or a more substantial luncheon tea. I ended up choosing the Afternoon Tea experience which included salad and soup in addition to the traditional 3-tiered tea tray and scones. After I paid my deposit, Sarah worked with me on the menu for my tea. They have so many choices for each item - sandwiches, scones, soups, salad dressings, sweets - but it was a lot of fun choosing the items. Sarah also reconfirmed that I wanted to use my tea sets, because they have everything for the tea party if you don't - teacups, saucers, silverware, linens, dishes, etc. They also need access to a full kitchen, so they can set up everything.
Sarah contacted me regularly and answered any questions I had as well leading up to the event date. Exactly at the appointed time, about 90 minutes before my tea party, Sarah and her sister (Rebecca the pastry chef) showed up wearing cute floral aprons and then unpacked the tea in my kitchen. When I say they brought everything, they really brought everything. They brought their own dish soap to clean the dishes, and tea towels, and gallons of water and ice, and all the dishes. I didn't have to do a thing. They set the table for tea, and it looked stunning. In fact, when I posted pictures afterwards, one of my friends asked what restaurant I was at, that's how amazing it looked.
My friends started to arrive, and everyone was very impressed with the table as well. As each Guest sat down, Sarah or Rebecca came out of the kitchen and asked them what tea they would like from a very large selection of Tea Forte pyramid steep flavors and then each person got their own pot of tea. Throughout the party, the Yellow Rose Tea team kept my Guests filled up with tea, replacing tea bags, recommending new ones, and topping off hot water in the pots, and rinsing them out if a different type of tea was requested.
From the first course of fresh salads with two types of dressings, to the yummy potato leek soup, to the cranberry orange scones with clotted cream and two types of jam, to the 3-tiered trays filled with sandwiches, pastries, muffins, and sweets, all the food was delicious and beautifully presented. The team timed everything and would serve the courses and then take everything away when we completed that course. It was like being a guest in my own home. Also, I clearly ordered too much food, so there were quite a few sweet items left on the top tier of the trays, and the team offered carryout boxes so everyone could take their leftovers home! As my friends kept saying, the Yellow Rose Tea team thought of everything. As my friends started to leave, the team cleaned up all the dishes and even cleaned my teacups and left my kitchen exactly how it had been.
I can't say enough about how wonderful an experience this was. Sarah and Rebecca did a fantastic job, and I wouldn't hesitate to hire them again.