A Tea Party At Home

Meeting up with friends for afternoon tea is always a good idea, and as nice as meeting in a cafe can be, there's nothing quite like hosting a tea party at home. Not only because it's way more child friendly and you don't need to be worrying about where everyone's kids are, but because of the hominess that no cafe, no matter how hygge, could ever achieve. 

This last Monday I hosted a tea party for a party of four (plus two kids and the hubby who cared to join for the yummy cakes), and it was so nice! I made this rose hanging arrangement for the occasion, because I thought it looked so girly and quaint, perfect as a wall backdrop for a girl's tea party! You can find the original DIY tutorial here, even though in my case I simply used fake roses I already had home. 

As for the cakes, I baked a cheesecake and brownies, and I was congratulated on both of them. I used this matcha cheesecake recipe, simply omitting the matcha part. It was top notch for a regular cheesecake, but I like the matcha version (which I made for the hubby's 30th birthday) even better. You're bound to get compliments on both of them, so you're safe no matter which version you choose to go for :) Seeing how I had created the floral wall arrangement, I decided to incorporate some edible flowers to the cakes as well!

The brownies are something from another world, really. Definitely the best brownies I've ever had, and the reason why I never order brownie outside of home anymore, because I gave up on trying to find a better one. These ones are BBC's best-ever brownies after all, so yummy! I just think 180 degrees Celsius is better than the recommended 160. Also, I think it's better to make them the day before, as they do take some time to cool down.

Even though I have several kinds of teas at home, everyone wanted to try the Tea Shop's White Gracia Blend, which smells heavenly, so I just made a big pot of this. It's kind of expensive, as white teas are more delicate than green or black ones, but it's all worth it! We all enjoyed it and I highly recommend it.

Do you ever host tea parties at home? Next time I think I'll try an English style one, my fave!