Tea Time with Melody Q: Clinking, Tea, & Furry Friends

Monday, February 11, 2013

Clinking, Tea, & Furry Friends

Learned Something New Today

Despicable Me was on ABC Saturday night. Have you seen it? It’s funny and touching. There is a great tea party scene with Gru, Margo, Edith, and Agnes. He was teaching them to clink glasses! *shakes head* That’s a BIG no no.

Tea is best served in fine, bone china. Clinking would damage the cups. So I looked up a few bits of trivia about clinking glasses and tea etiquette.

First, clinking. Clinking did not arise as a way to prove your glass was not poisoned. It began when people started drinking from separate glasses instead of a common cup. The clinking after a toast showed that you belonged to the whole group giving the well wishes. (And, if you are in

Ukraine

, it is supposed to be an insult to clink glasses when serving non-alcoholic beverages. As tea is non-alcoholic…)

Second, tea etiquette.

Do not stick out your pinky. It’s considered rude.
Do not hit the side of the cup with your spoon while stirring.
Do not leave the spoon in your cup while sipping – never sip from the spoon.
If seated, do not lift the saucer off the table.
Watch what you are drinking when you sip thus avoiding spills on your shirt.
Do not slosh your tea when it gets low in the cup thus avoiding splashing tea on the tablecloth.

That’s a lot of “do not”s.

I like the “do”s better.

Do share your favorite tea with friends.
Do have fun setting the table and choosing your tasty morsels.
Do enjoy the time with your friends.

Speaking of Friends

This weekend I checked in at Hanna’s Hangout and noticed we have a friend in common. I spotted Licorice, the cat, in her picture. What a cute kitty?! To quote Agnes of Despicable Me, “It’s sooo FLUFFY!” J

Licorice was introduced in 2003. She is a black and white, American, longhair cat with green eyes. She arrived with a rhinestone collar, cushion, and cat toy. Here she sits in Coconut’s Sweet Dreams Overnight accessories bed.