Invite Your Friends to High Tea This Summer...
In Your Backyard!

This summer, an afternoon "high tea" party is the way to entertain friends and family in your backyard. Host an unforgettable, unique high tea in your own backyard!

Create an atmosphere that is your own. Decorations can be traditional with lots of fresh flowers and lace or contemporary with ultra-modern place settings.

You will impress your friends by serving healthy, refreshing tea – the world's second most popular beverage – in ice-cold, tall glasses and by incorporating tea as an ingredient in the food items you prepare. Tea adds an interesting and unique flavor to recipes that cannot be duplicated by any other ingredient.

"High tea is all about enjoying bursts of flavor in very small portion sizes," says Lipton corporate chef Richard Poye. "When it's hot outside, you should serve small amounts of food, while continuously refreshing your guests' tea cups or iced tea glasses to keep them hydrated and refreshed."

Egg and cucumber sandwiches anyone? A selection of sweet and savory dishes will have guests talking ...

Afternoon tea traditionally includes small pastries, delicate sandwiches and scones.

However, Poye encourages a diverse menu for a tea party. "Make sure you offer a selection of both sweet and savoury dishes to keep the menu varied and interesting. This will have your guests talking about your tea party for the rest of the summer," says Poye.

One of the key secrets to hosting a fun and successful high tea party in your backyard is to choose iced tea recipes that you can steep and prepare in advance -- so you can enjoy the company of all your guests.

Iced tea - the perfect refresher for a summer garden high tea.

Tips for making perfect iced tea

Don't oversteep - leaving tea bags in too long increases the amount of tannins present in the tea, resulting in a bitter taste.

Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Hot tea which is cooled too quickly results in cloudy iced tea.

Don't use granulated sugar. Instead, make a simple sugar syrup (add 1 cup of boiling water to 1 cup granulated sugar and stir gently until clear and the sugar is dissolved.) This will avoid sugar grains from settling to the bottom of the glass!

Use real lemon - freshly-squeezed is the secret ingredient for the best tasting iced tea.

Enjoy!