An After-Work Tea Party

A friend and I enjoyed a tea party last evening after work. We've both got full schedules and wanted some dedicated time to catch up. Tea is the best way for that, I think!

We kept things streamlined and I think it turned out beautifully.  Notice the clean, unfussy display.  I love it!
We started with two finger sandwiches:  Mushrooms on toast and chow chow with cream cheese (recipes).  We enjoyed a delicious Summer 2012 “Mi Xiang” oolong tea from Global Tea Hut, sent by a generous friend in Taiwan. 

Next we enjoyed pumpkin scones with mock Devonshire cream and the DH's homemade red plum jam.  We drank a Yunnan Gold tea, courtesy of a sample provided by Jing Tea.  We experimented with the best way to brew this and agreed that it needs a light steeping (don't overdo it!).

The finishing touch was a fuyu persimmon heart.  I made this recipe up and was quite pleased with the result.  Lightly sweet with a pretty orange center.

And by the way, all recipes were vegan with the exception of the pastry crust.  And they were soooo yummy, even though I was the cook.  ;-)