How To Host A Union Jack Themed Tea! Plus A Giveaway & Product Review!

What goes hand-in-hand with reading? Tea, of course! So today my post is going to be about how to throw a Union Jack-Themed tea!

Since the Royal Wedding of Wills & Kate, there have been an abundance of Union Jack-themed items everywhere you look, although it is only certain items that normally catch your eye. When I was given the opportunity to review the Union Jack Tea Cozy that is being sold on BBC Shop America I knew that I needed to organize a Union Jack themed tea to go along with the review.

Shall we get started?

 

My inspiration came from the tea cozy so I knew that I wanted to stick with three particular colors: blue, white, and red! Not only did I use that inspiration in my table choices, I used it in my food choices as well.

I wanted to keep my tablescape simple so I selected a plain red tablecloth with oatmeal colored linen placemats and red brocade napkins. The only decoration on my table, besides the tea cozy, was a simple blue flowered candle ring that was placed around a round candle globe.

I used tea flatware, which is a miniature version of standard flatware, in a Windsor pattern then continued the silver theme in the teabag rests as well as the oblong serving tray. For my teacups and saucers I chose a simple red ceramic set that I purchased from Twining Teas. The plates are the pale blue Butterfly Meadow pattern from Lennox. The teapot I used was a Cornflower blue 8 cup Blue Betty. Lastly, the Union Jack Tea Cozy was from BBC Shop America and was made by the Ulster Weavers of Northern Ireland.

 

Continuing on with the color theme, I served toasted French bread infused with country herbs and topped with sliced romaine tomatoes and sprinkled with blue cheese, cucumber sandwiches with rosemary and feta cheese spread and mini-meat pies filled with sage infused sausage, sharp cheddar cheese, and sautéed onions. For dessert, I made strawberry shortcake scones topped with whipped cream and blueberries. (if you would like any of the recipes, please email me with the subject line “recipes” at newroyalreviews@yahoo.com )

The tea I served was Harney’s and Sons African Autumn, which is part of their Historic Palaces line.

 

Now let me tell you about my favorite piece, which happens to be the Union Jack Tea Cozy!

  *It’s like buying two cozies in one!

First off, let me start by saying that this tea cozy is brilliantly made and it is lovely to look at. Not only is it reversible, it’s durable and machine washable, which made my day because many other cozies are not machine washable. It is also designed to fit all sizes of teapots, another thing that caused me to do a Snoopy happy dance because I finally found a tea cozy that will fit my 8-10 cup pots as well as one that will fit the smaller pots.

How well does it work? Normally, when having a tea I have to make numerous trips to the kitchen to refill the teapot so I can be assured that the tea is still hot when I move on to another pot. Well, this time I filled an extra tea pot with hot water and slipped the cozy over it. I left it covered for twenty minutes while we finished off the first pot of tea. When I slipped the cozy off, the water was still steaming, which is another thing you do not often find in cozies. The batting they use must be heavy-duty as the heat does not even escape to the outside of the material.

I highly, highly recommend this tea cozy! Plus, it is made by the Ulster Weavers of Northern Ireland which is the supplier of kitchen textiles to Queen Elizabeth II.

If you would like to know more about this cozy, or order one for yourself, you may do so HERE.

If you decide to have a Union Jack themed tea don’t forget to share your experience with us at Royal Reviews.

It’s giveaway time.

Sadly, I do not have a Tea Cozy to get you started with your Union Jack themed tea but, I do have a lovely little collection of teas from the Boston Tea Company.

 

Rules:

Giveaway is WORLDWIDE

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Ends-April 29