TEA WITH TOM (STOPPARD)
In
2001 I was an assistant to the vice president and special events
coordinator at Talk Media, a hybrid magazine/book imprint run by Tina Brown and Harvey Weinstein. My job
was a busy one with occasional perks. Usually it came in the form
of backstage passes, special movie screenings or baskets of goodies
that my boss or one of the editors handed off. For a young
twenty-something new to New York sometimes a phone call or office
sighting was enough. Indiana Jones himself or uber model Iman
ringing in, Madeleine Albright quietly walking through to a meeting
and ticking Diane von
Furstenberg and Ralph Fiennes off a check-in list at parties could boost normal tasks to
interesting for a millisecond anyway.
As such, it was a February morning when someone asked me to run a package to Tom
Stoppard, the Czech-born, English-raised writer and producer who is
known for clever plays, like the Tony winner, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and films like Brazil, Empire of the
Sun and Shakespeare in Love. At that time he was on the heels of a 1999 Oscar as a co-writer for the latter.
The man is a genius in the way he plays with words and ideas and any other day of any other year I would
have run full tilt to his apartment, but it was my second day back to work after a two-week hiatus. My mom had just died and in an upside down fog, I asked if someone else could go.
My
friend, Nikki, who was Tina's second assistant, went in my place and when she got back she told me he was lovely. He had offered her tea.
I'm
not typically one to regret, but I will forever kick myself for missing the chance to have Tea with Tom.
 |
| Photo credit: Кондрашкин Б. Е. |
January
is (unofficially) National Hot Tea Month.
In Mr. Stoppard's honor, I defer to Downton Abby Cooks Online Guide to Afternoon Tea for a quick tutorial on how to make a proper English tea:
Don’t
get too stressed about making tea, particularly since much tea is now
sold in tea bags. To distinguish yourself as a tea aficionado,
however, just follow the time honored tradition of first warming the
tea pot. Add a bit of boiling water to the pot, give it a swirl and
pour it out before adding your tea. Steep 3 or 4 minutes and don’t
let the tea steep too long or it will become bitter.
 |
| Photo credit: Healthy You |
Tea Lingo
Cream
Tea: A simple tea service consisting of scones, clotted cream,
marmalade or lemon curd and tea.
Elevensies:
Morning coffee hour in England
Afternoon
Tea: What we imagine all British teas to be. An afternoon meal,
served typically from 4 – 6 pm, which includes the tiers of smart
little crustless sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, curd, 2-3 sweets
and heaps of tea.
Low
Tea: This still an afternoon tea, but called “low tea” because
guests are seated in low armchairs with low side-tables on which to
place their cups and saucers.
Royale
Tea: A social tea served with champagne at the beginning or sherry at
the end of the tea.
Celebration
Tea: Another variation of afternoon tea with a celebratory cake which
is also served alongside the other sweets.
High
Tea: High tea is eaten in “high chairs” at the dinner table.
Afternoon Tea is traditionally served on lower couches and lounging
chairs. It actually is a meal that the working class had at the end
of the day with cold meats, potatoes, as well as other foods with tea
and perhaps a beer. Americans confuse the two, and since some London
tea houses use the terms interchangeable to keep tourists happy, it
adds to the confusion.
Posts
0 comments