Desserts

Because it’s a holiday event, consider serving different teas with each course, as you would wines. Consider the crisp welcome of a Kenya with appetizers, the sweet smoothness of a dark black Cameroon to echo the sauce for an entrée cooked with Cameroon, and for dessert(s), offer a trio of choices: hot chai in clear glass mugs, a hot Earl Grey in lovely porcelain cups with the chocolates on the saucer, and a sweet Keemun in a mug along with a bowl of the plums. To end the evening—after the plates are cleared, the kitchen is cleaned up, and the guests have left—sit down alone or with your most special friends, bring out your prized Yixing pot and small thimble cups, and prepare a small serving of delicate Jasmine tea. Drink it as a cup of calm after a fabulous holiday event and to toast a world rich with friendship, good food, and the wonders of tea.