Before we begin, we must ask this most important question: "What is a tea party?" At its most basic, a tea party is nothing more than a gathering of people where the primary focus is on the tea. Often referred to simply as "tea," different varieties of tea parties include children's tea, wedding tea, afternoon tea, high tea, tennis tea, tea dances and many more.

Utilizing this loose definition of a tea party mentioned above, one could suggest that tea parties have been going on since the discovery of tea itself. The Gong Fu (or "Kung Fu") tea ceremony has been practiced in China for hundreds of years, and involves the host and guests practicing "great skills and patience." Chanoyu, a similar (but much more regimented) Japanese ritual, was first introduced over five hundred years ago.

However, for most Westerners, a "tea party" refers to the British custom. It was the British (or to be more precise, Anna, the seventh duchess of Bedford), who introduced the famous practice of "afternoon tea" to the Western world in the early 1800s. At that time, the English only ate two main meals a day -- a hearty breakfast and enormous dinner. Somewhere in between these meals, Anna experienced a "sinking feeling" and so began to prepare small snacks accompanied by tea. The practice of inviting friends to come for tea in the afternoon was quickly picked up by other upper-class social hostesses.