I so love the look of a Tea Party! I think I always have.
I love this look from Aiken House & Gardens
I've been intrigued with Tea and Scones photos I've seen and wondered ... just what is a scone, and why is it often associated with tea? Having never been a tea drinker I just don't know. The scones I know are not like the scones in the photos I've seen with tea. There are two kinds I am familiar with - first being a piece of bread dough pulled thin and fried in hot oil (so yummy) and the second is more like a donut (also yummy).
So I started looking and reading and have decided that a scone for tea seems to be a glorified biscuit, with a look (on some) that says it might be a bit harder in texture than a soft buttery biscuit.
(Image and recipe for the scone seen in the photo found at Blessed Femina)
Still not a tea drinker and not knowing what it tastes like, nor why they pair it with scones, (maybe they dunk the scone in the tea? ... I'm all for dunking!) I am not sure what a good tea substitute is, except that my mind tells me that Warm Apple Cider could be a great substitute, and I always love Hot Chocolate.
I'll try my hand at a scone someday and see if my thinking is correct. As far as knowing if my tea substitute is similar, I'll never know, but it won't matter because I'm sure to choose a drink that I'll like anyway.
Here are some scone recipes I think I'll try:
(in no particular order)
Most seem to have a sweet something added, but this one sounds great with the savory additions.
Bacon Cheese Scones from Annie's Eats
Caramel Apple Scones recipe at Bake Eat Repeat
Buttermilk Scones with Strawberries and Milk Chocolate Chunks recipe at Foodess
Pumpkin Scones from BHG
Oatmeal Maple Scones from Take a Megabite
Strawberry Lemonade Scones at Munchkin Munchies
Honey Orange Scones from Honey and Jam
Personal scones and jams in a pretty package. This was so cute and fun...one of my first spell binding introductions to scones. English Breakfast from Gordon Gossip