Few gestures say welcome in Kenya as clearly as a cup of tea. Arrive at a home, an office or a family gathering and tea is usually offered before anything else. That everyday ritual is worth doing well, and a good tea set turns it from routine into an occasion.
A short history in a cup. Tea is younger in Kenya than its place in daily life suggests. According to the Tea Board of Kenya, the first tea seedlings were planted on an experimental basis at Limuru in 1903. Commercial cultivation began in 1924, and from 1956 African farmers were allowed to grow tea too. Today it grows across the highlands on both sides of the Great Rift Valley, much of it on small family farms, and Kenyan tea is drunk around the world.
Two ways to serve. At many Kenyan tables, tea means chai: leaves brewed together with milk, water and sugar, sometimes with ginger or spices, and poured straight from the pot. Tea in the English style keeps tea and milk apart, so each guest adjusts their own cup. A generous host is ready for both, and a porcelain tea set handles either with grace.
Warm the pot. Rinse the teapot with hot water from the tap, swirl it and pour it away before you brew. A warm pot keeps the tea hot for longer and helps it brew evenly. On a cool evening, do the same for the cups, and avoid pouring boiling water into porcelain that is still cold from the cupboard.
Set a tray, not just a table. A tray gathers everything in one place and moves easily from the kitchen to the veranda or the sitting room. Put the teapot at the back, the cups and saucers in front with their handles turned the same way, and the milk and sugar together, with teaspoons resting on the saucers. A folded linen napkin under the spout catches drips. Keep any flowers small and low.
Serve something alongside. One savoury thing and one sweet thing is enough: samosas or small sandwiches, mandazi, a simple cake, fresh fruit. Keep portions small enough to hold in one hand with a cup in the other, and serve them on plates rather than from their packaging. The tray should look considered, not elaborate.
Pour for your guests. The host pours the first cup. Offer milk and sugar rather than assuming them. For chai, bring the pot to the table and pour steadily. For tea in the English style, pour the tea first and let each guest add milk, so they can judge the strength for themselves. Offer a second cup before the first is finished.
Choose a set that suits how you host. A service for six is a practical size for most homes: enough for family visits and small gatherings, and compact enough to store. Each of our 17-piece tea sets serves six. Think about how the set will look on your tray and in your room. Arabesque Etching brings pattern and gold. Esmeralda Green adds a colour that sits well beside plants and natural timber. Pink Matrimony and Nuptial Red suit celebrations and make generous gifts.
Look after it between visits. Tea can leave faint marks inside cups over time, so rinse cups soon after use and wash them by hand in warm, soapy water with a soft sponge. Never use abrasive cleaners on pieces with gold decoration, dry them with a soft cloth, and keep them out of the microwave.
Tea is one of the simplest ways to show care for a guest. With a warm pot, a well set tray and a service chosen with thought, even an ordinary afternoon feels like hospitality. Several of our tea sets are held at the Upper Hill showroom, and they can be added to your Bag online.