Bulgaria has long been in need of a school for etiquette, protocol and good manners. Swiss Star has the privilege to work on that under the Swiss programmed of Vila Pierefue Institute. It offers courses and lectures, which are held at the Ambassador Hotel. The lecturers are qualified teachers from the Swiss institute and are currently working on four programmers: Club, Focus, Business and Weekend. They can provide you with competent advice according to your individuality, motivation, ambitions and leisure time. We, Bulgarians, deserve to know the details, which the high society in Europe and the rest of the world pays attention to. Because…

• The etiquette is a code of conduct based on tact and consideration.
• The protocol lies in the skill to use the rules of the advantages.
• The business etiquette is not a qualification, but a practical skill.

Mrs. Eva Kouvandjieva, the company is executive director for Bulgaria, invited us to English Tea and explained to us the main rules associated with it. “It is an afternoon tea. Under the etiquette, female friends are invited to it to have a small talk. Drinking tea is healthy. It is trendy in Europe to organize business meetings at tea.” In the lobby bar of the Ambassador, the table for English Tea was set in accordance with the etiquette – neat and beautiful.

The hostess took the lead in the tea table chat.

There are three categories of tea – green (unfermented), Y-long (semi-fermented), and black (fermented). The green tea is also called China, whereas the black is also known as Indian.

Brief History of Tea

In 2737 BC Emperor Shen Noung loved to drink boiled water under a beautiful tree in the palace garden. Once a leaf from the tree fell down into his cup. It was a tea-leaf. Whether this story is true or not, it is not known. However, the tea originates from China. It was consumed there as a tonic remedy. In the period 618–906, the tea ceremony emerged and guidebooks about the ceremony were written. In 1368 tea began to be exported – black and flavored. In the same year a Japanese monk studying in China took some seeds of a tea bush to the Japanese Emperor Saga as a present. In the 12 c. another Japanese monk took powdered green tea to Japan and transmitted Buddhism as a religion.

The Japanese tea ceremony came into existence.

The first to bring tea to Europe were the Danes and the Portuguese. They started selling it to the Germans and the French. Louis XV opened tea halls and initiated the production of exquisite tea sets.

In 1618 the Chinese sent tea as a gift to King Aleksey. In 1689 China and Russia signed a trade contract for silk and tea, transported in caravans. The Russian tea is characterized by a smoky flavor, because of the fires lit at night around the caravans. This gave the name of the Russian caravan tea, which is in use even today.

Thomas Garaway was the first Englishman to import tea into England and in 1658 he established Tea House. The ladies drank tea at home, while the gentlemen did so in the cafés. In 1717 Thomas Twining turned his Coffee House into The Golden Lyon and started inviting both men and women to tea together, which was something rather unusual at the time. Immediately tea gardens began to spring up. Tea was constantly drunk, although it was very expensive.

The Afternoon Tea conception was put forward by Anna, the Seventh Duchess of Bedford, who felt like having something to eat between lunch and dinner. She started to have tea with bread and butter, then she started to invite her friends, thus turning the afternoon tea into fashion for the aristocracy. In 1913 the tea ceremony was already accompanied by dances. In the early 20 c. the London Ritz opened its doors for afternoon tea. Even today the English Queen has her tea at 5 p.m.

After the fascinating story and the competent advice on the part of the hostess, the guests finished off their afternoon English tea. It is a great pleasure to get in touch with known and unknown codes of behavior and at the same time communicate with familiar and unfamiliar people. To learn that…

• Tea is always served on embroidered serviettes underlying the saucer.
• Two brands of tea are served. In the last years one of them has usually been green.
• The cup should not be filled up, so that the tea will not go cold.
• There must be an empty bowl on the table, where every lady, who does not like her tea, can pour it out and ask for some of the other kind.
• The connoisseurs never take sugar, lemon or milk in their teas. They love to savor its genuine flavor.
• Also there is a big napkin on the table, which is placed on the right, on which the saucer and the knife for the famous English scones are laid.
• First the salty things are consumed, and then the sweet ones.
• The salty things are the sandwiches, which are eaten with one’s hands, the most famous being the cucumber sandwich.
• The well-known English tea scone is garnished with cream and jam.
• One can ask for tea up to three times.
• On rising from the table, the serviette is put on the chair. If you place it on the table, the hostess will take it as a sign of your leaving.
• According to the etiquette, the tea lasts for an hour and a half.
• Finally one of the guests is expected to invite the hostess to tea.