The most important element of a High Tea is, of course, the tea itself. There are as many varieties of tea as those zany tea masters can conjure up. You can offer anything from Orange Pekoe (which is what you get when you order regular tea anywhere) to something along the lines of "Fruity Enlightenment Wafting Plum Mint Medley" or some other such nonsense. When serving tea, it is always best to offer as many different types as you can get your hands on, and let your guest(s) choose. If everyone agrees that a particular one will be delightful, then stick that in your Brown Betty. If not, give each guest his or her own, and let the teapot keep the water.
Tea comes in two forms. Loose Tea, popular with men of ill repute, can be purchased in bags like ground coffee, and looks like fine or lumpy tobacco. Tea balls or teabags are the familiar packets of thin, white paper surrounding a cup's worth of tea.
If you go for the loose tea, and your guests do differ in taste, another important thing you'll need is a tea infuser for each guest. These are the small, steel or silver balls that have many holes and are on chains. They actually come in many different types, but generally look like a large, spherical salt-shaker top with a thin chain. You pack the loose tea in one (they're hollow--did we mention that?), close it, and hang it in the teacup for the steeping.
