The Tiffin Tea Cup with Thon Mariné
It’s 4 p.m. on Saturday in early 1893 and you’re attending one of the hottest events on the Chicago social circuit – a tea to celebrate the city’s annual charity indoor baseball tournament hosted by Mrs Reinette McCrea, the new wife of public utilities executive Willey Solon McCrea, and one half of one the wealthiest couples in the city.
Receiving you and some 500 guests are Mrs McCrea herself and her two older sisters, Fannie, wife of shipping magnate George W. Sheldon, and Pamilla, wife of banking executive Sam Waters Allerton. You are also introduced to special guest Ellenore Key, wife of artist John Ross Key who has just been commissioned to commemorate the upcoming Chicago World’s Fair. The exhibition is just a few months away and visitors are already traveling from all over the country to get a peek at the transformation of the famed White City.
As you look around the house at 122 Pine Street you can see that no expense has been spared. There are lush tropical palms filling the corners of every rooms and banks of white hyacinths, roses, carnations and Easter lilies on every mantelpiece. Refreshments are from Kinsley’s, the best restaurant in Chicago, and guests are serenaded by sweet mandolin music from the famous Tomaso school. Mrs McCrea herself is dressed to the nines in a green satin tea dress accented by lace trimmings and diamond ornaments made by famed English fashion designer, Charles Worth.
Hosting at the tea table is Dell Mountjoy Bradley, wife of glass manufacturer Alexander Orr Bradley and author of the latest must-have book on entertaining, Beverages and Sandwiches For Your Husband’s Friends By One Who Knows. Perhaps she is even serving one of her special cocktails from the book, such as the Columbian Punch commemorating the World’s Fair or the Tiffin Tea Cup, who’s deep fuchsia hue matches perfectly with the pink-shaded candelabras and pink and white flowers that adorn the tea table.
Dell Mountjoy Bradley’s Tiffin Tea Cup
So goes the newspaper report of Mrs Willey Solon McCrea’s tea reception that took place on January 14th, 1893, setting the scene for Chicago at the height of its powers during the build up to the Colombian Exposition in the late Gilded Age.
Unlike Reinette McCrea, however, Dell Mountjoy Bradley, the author of Beverages and Sandwiches For Your Husband’s Friends By One Who Knows, was not born into a wealthy family and did not have the rank or title that would have gained her the same number of column inches every time she hosted a party. However, through her marriage to Alexander Orr Bradley, his success in his glass business, and her edification of her own hosting skills in a book, she would certainly have been on the guest list of many. And I like to think she might have lent her own recipes to some of these events.
The Tiffin Tea Cup in Beverages and Sandwiches For Your Husband’s Friends is one that I’ve been wanting to try. As someone who loves tea and also loves easy-sipping wine-based cocktails, it’s right up my street.
As a first step I needed to find “Tiffin” tea, the principal ingredient of the cup, which I found out is not a brand name of tea, but rather a style. The word Tiffin originates in colonial India where it once referred to the British custom of taking tea and a light snack in the mid-afternoon. Tiffin later became associated with lunch – and more specifically, boxed lunch – but the actual word is derived from an early nineteenth century English colloquialism, “tiffing”, which meant to sip or to take a little drink.
According to the good folks at Harney & Sons tea company, whose top notch customer service team responded to my inquiry about the origins of Tiffin tea right away, Tiffin tea was a type of tea “usually made with a Darjeeling base”. This makes sense as an afternoon tea that is characteristically lighter and fruitier in style than the more bitter and astringent black teas that are more typical of the breakfast style.
With the tea part of the cocktail sorted, the other ingredients I needed for the Tiffin Tea Cup were berries that would be crushed in a little sugar (I chose a 50-50 mix of blackberries and raspberries) plus brandy, curaçao, claret, lemon juice and a few strips of cucumber peel for steeping. Like most cups the mixture is made in advance to allow all of the ingredients to marinate into one coherent flavor (around 20-30 minutes will do) before the drink is strained, chilled, and served.
I must say, I really, really enjoyed this cup! The tea flavor really comes through and is nicely balanced by the slight acidity of the fruit. The brandy and curaçao lend body to the drink without overwhelming it, while the claret – I used a Malbec blend – really enhances the berry notes. Overall, it’s not too sweet and just a little bit sour, which as we know usually translates into an insanely refreshing beverage. Plus, true to its nature as a cup, it’s also very low in alcohol (about 5-6% ABV) making it highly crushable.
To go with the cup, I decided to give Dell’s Thon Mariné sandwich a try. Beverages and Sandwiches For Your Husband’s Friends has been widely cited as the first printed source of the tuna sandwich. Although canned sardines and salmon were already popular sandwich fillings, imported tuna was just becoming available. Dell’s recipe is much more stripped back than today’s tuna salad, which relies heavily on lashings of mayonnaise and crunchy fillings such as celery, onion, and pickles, and is made very simply with drained tuna and a little lemon juice, which is mashed and spread between very thin crustless slices of bread and cut into triangles.
I really enjoyed this sandwich as a simple bite to accompany an afternoon cocktail. There is definitely something to be said for less-is-more here and the oily salinity of the tuna really complements the bright sour notes of the Tiffin Tea Cup. Just what the palate wants to satisfy a mid-afternoon energy craving! Actually, the combination sort of reminded me of an Anglicized version of Spanish tapas. And indeed, Dell herself said the Tiffin Tea Cup would be “a delightful beverage to serve on the piazza during the warm weather”. All I need now is for the weather to warm up enough for me to take a few rounds outside.
Cheers!
RECIPE:
THE TIFFIN TEA CUP (WITH THON MARINÉ)
Mrs Dell Mountjoy Bradley's Tiffin Tea Cup is the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. Adapted from the original to serve two!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Brew 2 tsp (or 2 teabags) of Darjeeling tea in 1 cup of hot water at a temperature of 185-195°F for 5 minutes. Strain and cool.
- Place the berries in a small pitcher with the sugar and lightly crush to release the juices from the fruit.
- Add the cooled tea, lemon juice, brandy, curaçao and red wine to the pitcher and stir.
- Add the cucumber pairings to the pitcher and leave to infuse for 20-30 minutes before straining.
- Return the strained cup to the cleaned pitcher and add ice. Serve in tea cups or small punch glasses.
- Drain the oil from the tuna and mash lightly with the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spread the tuna filling onto one of the bread slices and top with the other bread slice. Press down lightly.
- Using a sharp knife, remove the crusts from the bread and cut the sandwich into small triangles.
Sources:
“Mrs W. S. McCrea of Pine Street, Entertains at a Four O’Clock Tea”; The Inter Ocean (Chicago, IL); January 15th, 1893; page 3