Whether a mug of hot chocolate, a cup of your favorite coffee made just right, or the perfect cup of tea, there is something so soothing about hot beverages. The ritual of making them—heating water in a kettle or milk in a pot, opening the tin and smelling the tea, chocolate, or coffee as you scoop it out, waiting for the right temperature, and letting flavors develop—is almost as comforting as enjoying the final product.
Tea was especially important at the Pavilion. Enjoying high tea in the King’s Garden came up many times during the Institutional Legacy Initiative, an oral history project to document first-hand accounts of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum and Pavilion. Often served in silver vessels, Fort Ticonderoga museum staff documented numerous tea caddies, strainers, creamers, sugar bowls, teapots, and coffeepots during our intensive cataloging effort in January. There are many different aesthetic styles represented, from the restrained lines of the Federal coffeepot that featured in its own blog post to a celebration of exuberant natural forms seen in the art nouveau. We look forward to enjoying high tea at the Pavilion following its restoration!