• See CQ16 Presentation of お菓子, wherein the basics of presentation are described, and how to use the 縁高. They suggest categorising sweets containers into:

• Avoid mixing square tray with square お菓子; and round containers with round sweets.
• The 千歳盆 can be used for both the 干菓子 (lid) or 主菓子.
• UH23 explained: They are arranged CCW in a c-shape starting from top right, according to the order below.

• If 7 sweets need to be served, they are:

• Palmer explained in a TeaLife podcast how with 3 sweets, they represent the past (something salted or preserved), the present and the future (fruit)

• Always only one sweet in the bottom layer for the main guest, upper layers maybe filled up
• くろみじ are wiped lightly just before service; if weather is warm, some water is sprinkled on the 縁高.
• First guest receives it (seam facing away from him), lifts upper layers, puts them down having turned them 45° to the left, puts one 黒もんじ in the bottom layer; then gives upper layers to next guest. Takes お菓子 onto かいし, then moves his layer to the next guest. The loose layers travel like this to the last guest, who reassembles everything in the same order as it was and returns it to the door.
• Note that here the lifting of the bowl or tray to show appreciation is not done; nor the おさきに-ing.

➡️ At least, that's how the old books describe it. New books now 感謝 also the 縁高, which seems a bit of a hazard to me!

• Two piles on the 盆, the one far right is more formal, higher ranking sweets and the nearer left one is more informal. Both should be of equal, uneven number, because the guests will take one from each pile. So 3 and 3, or 5 and 5 etc.
  • If your 盆 has a 花押, which might be in the near left corner, you can deviate from this and put one pile in the far left corner and the other to the front right.
  • This formal-informal division isn't cut into stone, if it makes sense (water below birds, for example) you can deviate from it.
• If you don't want to have a huge pile of sweets, you could prepare a second tray to bring forth after the first round of teas.