“Teapot is on, the cups are waiting” (poem)

A short poem about tea has been cited in print since at least 1999 and is of unknown authorship:
 
“Teapot is on, the cups are waiting,
Favorite chairs anticipating,
No matter what I have to do,
My friend, there’s always time for you. “
 
   
Google News Archive
4 November 1999, The Sentinel (Rochester, IN), pg. 4, col. 2 ad:
The Brackett House Tea Room & Gifts
“The teapot is on
The cups are waiting,
Favorite chairs anticipating,
No matter what I have to do,
My friend there’s always time for you.”
 
CraftSayings.com
Date Posted: 10:26:13 08/22/04 Sun
Author: Lori Jean
Subject: CUTE Tea/ Tea Cup Poems & Sayings!
(...)
Tea pot is on, the cups are waiting,
Favorite chairs anticipating,
No matter what I have to do,
My friend there’s always time for you.
 
Google Books
365 Things Every Tea Lover Should Know
By Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers
2008
Pg. 13:
Teapot is on, the cups are waiting,
Favorite chairs anticipating,
No matter what I have to do,
My friend, there’s always time for you.
AUTHOR UNKNOWN
 
Google Books
The Tea Lover’s Devotional
By Emilie Barnes
Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers
2009
Pg. 156:
Teapot is on, the cups are waiting,
Favorite chairs anticipating,
No matter what I have to do,
My friend, there’s always time for you.
UNKNOWN
 
The Old Foodie
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Quotation for the Day.
Tea pot is on, the cups are waiting, Favorite chairs anticipating, No matter what I have to do, My friend there’s always time for you.
Anon (?)
 
Google Books
The Secret Ingredient
By Laura Schaefer
New York, NY: Simon & Schuster
2012
Pg. 149:
Teapot is on, the cups are waiting. Favorite chairs anticipating. No matter what I have to do, my friend there’s always time for you.
—UNKNOWN