Quietly having tea in the shade (5,4)

I believe the answer is:

pearl grey

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'the shade' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?

'quietly having tea' is the wordplay.
'quietly' becomes 'p' (p for piano and quiet).
'having' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'tea' becomes 'earl grey' (Earl Grey is a type of tea).
'p'+'earlgrey'='PEARL-GREY'

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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