The Definitive Guide to Afternoon Tea
Enjoying afternoon tea at The Savoy Hotel, London
The Origins
In 1662, Catherine of Braganza, the Portuguese wife of King Charles the Second of England, brought her preference for tea to the English Court and the British upper class - as it was a luxury only available to the rich - adopted the fashion.
However, the tradition of afternoon tea began nearly two centuries later when Anna the Duchess of Bedford, the acknowledged originator of the trend, got peckish around 4pm and asked for a pot of tea, buttered bread and some cakes from the previous night’s dinner be brought to her room on a tray. Her friends started joining her and the ‘tradition’ was born.
This was in 1840 when breakfast (for the wealthy) could begin around 10am and end anywhere from one to three hours later, lunch was not even a concept and dinner – a multi-course extravaganza – started between 8pm and 10pm. Soon all the fashionable ladies of “The Ton” were participating and holding their own afternoon tea salons. It was a chance for a lady to show off her fine bone china, silver service, tea mixing - a combination of green and black leaves from her precious tea caddy - and hosting skills
The Victorians took it to a new level - where even fashion was affected - with hard and fast rules: there must always be a selection of dainty finger sandwiches, freshly baked scones with jam and whipped or clotted cream plus small cakes and pastries.
The Thames Foyer at The Savoy London
Today most fine hotels in England will serve afternoon tea always on weekends and some daily. It’s an event to be savoured. For my money - and it’s a substantial chunk £55/US$80 - the best in the world is served at London's The Savoy Hotel in the beautifully decorated Thames Foyer.
Accompanied by live piano music in elegant surroundings there’s a never ending supply of tea and treats for however long you stay. Other hotels (yes, Ritz Hotel, I'm talking to you) only give you a set amount and that’s it, even rushing you to leave, but not at the Savoy. You will be presented with a three tiered cake stand loaded with savoury sandwiches, sweet (and sometimes savoury) pastries and scones, with fruit and without. You can make your preference known beforehand to save on waste; ie. I prefer my scones fruitless,
There will be a tea menu and you can change it up during the time you are there. Coffee is also available but what would be the point in that?
A working class family sitting down to High Tea
Afternoon Tea or High Tea… What’s the difference?
Later in the Victorian era (1837-1901), tea was becoming more and more affordable until even everyday Joes were in on the game and it became the national drink.
However, the working class didn't have the luxury of stopping for tea in the afternoon and factory workers had to wait until their shifts ended around 5-6pm. Then a pot of strong, fortifying tea was accompanied by bread, cheese and meat. The evening meal is still called tea in many parts of England.
Afternoon tea stayed within the upper and middle classes but the new high tea was a necessary evening meal in the nineteenth century for everyone else. It was probably called high tea from it being eaten at the dining table in high-backed chairs, whereas afternoon tea was taken seated on low chairs at low tables in the salon or parlour.
Today, you'll find the term High Tea used in North America where the thinking is that “high” must be better than just “afternoon,” when really it’s the other way around. However, if you see English hotels offering a High Tea, it's usually afternoon tea with the addition of soups, savouries and/or more substantial fare at a higher cost.
Milk last, please.
Milk first or last?
This has been the subject of debate for years.
Which one is right?
It all stems from the quality of the cup into which the tea is being poured. Back in the day, if the cup was of a cheaper quality the chances of it shattering when boiling water came into contact were high.
As the upper classes could afford the best of everything, they purchased fine bone china either from China or locally, when the English potteries were finally able to make their own versions. Porcelain can take the shock of hot tea without damage. Those less well to-do took to pouring milk into the cup to prevent catastrophe.
It even became a social quandary and the English author and bon vivant Evelyn Waugh once mentioned that his friend was, “Rather milk-in-first.” A shocking set down at the time, I'm sure. So, if you put your milk in last you were broadcasting to your guests that you had high quality china.
I am on the milk in last team along with George Orwell who weighed in on this topic in a 1946 Essay for The Evening Standard newspaper, “By putting the tea in first and stirring as one pours, one can exactly regulate the amount of milk whereas one is liable to put in too much milk if one does it the other way round."
Of course, one must never forget that the only true way to drink tea is black without the addition of anything. All of the world's tea masters are horrified that we are defiling their creations with milk or, heaven forbid, soy!
Cream tea: two scones, jam and cream
The Great Cream Tea Divide
This spin-off from the original has taken on a life of its own and there are two traditional cream teas available in England: Devonshire and Cornish.
It’s a simpler treat with only tea and scones with strawberry jam and whipped or clotted cream. The difference between the two is a simple matter: the order with which one applies the embellishments of jam and cream, after splitting it with your hands – never with a knife!
In Devon, the cream goes on first followed by the jam.
In Cornwall, the jam is applied first, then topped with a spoonful of clotted cream.
The latter is the most widely used, as I believe, it’s the most logical. It’s much easier to dollop cream on top of jam than vice versa.
When you are in the Southwest of England, where these counties reside, you will be presented with clotted cream, instead of the more widely available whipped cream. This is no ordinary cream as it’s created by slowly heating milk by a steam or water bath then left to cool. This process separates the liquid and the thickened cream rises and forms. Cornwall’s own Rodda’s has been making Cornish Clotted Cream since 1890 and it’s the clotted cream to have, available worldwide.
When is a scone not a scone?
British scones
A quick cultural reference for you:
British
Scone (pron: skonn)
Biscuit
Shortbread
American scones
American
Biscuit
Cookie
Scone
The star of Afternoon/Cream Tea is the British scone, which an American would recognise as a biscuit.
During the colonial/pioneer days, British immigrants brought the scone to the new world where it was adopted as a savoury side to meals, usually served with grits or gravy. So many Americans are eating scones regularly they just don’t know it!
What Americans call scones or scone cake are closer to Scottish shortbread and cannot be spread with jam and cream.
A proper scone is a quick-bread – a raised flour-based dough using baking powder instead of yeast, a fat (usually butter) and milk. While raisins or currants sometimes make their way into scones, plain is more traditional.
So there you have it.
It’s up to you whether you take High Tea or Afternoon Tea, but at least you now know the difference.