The Origins of High Tea

The Origins of High Tea

I used to love having lunch at a tiny British tea shop in my town when I was a little girl. The shop was run by a British woman, so that was good enough for me to believe that I really had been transported to Mother England. Whether or not it’s completely authentic, high tea is a tradition that I really wish that we’d adopt here in the United States. It’s kind of like the siesta—Americans need some kind of break in the middle of the day that will let them calm down and relax for a minute. And this is coming from a die-hard coffee addict. Tea and its accouterments are a different kind of experience from going into Starbucks and rushing out with a venti latte—its ceremonies require you to slow down, to think, to interact with your experience. Let’s talk about some of the best things about a good English tea:

--There are three different types of afternoon tea. The first is called cream tea and includes tea, Devonshire or clotted cream and scones with jam. The second is light tea, which includes tea, scones and cakes or shortbreads. The final is a full tea, which includes teas, small sandwiches, appetizers, candies, scones and desserts.

--The Brits got hungry between breakfast and their massive dinners before tea time was invented in the 18th century. The creation of this middle-of-the-day meal came because of the shift of dinner from noontime to a later hour.

--That isn’t to say that the British weren’t big tea drinkers before this period. On the contrary, after Charles II and his bride, the Portuguese Catherine de Braganza, started drinking tea and importing it from Morocco, India and Asia, tea drinking became tres chic in the upper classes. In fact, Charles II set the course of the infamous British East India Company. Tea soon came to replace ale as the national drink of England.

--During the Industrial Revolution, families came home from work in the midday hungrier for more something more substantive than flaky tea sandwiches. They opted for bread, meats, butter, pickles and cheese to accompany their tea. This afternoon meal was eaten at high dining tables, rather than at the low, table-side chairs popular with rich society. Thus, this was dubbed “high tea.”

--Queen Victoria officially invented tea time the way that we know it. She invited friends over to her house around five o’clock and served them petite cakes, sandwiches and sweets.