Americans love to take the customs and foods of other countries and incorporate them into our own society but we always seem to add our own “American Twist”. Take the British afternoon tea for instance. We have taken the traditional afternoon tea but often call it a “High Tea”, which we think sounds more sophisticated, and added cupcakes and other American variations. But what exactly is the origin of the Afternoon and High tea?
British Tea Drinking ~ The drinking of tea in England began back in the late 1600’s when Catherine of Braganza married Charles II of England. She favored drinking tea and brought this preference with her to her new country. At the time, tea was very expensive so only the upper class drank it but by the 1750’s the masses were drinking tea and it became the national drink of England.
Beginning of Afternoon Tea ~ Lady Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford, is often credited with “inventing” Afternoon Tea but it might be more accurate to say she heavily influenced some of the tea drinking rituals already in practice at the time.
During the 1800’s, the last meal of the day for the aristocracy was not until 8:00 pm. In a letter, she wrote of “having a sinking feeling” during the late afternoon, so she began having her maid bring a pot of tea and breadstuff to her bedroom to sustain her until the evening meal. Then she started inviting her friends for “tea and a walking the fields” at Woburn Abby. It became a time for socializing and gossip and so popular that she continued the activity when she returned to London for the season. Here the pastime caught on with ladies of society and it moved into the drawing room. As a Lady in Waiting to Queen Victoria, the Duchess of Bedford encouraged the Queen to start hosting afternoon tea as a way to re-enter society after the death of her husband, Prince Albert. Since everyone emulated the activities of the royals, Afternoon Tea eventually became a British tradition.
British High Tea ~ But where did the term High Tea originate? It was actually a hearty meal eaten by the English servants about 6:00 p.m. after they had served the afternoon tea upstairs. It was eaten at a regular “high” table versus the low table that was used for afternoon tea in the drawing room. Not very glamorous but the American tea houses and upscale hotels have taken to calling “Afternoon Tea” a “High Tea” for better marketing.
Our local Bunco group tries to have a theme each month when we play Bunco. We always gather for an evening meal before playing the game so for the month of April, we had a combination High Tea and Afternoon tea. I also conveyed to the ladies the above information, as well as some fun tea party etiquette. It was a fun time for all and we almost did not get around to playing Bunco because we were enjoying our little tea party so much.
Robin Bee Tea 