Afternoon Tea is one of the ultimate bucket-list food experiences to tick off when in the UK, that’s just common knowledge. But what if you’re not entirely sure what this Afternoon Tea malarkey is all about?
Sadly, there’s no prizes for guessing what part of the day Afternoon Tea is served, but here we’ll share everything else you need to know about this great British food tradition.
What Is Afternoon Tea?
Afternoon Tea is a classic British food and drink tradition, most typically involving a meal of delicate sandwiches, which are followed by scones with clotted cream and jam, plus a selection of sweet cakes and pastries, all accompanied with an abundance of traditional British tea.
It’s one of many traditional British meals enjoyed by the people of the UK and it’s visitors, although, Afternoon Tea is a particularly special type of meal. It’s actually wrong to simply call Afternoon Tea a mere meal, because it’s really more of an occasion, or experience. And a sophisticated one at that.
The History of Afternoon Tea
Afternoon Tea was historically more of a British snack, or a small meal-in-between-meals. These days, it’s essentially a full-on meal in itself, but it was in 1840 when this custom of devouring both savoury and sweet delights alongside cups of British tea originated, as a stop-gap after lunch and before supper.
We’ve all been there… that time between lunch and dinner, when you get so hungry that you could eat your own arm. It happens to the best of us, which was the case in the mid-nineteenth century, with a particularly classy English lady named Anna. It was Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, who invented Afternoon Tea.
Back then, it was normal to only have two meals per day (breakfast and then a late dinner at about 8pm). So, no lunch for Anna, which meant that she’d get peckish mid-afternoon. Rather than knaw at her own limbs, the Duchess started asking for tea, bread & butter and cake to be brought to her between 3-5pm.
This quickly became a regular thing for Anna (possibly our favourite Brit to have ever lived). Her friends soon latched onto the idea too, with Afternoon Tea turning into a popular social event for the upper class female, Queen Victoria included. The Afternoon Tea menu soon developed into sandwiches alongside the tea and cake. Scones are understood to have joined the party some time after 1900.
Nowadays, Afternoon Tea is mostly enjoyed as a special occasion with family and friends and is perfect for tourists to experience one of the best British food traditions ever invented.
Afternoon Tea vs Cream Tea (Etc)
This is where we apologetically explain more of the UK’s confusing food lingo. There’s a number of other phrases that are closely linked, or seem similar to Afternoon Tea. These meals are either slightly different versions of the famous tradition that is Afternoon Tea, or something altogether different…
- Cream Tea
- Strawberry Tea
- Light Tea
- Full Tea
- Champagne Tea
- High Tea
- Low Tea
Afternoon Tea vs Cream Tea
Cream Tea is the phrase that’s most commonly linked to Afternoon Tea and the one that causes most confusion. Cream Tea is essentially a more basic version of Afternoon Tea, with tea, sweet scones and cream being served (no sandwiches or additional cakes). So, if you’ve had a big British breakfast, Cream Tea might be perfect for you!
Strawberry Tea
Strawberry Tea is essentially the Cream Tea with the addition of fresh strawberries.
Light Tea
Add cakes and pastries to a Cream Tea and you get Light Tea (so, the full Afternoon Tea experience, except without the sandwiches).
Full Tea
This is the full Afternoon Tea experience, with the tea, sandwiches, scones and additional baked items. So, Full Tea basically is Afternoon Tea.
Champagne Afternoon Tea
We’ll give you one guess! Yep, Champagne Afternoon Tea is the full experience with the addition of champers! (Also known as ‘Royal Tea’).
High Tea
Originally, High Tea was a savoury late-afternoon meal created by the British working class (with Afternoon Tea being eaten by the upper class). Not to be outdone, the upper class then created their own High Tea, which was simply a variation of what they had already created, but instead with high-end savoury items such as veal, pigeon and salmon.
Today, the original High Tea is still eaten by some of the British working class, particularly in the north of England. Also, Afternoon Tea is sometimes still referred to as High Tea by some people, and the two terms often get used interchangeably (even we Brits get confused half the time!)
Low Tea
Low Tea again simply refers to the traditional Afternoon Tea created by the British upper class, supposedly because the meal was originally eaten at low tables for comfort, whereas the working class High Tea was eaten at higher tables. This isn’t a term you’ll hear all that much in modern day Britain.
Modern Afternoon Tea
What is Afternoon Tea in today’s world, you ask? Well, you could munch a sandwich and a scone with a ‘cuppa’ at home and call it Afternoon Tea if you like. But you’re much better off doing it properly with a quintessential British food experience. These days, there’s loads of unique experiences with all types of impressive theme ideas.
Some examples include…
- London Bus Tour Afternoon Tea
- Harry Potter Afternoon Tea
- Disney Afternoon Tea
- Peter Rabbit Afternoon Tea
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Afternoon Tea
- Mad Hatters Tea Party
- Christmas Afternoon Tea
- Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea
- Afternoon Tea For Kids
Best Places To Go For Afternoon Tea
There’s no doubt about it, if you want the most traditional and quintessential Afternoon Tea experience, you’ll want to visit one of the most prestigious hotels in London, such as Claridges, The Dorchester, The Ritz and The Savoy. Then there’s places like Fortnum & Mason and Harrods, and plenty more great locations right across the UK too.
Whatever you do, just don’t visit our beloved Blighty without trying one of the UK’s most favouritest food traditions.
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