As Americans we believe tea to be a British institution back as far as we could possibly remember. As ingrained in the fabric of the United Kingdom as apple pie is to the southern United States. I was surprised to find out that Afternoon Tea is a relatively new custom. Thanks to the East India Company tea finds its way to England in the 17th century. It was popularized by King Charles the II and his wife Catherine de Braganza. Tea was such an expensive ingredient when it first made its way to England that the lady of the house often kept it and her tea making equipment under lock and key.
It wasn’t until 1840 that the idea of gathering for afternoon tea became a custom. Anna the 7th duchess of Bedford decided she didn’t enjoy that empty feeling you get when you’re hungry. The dinner meal was served kind of late, roughly around 8 pm and she got that empty feeling around four pm. So she requested a tray of tea, bread and butter and small cakes to be brought to her drawing room.
She soon began inviting her friends over to join her for tea. It became a fashionable affair. The upper class women would wear nice gowns and white gloves and join their friends for tea. They would go for walks in the garden afterwards to chat.
The traditional foods served with high tea were small sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam. Also served were small cakes and pastries. Afternoon tea now in the regular persons home tends to consist of tea and a handful of biscuits to dip into the tea. You can still have tea like the ladies of old at one of the many hotels that host a high tea. You can indulge in all the tiny cakes and tea out of gorgeous china. A proper good time.
Rogue Woman Bakes 