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There aren’t many things being more British than the tradition of afternoon tea. Afternoon tea is a light meal served between 3:30 and 5 PM. It consists of tea, small sandwiches, cakes, pastries, scones, bread and jam. Although being an integral part of the British culture, an afternoon tea tradition is relatively new.
Although people in England started drinking their tea already during the 17th century, the afternoon tea tradition developed some 200 years later.
A famous story says how the Dutchess of Bedford, Anna, would get hungry around 4 PM. It was a long time to wait for dinner after an early lunch. So, she would ask for some tea and sandwiches (invented some hundred years before that). Soon, that became her small ritual, and she started to ask her friends to join her at her little tea parties.
First, they were organised as private home gatherings. But, when Queen Victoria began to participate in them, it became an event on a larger scale. It became a popular tradition soon, and already in the 1880s’ afternoon tea was organised all over England.
A proper traditional afternoon tea in the UK is often served in hotels or historically significant houses. Attention to manners is strongly expected at a traditional event of this nature, including rules of etiquette which mandate that teacups should only be raised while drinking, and that your pinkie finger mustn’t poke out. The meal would include a selection of loose-leaf teas like Assam, Earl Grey, Darjeeling, and Lapsang Souchong, which are served in elegant silver teapots and poured into teacups. Sandwiches with typical English fillings such as cucumber and egg mayonnaise are cut into fingers, with the crusts removed, and presented on a cake stand with bite-size cakes and pastries.
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