‘High tea’ or ‘afternoon tea’ – which is correct?

Some of my favourite memories from my time in London are of afternoons spent with friends in the city’s renowned hotels, sipping tea served in fine bone china and enjoying an array of sweet and savoury treats.

Claridge’s, The Dorchester, The Ritz, The Berkeley, The Langham, The Connaught – I made my way around many of London's best hotels during my 2 ½ years there in my 20s.(Claridge’s was my favourite).

From the matching tea set and perfectly cut finger sandwiches to the warm scones, pretty pastries and sparkling dining room, there aren’t many other experiences that feel as quintessentially British as this.

My sister Kerryn and me at The Dorchester in 2010.

A refined ritual 

The person credited with creating this beautiful experience is Anna Maria, the 7^th Duchess of Bedford, in the 1840s.

According to British tea expert Jane Pettigrew (who I completed my first tea masterclass with in London in 2010) the Duchess created a new routine where she would call for her ‘tea equipage’, along with bread and butter, to be brought to her in the afternoon so she could enjoy a cup of tea and a light snack in her private drawing room.

This provided the Duchess with ‘refreshment and sustenance’ between the light midday meal of ‘luncheon’ and the main evening meal, which was often not served until around 8pm.

The Duchess made the idea fashionable by inviting her friends to join her for a cup of ‘afternoon tea’. And so began a social custom that still exists today.

The practice spread throughout the fine families of England where household manuals and cook books were updated to offer guidance on how to host a tea party, including what food to serve, what to wear, how to set the tea tray and even how to arrange the furniture.

A traditional afternoon tea saw ladies sitting in a drawing room or out in the garden on sofas or low armchairs, talking about the latest fashions and society gossip while enjoying fine tea and cakes.

"At stately homes and country mansions throughout the land, tea parties became a regular occurrence," says Pettigrew in her book Tea Classified, a Tea Lover’s Companion.

A snack of sustenance 

Around the same time, another custom was taking shape. 

The Industrial Revolution saw the emergence of a late afternoon or early evening meal for workers returning from factories, coal mines or other labour-intensive employment. The meal was substantial and included dishes such as pies, meat, fish, eggs, potatoes and bread, accompanied by a pot of strong tea. Scones and cakes could also be served. 

In contrast to the setting of afternoon tea, this meal was served in the kitchen or dining room at a full-height dining table. Accordingly, this meal was known as ‘high tea’ and was enjoyed by the working class.

Why the modern-day confusion?

Historically, high tea was a distinctly different experience to afternoon tea. But today, many hotels and eateries - particularly those outside of England - market the elegant spread of finger sandwiches, scones, cakes and carefully steeped tea as ‘high tea’ rather than the historically correct term, ‘afternoon tea’.

The terminology seems to have become confused once afternoon tea left British shores and crossed the Atlantic in the late 19^th century.

As the tradition began to embed itself in American high society, the food served became more substantial and elaborate. This was also influenced by American men participating in afternoon tea, who reportedly found the light snacks were not satiating enough for them. ^[1]

In her 1891 book, What to Eat, How to Serve It, Christine Terhune Herrick explains both afternoon tea, and high tea.

For a traditional afternoon tea, Herrick advises that the setting should be the drawing room, library or dining room, emphasizing that the room should look its best and be decorated with flowers. Guests should wear ‘pretty house costumes or dainty tea gowns’, while refreshments remain light – tea or chocolate, possibly bouillon (a clear beef soup), bread and butter or tiny sandwiches, and plenty of light cakes. 

“The eating is a secondary matter,” says Herrick, “the raison d'être of the company being the desire for pleasant social intercourse in an informal fashion.”

Then comes high tea, which, Herrick says, is suitable when an activity such as card playing or dancing is planned later in the evening. Ideally, the group would be small, seated at a high table and served tea – or, interestingly, coffee or ‘chocolate’ – alongside predominately protein-based and hot dishes as well as cakes and biscuits.

A few years later, in her etiquette manual, Social Life, published in 1896, Maud C. Cook acknowledges the convergence of the two traditions: 

“High Tea and Afternoon Receptions, have come to bear a strong resemblance one to another, in fact to infringe so much upon the same territory that it is very difficult at times to distinguish between them sufficiently to apply the appropriate name.” ^[2]

So, it seems that late 19^th century America is where the evolution - and merging - of afternoon tea and high tea began.

A marketing idea

During the 20th century, the British tea ritual increasingly became an experience marketed as ‘high tea’ by hotels, restaurants and tourist destinations abroad.

This may partly reflect the greater quantity of substantial food offered as part of these experiences, as well as the perception outside Britain that the words ‘high tea’ sounds prestigious – and therefore more marketable.

In New Zealand, we are familiar with the term and informal practice of afternoon tea. This comforting ritual takes place in many homes across the country. My family has always enjoyed both morning tea and afternoon tea – typically English Breakfast tea served from a large teapot alongside biscuits or cakes.

Yet, ‘high tea’ is the term commonly used for the more formal, commercial tiered-cake-stand experience enjoyed outside of the home.

In London, the best hotels refer to their service as 'afternoon tea'. Given this is a British tradition, who better than the British to know the correct name to call it?  

If you’d like to bring a little British tradition into your home, why not host your own afternoon tea or even a proper high tea? Keep it traditional or add your own twist.

But be sure to use the correct name 😉.

~ Anna

> Choose a tea for your afternoon tea or high tea from my loose leaf collection.

 

 

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