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afternoon tea, Diamond Jubilee, Downton Abbey Food, Downton Abbey Party Food, Downton Abbey recipes, Edwardian cooking, Edwardian recipes, Host your own Tea Party, how to make a proper cup of tea, London Olympics, tea lingo, tea recipes, tea sandwich recipes, tea tray, THE Online Guide to Afternoon Tea
Every week I host Tea Tuesday, a virtual tea party which was inspired by Christine, a follower who lives in France, who was curious about English tea traditions. The British may have failed miserably in other culinary areas, but they excel in the tea ritual. Each Tuesday, I dish on Downton Abbey and share other topical tea issues one might discuss at tea, served up with a tea treat with a history.
The Online Guide will be updated weekly as I add new recipes, so bookmark and return to whenever you are looking for tea history and new recipe ideas.
History of the English Tea Ritual
In 1662 Catherine of Braganza of Portugal married Charles II and brought with her the preference for tea, which had already become common in Europe. As tea was her temperance drink of choice, it gained social acceptance among the aristocracy as she replaced wine, ale and spirits with tea as the court drink. Seriously!
Origins of Afternoon Tea
The actual taking of tea in the afternoon developed into a new social event some time in the late 1830’s and early 1840’s. It was Anne, Duchess of Bedford, one of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting, who “invented” the Afternoon Tea. The gap between lunch and supper was widening, so Anne started asking for tea and small cakes to be brought to her private quarters. I am sure she quickly realized that a lot of gossip could be shared if she invited other ladies to her quarters to share her cakes. Queen Victoria herself was encouraged to start hosting her own parties as a way of re-entering society after the passing of her beloved husband Albert. Victoria Sponge was named and served at her tea parties which became large affairs. Other women picked up the idea and spread like wildfire. Thus the ritual of afternoon tea began. Women do know how to get things done.
Tea lingo: Various Tea Times
If you are planning a visit to the UK, watch Downton Abbey, Coronation Street, or other British type serials, it might be helpful to get proper knowledge of the terms used.
- Cream Tea — A simple tea service consisting of scones, clotted cream, marmalade or lemon curd and tea.
- Elevensies — Morning coffee hour in England (I remember the Hobbits used this term in Lord of the Rings. I thought that they ate 11 times a day…just like me!)
- Afternoon Tea — What we imagine all British teas to be. An afternoon meal, served typically from 2 – 4 pm, which includes the tiers of smart little crustless sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, curd, 2-3 sweets and heaps of tea.
- Low Tea— This still an afternoon tea, but called “low tea” because guests are seated in low armchairs with low side-tables on which to place their cups and saucers.
- Royale Tea — A social tea served with champagne at the beginning or sherry at the end of the tea.
- Celebration Tea — Another variation of afternoon tea with a celebratory cake which is also served alongside the other sweets
- High Tea — It’s not what you think. It is more like the North American dinner hour, so avoid disappointment by booking a ”high tea” when you really wanted an afternoon tea. Confusing, I know. You think it means a fancy (scones and sandwiches are fancy, right?). I would watch Corrie Street and wondered about the big fuss about ”tea” at the end of the day and I never saw a single scone! High tea consists of meat and potatoes as well as other foods and tea. It was not exclusively a working class meal but was adopted by all social groups. Families with servants often took high tea on Sundays in order to allow the maids and butlers time to go to church and not worry about cooking an evening meal for the family.
Tea Etiquette
Displaying acceptable manners is a way of fitting in with a certain class. Pay attention to the “tea scene” in S1 E2 of Downton Abbey. Matthew comes home to find visitors, and decides to help himself to tea and madeleines to the horror of Molesley, the butler, and embarrassment of his mother, the Dowager and Cora. Yes, it is evident that this middle class lawyer is a diamond in the rough, and has a long way to go before he will become a true gentleman, but we gradually see him growing into the role of heir apparent.If you plan to enjoy the tea ritual in London or your home town, book an Afternoon Tea (not High Tea), and do take note of proper manners to fully enjoy the experience. You may recall I had dress code challenges when I tried to have tea with the girls at The Ritz, so book early and ask questions. In London, they do try to do things properly, which is why we adore Downton Abbey in the first place, right?
It always seems that whenever the Dowager has tea, there was always something in particular she wished to discuss. Regardless, there are some tips to make the tea less stressful. Some notes from A Social History of Tea by Jane Pettigrew:
- Greetings —Begin with a greeting/handshake
- After sitting down — put your purse on your lap or behind you against the chair back
- Napkin placement — unfold napkin on your lap, if you must leave temporarily place napkin on chair.
- Sugar/lemon — sugar is placed in cup first, then thinly sliced lemon and never milk and lemon together. Milk goes in after tea — much debate over it, but according to Washington School of Protocol, milk goes in last. The habit of putting milk in tea came from the French. “To put milk in your tea before sugar is to cross the path of love, perhaps never to marry.” (Tea superstition)
- The correct order when eating on a tea tray is to eat savouries first, scones next and sweets last. We have changed our order somewhat. We like guests to eat the scones first while they are hot, then move to savouries, then sweets.
- Scones — split horizontally with knife, curd and cream is placed on plate. Use the knife to put cream/curd on each bite. Eat with fingers neatly.
- Proper placement of spoon — the spoon always goes behind cup, also don’t leave the spoon in the cup.
- Proper holding of cup — do not put your pinky “up”*, this is not correct. A guest should look into the teacup when drinking — never over it.*
*Since ancient Rome, a cultured person ate with 3 fingers, a commoner with five. Thus, the birth of the raised pinkie as a sign of elitism. This 3 fingers etiquette rule is still correct when picking up food with the fingers and handling various pieces of flatware. The pinky “up” rule is actually a misinterpretation of the 3 fingers vs 5 fingers dining etiquette in the 11th century, but we won’t judge…much.
How to Build a Tea Service on a Budget
I am a bit of a pack rat and have accumulated a number of pieces over the years for my tea service. Some I have inherited, a few are treasured gifts from friends, but many I have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores over the years. Your tea service does not have to match and in fact it works out better when each person has their own personal cup to keep track of.
If you are keen on starting your own tea service, try checking out your local Goodwill store. You will be amazed at what you may find.
How to Make Tea
Don’t get too stressed about making tea, particularly since much tea is now sold in tea bags. To distinguish yourself as a tea aficionado, however, just follow the time honored tradition of first warming the tea pot. Add a bit of boiling water to the pot, give it a swirl and pour it out before adding your tea. Steep 3 or 4 minutes and don’t let the tea steep too long or it will become bitter. Watch this clip as the Dowager Countess demonstrates how one makes a proper cup of tea while still catching up on current events (video ITV).
If you go with loose tea, the general guideline is to allow for 1 tsp per person, 1 tsp for the pot, and allow 10 ounces per person. Use a tea strainer and pour into cups. You may wish to fill your tea pot with tap water, pour into a measuring cup to determine how many cups your pot will hold.
Let’s Eat: The Tea Menu
The following are the types of items you will find at tea. Follow the links to locate recipes for items we have prepared in our travels.
I mostly focus on traditional tea items (great food always has a history). I am a big fan of healthy eating and while many of these treats are “sometimes” foods, but I also include healthy versions of some treats which you can enjoy anytime.
The general rule to the tea tray is that items can be eaten by hand so are cut into bite sized pieces, and generally cold, unless you have scones right out of the oven.
We add a new recipe each week, so be sure to come back.
- Crumpets and Scones
- Crumpets
- Guilt Free Scone Recipe
- Variations for plain, sweet or savoury scones:
- Plain
- Buttermilk
- Cream
- Whole wheat
- Sweet
- Chocolate
- Glazed
- Dried Fruit
- Fresh/Frozen Berries
- Wholewheat and date
- Savoury Scones
- Cheese and Chive
- Fresh Herb
- Plain
- Tea Sandwiches
- Savouries
- Cakes
- Angel Food Cake
- Guilt Free Carrot Cake
- Chocolate Biscuit Cake (Prince William’s favorite)
- Ladyfingers (Julia Child’s recipe)
- Madeleines
- Basic
- Chocolate
- Earl Grey Imperial
- Rhubarb Cake
- Victoria Sponge
- Sweets
- Tarts
- Fruit Breads
- Biscuits
- Squares
- Condiments
- Preserves
Vicki E said:
You & your site are amazing! Thanks for all your hard work. This is such a beautiful, as well as informative blog. There are so many dishes I am inspired to make. So glad I found it!
Trischa Buhler said:
Hi Pamela! I am going to use this tea bible when the cast and crew of Titanic:A New Musical at TUTS Vancouver organizes a high tea to celerate the final week of rehearsals! Thanks so much!
Dara said:
Thank you so much. Very helpful to us Americans!
Perseverance said:
Reblogged this on The Rose of Europe and commented:
Read this to avoid making a fool of yourself at tea parties! 😉 This is your tea bible!
lishdizon said:
lovely article on tea. great info, thank you!
Caitlin said:
Great source of information! Thank you for clarifications on the different types of Tea service. Americans still make the mistake of referring to a traditional afternoon tea as a High Tea (one of my pet peeves).
Maddy said:
Hello, in the Dowager Countess clip showing how to serve tea, she uses a hot water type urn to pour the water into the tea pot. Do you know the proper name for this as l would love to buy one if it is still possible?
downtonabbeycooks said:
You know i really don’t know, but I would love to have one myself. Perhaps another follower will be able to provide some insight.
Maddy said:
I found out the name of it. They are called Tea Kettles & some used spirits to create heat at the base or tea candles
Fuddle said:
The tea story relating to marriage is about how young women’s suitors were tested for “proper breeding” before being allowed to court (proceed to woo her to wed).
Poorer quality china (porcelain) cracked due to thermal shock if hot tea went in first- so the custom was to put in the milk, then the tea- thus lessen the thermal shock.
Thus, if a man put milk in first- he could be seen to be from poorer stock- and lesser breeding thus successfully out out of the running by the Dowager.
Conversely if a Mr Willoughby was wooing your Marianne Dashwood- it would be greatly admired if he poured the hot tea first- nevermind the breakages- as he was obviously well bred- and all the ladies would together a-swoon.
Jetting Around (@jettingaround) said:
Great, informative post! I love tea and the rich tradition associated with it. Consider this bookmarked. 🙂
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Kate S said:
This is probably so late from the orginal post… but in the USA there are thrift stores [donated items sold to support local charity] and I’ve seen a ton of silverplate available… and nice china… young people are generally only interested in microwave/dishwasher safe china… Estate, tag, and yard sales have an abundance of china..
downtonabbeycooks said:
Thanks for the update. Lots of bargains to be found for sure .
Liz said:
Reblogged this on Say-very Sweet Things and commented:
An online guide to afternoon tea.
Liz said:
Love this post with all the great information and history on afternoon tea. Yes, your blog is beautiful and very well informed. I am so happy that I stumbled upon you lovely blog.
isabellaproia said:
Reblogged this on Isabella Proia.
simplicitas blog said:
Thank you for this intersting post, I’ve just shared it on my Facebook page.
Angela Ingram said:
This informative and delightful. Thank you kindly.
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Janet L. Luchs said:
TEA A MAGAZINE Autumn 2006 issue has an article “Hosting a Tea Party”. The article states that there are savories, breads and sweets. The “Breads are slightly sweet, but not too sweet … Breads include the many varieties of scones – buttermilk, raisin nut, cranberry, and apricot. Also in this category are tea breads – traditional ones like banana and walnut raisin, and the vegetable breads, like zucchini and pumpkin. In your article you only discuss scones. Is there a reason for for only including scones?
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