What You’ll Hear
There’s nothing more British than an afternoon tea. But is it really that British? We look at the history of the afternoon tea and what’s included, the difference between it, high tea and a cream tea, plus we look at the origins of tea and teapots.
- 0:59: The international history of tea
- 2:00: How tea reached Europe
- 2:28: The invention of the teapot
- 3:32: What is an afternoon tea?
- 4:22: High tea
- 4:48: The cream tea
Listen to the Episode
The afternoon tea consists of two important parts – copious amounts of hot, fresh tea, and delicious morsels to delight the tastebuds. However, there are all kinds of variations when it comes to what the food actually is, or even what defines an ‘afternoon tea’ compared to other, similar meals…
Tea
So let’s start with the staple – the tea itself. Of course, like so many other things beloved by the British, it’s actually about as multicultural as you can get. It’s thought that it originated in China, in the Yunnan region, where it had medicinal purposes, and it’s recorded in a text from the 3rd century AD.
Tea travelled round the world, being introduced to sailors, merchants and priests, gaining popularity in Britain only in the 17th century, when we promptly decided we’d start a rival tea production company in India – The English East India Company.
There are a number of Chinese origin myths around tea, but my favourite is a rather grisly one: the founder of Chan Buddhism, a man called Bodhidharma, fell asleep after spending nine years meditating in front of a wall. Appalled at his weakness, he cut off his eyelids, which fell to earth and grew into tea bushes. A rather extreme response, but I’m grateful to him anyway.
Whatever the real story, from its beginnings in China tea then went to Japan, where it became a key part of the culture and led to the Tea Ceremony, which is still performed today.
Portuguese sailors trading in the East were the first Europeans to taste tea in the late 16th century, but it was the Dutch, who took over their trading routes, who introduced it to the West. At this time, it was only the wealthy who could afford to pay the high price for tea leaves.
Teapots and Tearooms
Later, tearooms sprang up in Glasgow, London and then further afield, where respectable ladies could go and socialise with friends, rather than having to stay in the drawing room.
And of course, you need something to hold the tea, and teapots are also an ancient invention.
They are recorded as early as 1500BC, during the Sung dynasty period in China. Known as Yixing teapots, they were made from purple or red earthenware, and came from the Jiangsu province. Each teapot was used for a different type of tea, and was for one person only.
Teapots can be made from a variety of materials, such as ceramic, trendy glass or metal, beloved of chip shops and cafes, and which are almost always guaranteed to leak, if you don’t burn yourself on the side.
Japanese teapots, much like their fans, were decorated with all kinds of patterns, and a handle at the top or at the rear. In India, tea-drinking only gained popularity in the 20th century, and glass or bone china pots are only used for special occasions.
It’s worth noting that early teapots were fragile and breakable, so the East India Company commissioned artists in China to design a branded ‘teapot’ in the more robust local porcelain.
Afternoon Tea
So, what do you have at an afternoon tea? Well, according the afternoon tea website, it should feature delicate sandwiches, preferably cut into fingers, pastries and cakes. The meal was introduced in the 1840s to stave off hunger before a later evening meal.
Scones, which are so popular these days, didn’t begin to appear in the selection until the start of the 20th century. Fillings tend to be egg and cress, smoked salmon and cream cheese, roast ham and mustard, and my nana’s favourite – cucumber. Yuck. Something chicken-based also features in some afternoon tea.
Coronation chicken, invented for the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II, is a good choice. It’s a peculiar-sounding mix of sliced cooked chicken, mayonnaise and curry paste or cream, and occasionally sultanas, but it’s very good.
Then we have ‘high tea’, which was favoured by the working classes, and simply the meal for men coming home from work. It would usually be a hot meal served with a pot of tea and bread and butter. In the north of England, ‘tea’ is the term for the evening meal, and ‘dinner’ for the midday meal, while elsewhere ‘dinner’ is the evening meal and ‘lunch’ the midday one.
Finally, there is the cream tea, which is scones with jam and clotted cream. Originating in Devon and Cornwall, the meal is traditionally only the scones and the tea, although they are often offered with an afternoon tea. The scones are usually plain, but fruit scones work well.
There is much debate on the best way to prepare your scone. Apparently, the Devonshire method has the cream first on the scone half, and the jam on top, and the Cornish preference is jam first then cream. Personally, this is what I’d go for, because otherwise you’re smearing the jam into the cream and making it look messy.
This episode was inspired by two blogs, one about the history of tea and the other about dinner parties, which included a reference to afternoon tea.
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