While we do not often think of it here in the States, Tea time is one of the great pleasures of visiting the UK, or just having British friends. It is also a great way to entertain as it brings together caffeine and discussion in a way that makes people feel both aristocratic and laid back.

When I was in College one of my professors made a habit of hosting afternoon tea every Thursday or Wednesday (depending on the semester) giving his students a window to speak with each other and their wise professors on interesting topics without agenda or objective. We were allowed to pontificate the whole time. It was honestly one of the best parts of my college experience, and I still host tea with the same pursuit of gentlemanly discussion today.

History

Afternoon tea originated in the middle 19th century, as all good things do, with rich people complaining. As the story goes, the Duchess of Redford was visiting the Duke of Rutland, and became very hungry around 4 o’clock as one does having only had a light lunch at noon. The problem being that in the 19th century, the upper class did not eat dinner until 8 pm, and rather than moving dinner to a reasonable time, the Duchess decided to have the servants put together an afternoon snack, and serve it with tea to help with the afternoon hunger and the afternoon slump in energy. This tithed them over until dinner time. It was not long until afternoon tea took the upper class by storm, becoming a game of ornate and elaborate displays and rich foods.

Shortly thereafter the industrialists began serving tea to their employees at roughly the same time, because the tea would give them caffeine to keep them going, and a small sandwich with the tea would quell the hunger pangs thus making the employees more efficient. It was in the spirit of that same efficiency that the tea and sandwiches were served at a standing table. (Yet for some reason people complain that industrialists were less than eleemosynary.) It was as a result of this high table that the low class simple snack and cup of tea is referred to as high tea, not to be confused with afternoon tea that the upper class had (even if people frequently use high tea to refer to afternoon tea because it sounds more fancy).

Proper Etiquette at Tea

When it comes to having tea with someone, the etiquette is rather straight forward. The rules are basically to follow the rules of a normal party, but there are a couple of things to remember.

First and foremost, never unpair your teacup from its saucer. There was a time when it was improper to pick up your teacup without its saucer in the other hand. Things have now however, relaxed. Instead I would recommend to thinking of the functional purpose of a saucer. Most obviously it is a coaster, which is why you should never set a teacup directly on the table. it is also a rest for a (wet) teaspoon, why you don’t set a teaspoon directly on a table either. However, the less known function is to catch excess liquid. Tea cups tend to be shallow and wide, and if you ever go to afternoon tea with multiple people, you will be amazed to see how much tea ends up in the saucer. That is why I don’t walk around or hold a teacup for an extended period of time in general without a saucer, but if it is on the table next to me I feel no need to pick up the saucer every time I take a small sip.

While, one should never set a tea spoon on the table, but only on the saucer, given how surprisingly obnoxious a teaspoon can be to keep from falling, I don’t use one personally. I avoid it by pouring in the cream and sugar first, which allows the impact of the tea to mix itself for me. However, this gets us to the debate: does one pour in his tea first, or his cream first? The history of the debate originates from the fact that in the 19th century when tea consumption really took off, people had to pour in their cream first in order to avoid heat shock breaking their glasses, with the exception of the upper class who could afford much better china and did not have to worry about it. As a result: pouring in cream first is seen as low class, and Europe is very sensitive to class indicators. With that being said: I am very sensitive to stupid rules and I would rather prove my status through my words than my willingness to keep up with an obnoxious spoon. With that being said: if I were a guest at some lord’s state home, I might bite the bullet in the interest of giving myself every chance to impress there is.

          The last thing to know is the proper way to eat a scone. It is a surprisingly hot topic of debate. The one thing that is agreed upon is that first you cut the scone in half, then apply the fat and sugar to the inside. The debate is whether or not the clotted cream or the jam comes first. The common thinking in Cornwall is to put the cream on first, then the jam, and the thinking in Devonshire (that’s a thing) is to put on the jam first. It really shouldn’t matter too much, though it is worth noting that the Queen puts on the Jam first. Proper technique also involves putting the cream and jam on their plate first with the communal utensils, then their scone with their knife.

Hosting

          While afternoon tea can look extremely impressive, it can actually be extremely simple to set up. There are no courses, and the tea time can involve just scones and cucumber sandwiches, or every type of scone sandwich and cake under the sun.

          Starting with the food and tea: the first thing you need is obviously tea. The tea used for afternoon tea is usually black tea. Also necessary are milk, and sugar. I like to go a step further and have another creamer (note creamer is the piece of china/silver that holds the cream, not artificial creamer) with heavy cream for those (like myself) who like it (it also gives the ability to mix the two for half and half). It is polite to have an artificial sweetener as an alternative, and polite for one to have some form of non-dairy creamer (this time referring to the abomination that is artificial cream, not the dish) if someone attending is lactose intolerant, but it is not okay to not have the natural options (this does not just go for tea time mind you. It is just ridiculous that I can’t get real dairy in my coffee at so many places).

          The three types of food that one finds at tea are finger sandwiches, scones, and cakes. Cucumber sandwiches are the quintessential tea time sandwich, after that, tuna and salmon are quite common, but there are easily scores of different kinds. The scones are pretty straightforward. You can serve plain scones, or some with various dried fruits in them. They should be served with clotted cream and with jam. It is nice to have several types if jam, though they should be labeled, but having only one is perfectly fine. And for the cakes, usually they are just pieces of very rich cake.

            As for the china and silver needed to serve: as the tea comes first, so does the tea set. Tea sets come in three kinds, china, sterling silver, and silver plate. Without question, the gold standard is silver. Sterling Silver. However, sterling silver sets are very expensive, ranging from $2,000 (not including a tray which is never less than $5,000) to $50,000. While I think it is a great thing to have a sterling tea set (Learn more in an article to come), not everyone does. If that is the case then I would avoid silver plate as it is also expensive and just feels like an imitation of something else. If sterling is not an option, china is perfectly fine.

          Two very common pieces of china seen at tea are 2 and 3 tiered servers usually made of china, though Reed and Barton does make a silver plate version (Do not expect to find sterling) and cake stands, also made most often of china, though Reed and Barton also makes one in Pewter plate. It’s pretty simple that whole cakes go on the cake stand, and most everything else goes on the two tiered server. If you don’t have them then not to worry, dinner plates work just fine.

          Also worth noting that in a more relaxed setting you may leave the clotted cream and jam in their containers, but if you have them, you should really move the cream and sugar to serving dishes. Serving dishes for them may also be made of silver or china or pewter.

          Similarly, everything should have some serving utensil attached, whether it be a cake knife, serving spoon (not a big one for the things in this, just a teaspoon), tongs, etc… similarly, people should have whatever they need to eat the food. Most of the foods are finger foods, so it is possible that one has only plates for everyone, though generally there will be a butter knife for the scones, and frequently there will be a fork for cake. (Ideally a butter spreader and dessert fork so people don’t have add a full sized fork and knife to the Jenga tower of stuff they’re already carrying around.) They do not need to be assigned to a plate or cup ahead of time, just a pile of forks knives and spoons on the table is fine. And of course, people need teacups and saucers from which to drink their tea. The most important thing is to be sure you have enough for everyone.

          Once everyone is there, your job is to make sure the tea pot is full and enjoy…