Tea (meal)

Tea (a meal, as opposed to the beverage), has different meanings according to country. It can refer to a light meal taken in the afternoon or a major meal at midday or at the close of the working day.

Afternoon Tea

"Afternoon Tea" (or Low Tea) is a light meal from Britain (but forms of it exist around the world, mostly in places formerly part of the British Empire) taken at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Many parts of this meal come from the fascination of wealthy Britons with China and Japan in the 18th century - the Orientalist craze.

Formal afternoon tea is served in three stages. The chosen tea is served in a teapot with optional milk and sugar; it is also customary to have a glass of Rosé or White Champagne. A triple-tier cakestand is brought with a variety of finger sandwiches, customarily: cucumber with cream cheese, watercress with mayonnaise, ham with mustard, and smoked salmon. These are served on the lowermost tier. On the middle tier are scones, enough for two per person, usually one plain and one flavoured (with apple and cinnamon for example); these are served with butter, strawberry or raspberry jam, and clotted cream. On the uppermost tier is a selection of handcrafted miniature cakes and pastries, usually consisting of fruit and chocolate. After this is an optional slice of a cake, such as Battenburg. While afternoon tea used to be an everyday event, nowadays it is more likely to be taken as a treat in a hotel, café, or tea house, although many Britons will still have a cup of tea and a slice of cake at "teatime". In modern days, however, it has turned into another meal taken at about 4-6 o'clock. Formal afternoon tea will typically cost no less than £15 and no more than £70.

History

Tea in England was initially served in coffee houses. Due to high taxation it was extremely expensive, and only available to the very wealthy. Nevertheless tea drinking grew exponentially in popularity, and tea sellers such as Thomas Twining started selling dry tea, so that ladies who could not frequent the coffee houses could enjoy it.

Tea was very valuable, and was kept by the lady of the house rather than in the care of the housekeeper. It was the lady of the house also who would serve the tea, in imitation of the Japanese tea ceremony.

Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford of Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, had the idea of asking her lady's maid to bring all the tea making equipment to her private boudoir at 5 o'clock so that the Duchess could enjoy a cup of tea with a slice or two of bread and butter. Anna Maria found this afternoon tea such a perfect refreshment that she soon started inviting her friends to join her in her sitting room for this new social event.

Eventually, the growing middle class imitated the rich and found that 'tea' was a very economical way of entertaining several friends without having to spend too much money, and afternoon tea quickly became the norm.

Modern use

Since the number of women who do not work has now declined, afternoon tea has come to be seen as old-fashioned by some. It is not the case that all or most Britons eat such a meal every day.

A cream tea is a variant meal from the south of England. It is now sold in tea houses and restaurants, particularly tourist spots, all across the country and the Commonwealth.

Africa

Afternoon tea was served daily in upper class homes in Commonwealth countries through the end of the 20th Century. The tradition continues in some countries, in others tea is served less frequently. Afternoon tea is generally available in high-end hotels, restaurants and cafés.

Australia

Many Australians call the early evening meal their "tea" while others will call it "dinner"; though both words are mutually understood to mean the same thing.

Afternoon tea is not served daily but is served more frequently than in the US. The meal is sometimes called "high tea" on the same understanding as in the US (see below) but purists consider such usage erroneous. Cream teas are referred to as Devonshire Teas and are available in all high-end restaurants and cafés.

Canada

Afternoon tea is not served daily, but is generally available in high-end hotels, restaurants and cafés. Of course, due to many influxes from immigrants from Hong Kong, many Hong Kong style restaurants also serve Hong Kong style afternoon tea. (See below)

Germany

In Germany the traditional intake of sustenance in the afternoon is called "Kaffee" (coffee) or "Kaffee und Kuchen" (coffee and cake). Only sweet foodstuffs are served, with cream-based cakes (such as Black Forest gateau) taking priority, although drier forms of cake, fruit tarts and pastries may also be served.

The tradition of consuming extremely rich concoctions flourished during the German economic recovery period ("Wirtschaftswunder") of the 1950s and 1960s as a reaction against the austerity and rationing of the war and immediate post-war years. Traditionally coffee is the only drink served (with cream or condensed milk and/or sugar), but in recent decades tea has become more popular. In East Frisia and Friesland, however, tea has always been traditional.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, afternoon tea is common, although not a meal served daily. Usually some light "snacks" such as sandwiches, toast, or even more elaborated such as fried chicken, French toast, and even a mini meal would be served together with milk tea, coffee, Horlicks, Ovaltine, yuenyeung or lemon tea. Many local fast food restaurants, such as Café de Coral, sell afternoon tea sets.

United States

The term high tea is sometimes used in the United States to refer to afternoon tea or the tea party, a very formal, ritualised gathering (usually of ladies) in which tea, thin sandwiches and little cakes are served on the best china. This usage comes from misunderstanding the term "high" to mean "formal". Most etiquette mavens advise that such usage is incorrect; (Judith Martin's tongue-in-cheek interpretation is, "It's high time we had something to eat.")

This form of tea is increasingly served in high-end US hotels, often during the Christmas holidays and other tourist seasons, and a rising number of big-city teahouses, where it is usually correctly described as Afternoon Tea (see the meal's history, above).

The tea party is still occasionally given in the US, either for a special occasion or in honor of a visiting celebrity or guest. This occasion is a formal one in which ladies wear "good" afternoon dresses or suits and gentlemen wear business suits, but otherwise afternoon tea is an informal gathering of friends. In 1922 Emily Post wrote that servants should not enter the room during afternoon tea except if summoned to bring fresh hot water or remove soiled dishes, so as not to interrupt the intimate nature of the gathering and its conversation.

American situation comedies might center a joke around a British character having his afternoon tea. However, Hollywood used afternoon tea as a device to indicate social class or status; in movies such as Notorious, Marnie (both directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who was English, but set in the United States) and Pocketful of Miracles specific reference is made to the fact that a lady would have afternoon tea. Popular culture portrays upper class ladies as taking afternoon tea with friends at restaurants or serving it to friends in their homes; by-and-large middle class ladies by contrast have a coffee break in their kitchens.

High Tea

Middle class

High Tea is a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and Ireland to describe an early evening meal, typically around 5-6 pm, eaten as a substitute for both afternoon tea and the evening meal. The term comes from the meal being eaten at the "high" (main) table, rather than the smaller table common in living rooms. It is now largely replaced the later meal tea (see below).

It would usually consist of cold meats, eggs and/or fish, cakes, and sandwiches, all served at the same time. The cakes may either be full sized and cut into slices, or smaller individual cakes, or muffins, toast or other sweet breads.

In a family, it tends to be less formal and often it is essentially either a regularised snack, usually featuring sandwiches, cookies, pastry, fruit, and the like, or else it is supper.

Working class

On farms in the United Kingdom, high tea is the traditional and very substantial meal enjoyed by the workers immediately after dark, and combines afternoon tea with the main evening meal.

Tea

By contrast, Tea can mean the afternoon/evening meal, so called even if the diners are drinking beer, cider, or juice. It traditionally takes place at sometime around 6pm (though these days, it often takes place as late as 9pm).

In parts of the United Kingdom (especially in the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, though its usage varies greatly both within these area and the rest of the UK), New Zealand, and sometimes in Australia, tea as a meal is synonymous with dinner in Standard English. Under such usage, the midday meal is sometimes termed dinner, rather than lunch. The prominence of this usage in Australia and New Zealand is almost certainly due to the influence of Scottish people for whom dinner is a meal eaten at midday and tea is the evening meal, the proportion of Scottish settlers being much greater in New Zealand than in Australia. Note that in modern New Zealand, the midday meal is still termed lunch. Hence Australians and New Zealanders commonly describe the three main meals as breakfast, lunch and tea.

Other uses

In cricket, the second and usually shorter of the two intervals during a match lasting a full day or more is known as the tea interval. The interval is an opportunity for the players and umpires to take a comfort break and to partake in light refreshments.

External links

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