Is it High Tea or Afternoon Tea?

I must admit, when I see somewhere offering ‘high tea’ it grates on me like nails on a chalk board. As a Brit now living in the US (also with my American citizenship - thank you very much!) I know that the term ‘high tea’ is very common in the States. But let’s talk about the history of the term and what it really means to have high tea as opposed to afternoon tea.

If you’ve ever watched the incredible Sir Peter Jackson movie, The Hobbit, based on J.R.R Tolkien’s books, you’ll know that Hobbits like to eat! First breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, lunch etc etc. But now we get to the afternoon and here’s where it gets tricky. What to have before dinner or supper? They say it was in 1840 that Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, first decided that having some snacks mid afternoon with her friends would be a good idea to help curb that rumbling empty tummy. It turned into quite the social tradition.

Afternoon tea: A time normally around 3-4 pm for cake and scones and nibbles and tea and pastries and finger sandwiches. Lots of little delicate pieces of food to pop in your mouth without having to use a knife and fork. Well, except for scones, for which you will need to use a knife to spread all that deliciousness called clotted cream! But back to tea…. afternoon tea is carefree and a time for visiting with friends. A time to dress up a little and to celebrate an occasion, a birthday perhaps or just a chance to get together with your bestie. Afternoon tea is often held at low tables whilst sitting on the settee…can you see where I’m going with this?

High tea: In the UK it was high tea that the farmers and laborers had when they were finished for the day and came in hungry. Sitting at the kitchen table, they would have tea with heartier food like meats and pies. Sitting at the high table as opposed to the coffee table height used for afternoon tea. Hence the name. As years went by the ‘high’ part of this supper was dropped and most Brits now just have ‘tea’ at 5:30ish. Dinner is served much later at 7-8pm.

So there you have it. High tea is not the same as afternoon tea. Here at Silver Scone, we serve the latter. Not always on low tables, but certainly in the style of nibbles and delicate pastries. Join us at tea soon and we’ll chat about this some more over a scone.