Afternoon tea is a tradition in Britain and former colonies, with three types to choose from: cream tea, light tea, and full tea. Setting the table and preparing food in advance is important, and warming the teapot before adding tea is key. It can be a lot of work, but it can become a tradition.
Afternoon tea is an age-old tradition in Britain and many former English colonies, although the hectic pace of modern life has made afternoon tea a special treat and a less frequent occurrence. If you want to make afternoon tea for family and guests, the process is quite simple once you decide what type of afternoon tea you want. You may find that afternoon tea becomes a tradition in your home, providing an opportunity for friends and neighbors to hang out in a casual setting.
Before discussing how to make afternoon tea, it’s important to distinguish between afternoon tea and high tea. Afternoon tea is a light meal, usually eaten between three and five in the afternoon. In addition to tea, afternoon tea can include things like finger sandwiches, scones, pastries, and desserts. High tea, on the other hand, is actually a full meal, with serious savory items, and is eaten throughout the day.
There are three kinds of afternoon teas you can choose when making an afternoon tea. The lightest is cream tea, which simply contains tea, scones, jam and cream. A light tea includes sweets along with the cream tea components, while a full tea also incorporates flavors, such as tea sandwiches. In all cases, a mixed range of items is usually provided, with different types of scones offered, an assortment of desserts such as cupcakes, tarts, jelly rolls and so on, and a range of tea sandwiches, from the classic cucumber to ham .
Before setting up afternoon tea, take the time to formally dress the table. If you have table linens, use them and set the table with beautiful china and silver. Even if you don’t have formal table settings, you can adorn the table with flowers and, if possible, display matching plates, cups, etc. If your household lacks matching items, choose your table settings carefully, so the mismatch appears artful. Tidy up the room where you plan to serve tea, to make guests feel like guests, rather than intruders in a busy home.
Many of the items used in an afternoon tea can be crafted the day before. Desserts, for example, generally don’t suffer when made the previous day. Ideally, the scones should be fresh, so they’re warm at tea time, and the tea sandwiches can be assembled several hours in advance, especially if you take the time to butter the bread to seal it from moisture. All afternoon tea food items are traditionally served in a tiered stand, although plates may be used if a stand is not available. Make sure you have tongs available so people can pick up items without handling food that will be eaten by others.
The highlight of afternoon tea is, of course, the tea. If you have several teapots, you may want to choose from an assortment of teas. Either way, you should warm up the teapot with a swirl of hot water before adding loose leaf teas and water at just the right temperature for those tea leaves. Black teas can tolerate boiling water, while green and white teas require water at a lower temperature. Don’t neglect your tea too much, or it will become bitter. Make sure guests are served promptly, or strain the tea into a clean, heated pot and cover it with a tea cozy so it stays hot. Slices of milk, sugar and lemon should be taken out along with the tea.
While it may seem like a lot of work to make an afternoon tea, you can cheat by buying some baked goods and enlisting the help of family members. If afternoon tea starts to become a tradition, you might even see if other people in your circle of friends are willing to host the tea, spreading the work more evenly.
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