What does it mean when someone says high tea?
a late afternoon or early evening meal similar to a light supper.
Who traditionally served high tea?
The British tradition of High Tea began in the mid- 1700s as an afternoon meal usually served between 3 and 4 pm. Initially, it was a meal for the working class, taken standing up or sitting on tall stools, thus termed ‘high’. Tea with cakes, scones and even cheese on toast were served.
Is high tea a British thing?
Thus, in the industrial areas of the UK (northern England and southern Scotland), the working classes evening meal evolved: high tea. English High Tea usually involved a mug of tea, bread, vegetables, cheese and occasionally meat.
What’s another name for high tea?
Find another word for high-tea. In this page you can discover 4 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for high-tea, like: cream-tea, five o’clock tea, light supper and afternoon-tea.
How did high tea get its name?
The table would be set with any manner of meats, bread, butter, pickles, cheese and of course tea. None of the dainty finger sandwiches, scones and pastries of afternoon tea would have been on the menu. Because it was eaten at a high, dining table rather than the low tea tables, it was termed “high” tea.
Where did the tradition of high tea come from?
Whilst the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China and was popularised in England during the 1660s by King Charles II and his wife the Portuguese Infanta Catherine de Braganza, it was not until the mid 19th century that the concept of ‘afternoon tea’ first appeared.
Why was it called high tea?
So what is ‘high tea’? The phrase ‘high tea’ started to be used to describe a working-class meal served at a high table and high back dining chairs at the end of a long workday. The tea would be accompanied by a hot meal. This could be a meat or fish dish or baked food or vegetables.
Who invented high tea?
Anna Maria Russell, Duchess of Bedford
The invention of afternoon tea is widely attributed to Anna Maria Russell, Duchess of Bedford, who plugged her peckishness by filling the gap between luncheon and dinner with a selection of sweet and savoury snacks brought to her rooms.
Is there a dress code for high tea?
Generally, the attire requested for guests to adhere to for afternoon tea is “smart casual,” which falls somewhere between business casual and casual. This will usually mean no trainers, t-shirts, shorts or sportswear. And gentlemen will typically be asked to wear a collared shirt.
Why do you hold your pinky up when drinking tea?
That’s actually rude and connotes elitism. It comes from the fact that cultured people would eat their tea goodies with three fingers and commoners would hold the treats with all five fingers. Thus was born the misguided belief that one should raise their pinky finger to show they were cultured.