What you need to know about
High Tea Recipes..
If you're looking for English High Tea recipes, recipes for High Tea sandwiches, or how to host a High Tea party we must first understand what is High Tea .
This term of having High Tea should not be confused with an elegant afternoon tea. It was actually a hearty family meal that the working middle class ate around 5:00. The table (which was high enough to pull your chairs under) was laden with heaping bowls of food, large portions of meat, and a good, strong pot of tea.
"Pass the scones
and pour the tea,
I now proclaim
a tea party!"
©Tea Party Circle
Afternoon Tea, a truly British institution, is given credit to Anna, Duchess of Bedford. In early nineteenth century, there was a long time between a light luncheon and a late evening meal. The Duchess experienced "a sinking feeling" during the afternoon and therefore, asked her maid to bring her a pot of tea and a "bit of something to eat".
She discovered this was a very refreshing ritual and started inviting her friends to join her for afternoon tea. The tea was served from a low table, hence the reason why it also used to be called low tea.
This quickly caught on, and soon all of fashionable London was gathering to partake of delicate cakes, tea sandwiches, a cup of tea and conversation.
It didn't take long for the porcelain companies and silversmiths to start turning out the necessary equipage for elegant teas and bookmakers to produce instructions on the proper way to brew and serve tea, how to host a tea, which foods to serve and of course, the proper manners one should have at an afternoon tea party.
A word from the Tea Party Bee...
Ok, now that we have that straightened out, we are not going to bee snobs and insist on proper names. Whether it's High, Low, or Afternoon tea, we enjoy this languid social as opposed to fast food and take out coffee bars!
You will find "high tea recipes", ideas, tea instruction and everything else concerning this classic pastime, here on this site, with other tea aficionados.
Here are some page links to get you started:
High Tea Party Recipes
Tea Party Menu
Hosting a Tea Party
High Tea Sandwiches
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