FOOD HISTORY: British Tea Traditions.

While the history of tea can be traced to China as far back as 4,750 years ago, the British association with tea is only 350 years old. It is thought that tea was brought to Europe, in the early 16th century, by Portuguese merchants returning from China. However, it was not until 1637, that tea was first commercialized by the Dutch East India Company. Thanks to the Dutch East India Company's efforts, tea drinking spread from Holland, all over Continental Europe, but high prices made it accessible only to the wealthy. For that reason, drinking tea did not take off in Britain. In fact, drinking tea was rather uncommon. In 1662, the Portuguese Princess, Catherine of Braganza, married King Charles II of England. She brought a chest of tea with her and introduced tea drinking to the English court. Thus, tea became a fashionable drink though it was heavily taxed, thus, only available to the very wealthy aristocrats. However, the demand for tea across all social classes caused the rise of a "black market" in smuggled tea. Because of this, Prime Minister William Pitt slashed the tax, significantly, making tea more affordable which in turn, put an end to smuggling.  By the 18th century, tea became the preferred drink of all classes in Britain.

In the 1840s, when it was customary to eat two meals a day, Anna Maria, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, complained of "having that sinking feeling" in the late afternoon due to the many hours between breakfast and the evening meal,. At that time, people had a small breakfast and dinner, a far more substantial meal, around 8 PM.

To solve this problem, the Duchess was served a pot of tea and some light refreshments, around 4 PM, in her residence, Woburn Abby. Since she wanted merely to satisfy her hunger until dinner, only small sandwiches and small cakes and pastries were served* Soon after, she started to invite friends to join her. Seated in comfortable chairs, they would exchange news, tell stories while sharing tea and refreshments served on a LOW, lounge table. Over time, this AFTERNOON tea became fashionable by others in the upper class.

However, for the working class in the newly industrialized Britain of the 1800s, "teatime" had to wait until work ended. For the working class, after a hard day's work, they were hungry for a more substantial meal. which may have included a variety of meats, bread, vegetables, cheeses, fish, perhaps meat pies, potatoes, and crackers. Because of its hardy nature, this kind of teatime was sometimes known as “MEAT" tea. Further, this tea was served with the worker and family seated at their HIGH kitchen table. While the AFTERNOON tea of the upper class took place in "tea" rooms on wealthy estates where people sat in comfortable chairs and had their tea and dainty foods served on LOW tables, the working classes more substantial "MEAT" tea was eaten at a kitchen or "HIGH" table. It is thanks to the British class system that these two different tea traditions exist today - AFTERNOON (LOW) tea for the upper, wealthy class, and HIGH ((MEAT) tea for the working class.

People in the U.S. misunderstand the origins of British tea traditions. When they imagine British HIGH tea, they think it is tea served in fine china, with small, delicate sandwiches and small, fancy cakes served in elegant surroundings. In fact, what Americans think of as HIGH tea, refers, actually, to AFTERNOON or LOW tea.  AFTERNOON (LOW) tea tradition is still practiced in Britain but now is widely available to anyone who can afford it while HIGH (MEAT) tea still exists in Northern England and Scotland.

*Among the items which may have been served are, a selection of finger sandwiches including cucumber, cress, smoked salmon, chicken, egg, etc., scones with butter, clotted cream and jams, and a variety of small cakes and pastries.