High Tea: Enjoy Tea With A Small Meal

There was a time when inviting someone to tea was limited to a cup of tea only

. Times have changed and so has the use of tea. Gradually this wonderful beverage began to gain importance in almost all the cultures where it was introduced. Slowly, people started serving other things with a simple cup of tea to make it a special one for the guests. Tea grew out of the shadow of being an accompaniment to the meals and started playing a pivotal role in the small parties and gatherings in which a number of things such as cookies, breads, and meats were served with it for entertaining the guests. The custom of High Tea was also born as a result of this transition in British culture and was intended to fill the space between the afternoon and evening meals.

It is a known fact that tea was invented in China during 2737 B.C. and then it gradually spread all over the world including Britain. It grew in popularity in this part of the world and became the most preferred beverage in the country. People also considered it to be safer than other beverages because water was boiled for preparing tea and boiling of water killed pathogens in it, thereby making it safe and beneficial. Tea began to be served in public houses that did a good business by serving meals with their drinks. People were also attracted towards tea because it had the quality of refreshing them without the jittering effect that coffee had. Although tea had made its entry into the British culture, High Tea was still unheard of and was waiting in the wings to make its appearance.

Tea had gained the reputation of being the beverage of the common man in Britain and was being widely used. People started having tea between the meals as the time between the meals was quite long and they needed to have something in between. This gap was particularly long between the lunch and the dinner. Tea became a solution to this problem and started being served along with leftover breads, cold meats, etc. This became quite popular during those days, and because tea was served on the dining table, which was typically the tallest table in the house, it was nicknamed High Tea. Usually, this type of tea was served between 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. This custom of serving tea between lunch and dinner was also adapted by the royal family in the country.

Nowadays, High Tea is still as popular as it was hundreds of years ago and is being served with several new accompaniments. Things like tea sandwiches, Mandarin oranges, baby corn, miniature Artichoke, and small cookies and crackers are used now for adding a twist to the time tested custom of serving tea between afternoon and evening meals.

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by: Will Bailey

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