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High Tea and Afternoon tea, though often confused, are two very different things. They are easily distinguishable by the time they are served, the food offered, who is partaking of the tea and even by the table on which they are served. The only thing common to both is that tea is the drink offered but then, it may be served in a serviceable brown teapot or an elegant silver or fine china teapot.

Many people credit Anna 7^th Duchess of Bedford with the invention of tea as a meal but this is unlikely. In medieval times, the English ate two meals a day, “dinner” at between 10.00am and 11am and “Supper” around sunset. Then reliable artificial light was available to the rich and mealtimes became later, the upper classes began to eat  “lunch” at about 1pm and would often not have supper, or dinner, as it became known after the French fashion, until 9pm or 11pm; an extremely long time to go without food.  Ladies would have a cup of tea with a little snack around 3pm-4pm.  They started inviting their friends; it was always predominantly a ladies’ meal.  Men were busy attending to their estates, at business in the City, the House (Parliament), or abroad conquering the empire.

Real afternoon tea is an elegant delight. Cucumber sandwiches cut into tiny triangles with the crusts removed, bread and butter and jam (jelly), tiny little scones an inch in diameter,  slivers of very light cake all served on elegant cake stands or fine bone china. A delicate silver or fine china teapot dispenses tea into delicate china cups with saucers never ever mugs. Traditionally ladies took afternoon from low (occasional) tables whilst sitting in easy chairs.

High tea is a proper meal and includes a hot dish of some kind.  The meal is served between 6pm and 7pm. Originally the main meal of the day in ordinary households; high tea was eaten when the men came in from the fields or from work. Working men took a packed lunch to eat at midday often just bread and cheese and a bottle of cold tea and so needed something more substantial in the evening.  The food served could not be more different to the refined and upper class afternoon tea. Slices bread and butter stretched the hot dish and homemade Jam to accompany slices of bread eaten after the savory dish to fill up on, and in many households a simple cake, maybe a farmhouse style fruitcake. It was a working-class or peasant meal.

Afternoon tea is still a delight of elegance in
England and the very best of hotels serve it. You can also get a very nice afternoon tea at tearooms, pubs and guesthouses up and down the land. If you would like to experience true elegance, the Ritz, the
Savoy, or any four star hotel in the country will serve an excellent and elegant afternoon tea. 

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