The History of the English Afternoon Tea

When one thinks of England, one automatically thinks of tea, but that was not always the case. Coffee and chocolate houses were the establishments of the day. Hot chocolate was not as we think of it today, where it comes with the milk and sugar already added in a dry mix form. It was offered in the same way coffee is. It was the bitter liquid of the cacao bean to which one added as much cream or milk and sugar as one desired. These coffee and chocolate houses were places where gentlemen could meet to transact business. Women were not welcome there. It was a man's domain. Women could get their coffee and chocolate at home or their friends homes. In fact hot chocolate was a favored breakfast drink.

On December 31, 1600 Queen Elizabeth I granted a charter to the British East India Company to establish trade routes, ports, and relations with the Far East. At first the merchandise being imported consisted of spices, cotton, silks, and indigo. Finally tea became an import during the 1670's due to Charles II. Charles, who was in exile, had grown up drinking tea, unlike the British for whom the national drink was ale. After becoming King, he married Catherine of Portugal, who was also a tea drinker. Her dowry brought with it the use of Portuguese ports which gave England direct trading rights to tea. With Charles monarchy re-established, the royal couple's tea drinking initiated a new trend among the court and upper classes, as everyone wanted to copy the royals. Soon all were drinking tea and it replaced ale as the drink of choice.

At first tea was not a commercial product imported in great bulk. In 1660 China tea cost in today's terms roughly $1,150 to $2,600 a pound. That is a very expensive cup of tea. Only the very rich could afford to drink it, therefore it was not much in demand and did not need to be imported in large quantities. In 1658 Thomas Garway, a merchant, was the first advertiser and seller of tea at his coffee house. It was far too expensive to be popular at that time. However with the royals drinking it and influencing others to, by 1678 the East India Company saw an opportunity and need to import more tea. Charles II favored the East India Company and extended them unprecedented powers for trading so that tea could be brought in in greater quantities at lower prices.

At first this new custom of drinking tea caused an uproar in Britain. People began calling it a filthy custom that debauched and robbed people of their health, stature, and women of their beauty. One has to wonder if this came about as a result of jealousy that the lower classes could not afford this luxury. Even famed evangelist John Wesley (founder of Methodism) was reported to have said that it caused “symptoms of a paralytic disorder,” which is humorous considering that today we consider tea not only a restorative, but also a healthful drink. For the most part, with people having this attitude, tea was only used by the apothecaries for medicinal purposes.

By 1706 Thomas Twining purchased a coffee house and offered tea as well as coffee. The antipathy seemed to be lifting from the prevailing attitude, and with lower prices and the model of the upper classes, tea suddenly became popular. Twining had to open a second house in 1717 strictly for tea. By the early 1700's there were 500 coffee houses in London offering tea. It was outselling the coffee. Twinings of course not only was the originator of the tea house, but is now a world famous brand of tea.

Queen Anne furthered tea's cause by choosing it as her regular breakfast beverage over her normal ale. Now with the prices coming down, and the middle class overcoming their objections, tea became the beverage in all classes, not just the upper ones. Thus when people came to America, they brought their love of tea with them. Although this is a piece of American history, not English, it does have a connection to Britain. When the Boston Tea Party took place, in 1773, this was a much greater loss than people today realize. The three ships of tea in the harbor were valued at what in today's terms would be $238,000,000. That was an enormous loss of revenue.

Getting back to the history of English tea, we come to the reason for which the Afternoon Tea came into being. Prior of the introduction of tea into Britain, people ate two major meals and one light repast. The breakfast meal consisted of ale, bread and meat (kidneys or beef). This was followed at mid-day by a large meal. Then in the evening a bowl of oatmeal or other light fare was taken to assuage hunger pangs. With the Industrial Revolution, working families could no longer eat big mid-day meals as the workers were not at home. They would come home exhausted at the end of the day to a table set with meats, bread and butter, cheese, pickles, and tea. This was not the dainty finger sandwiches and scones, but what we might call supper or even dinner. It was eaten sitting down at the dining table which was of normal table height, as opposed to the lower tea/coffee tables where the afternoon teas would be taken. As such, this evening meal became known as “high” tea due to the height of the table. In time, when Afternoon Teas came in to existence, they were served at the lower table that we refer to as coffee tables, hence were “low” teas. This is the opposite of what people perceive to be a high tea. It has nothing to do with the refinement of the meal, but the height of the table.

By the mid 1700's the upper class had already changed their eating habits to match the working class. Breakfast was the same fare only with tea instead of ale, lunch was a very light fare, but dinners were large meals and served no earlier than eight-thirty in the evening and many times as late as ten o'clock, if there were a ball. These dinners were long multi-course meals (sometimes as many as fourteen courses), nevertheless it was a long time to go without eating from noon to ten at night.

Anna Marie Stanhope, the Duchess of Bedford (1783-1851) could not handle these very long stretches of time without food. She started taking to her boudoir secretly in the late afternoon to partake of tea and snacks of macaroons, bread and butter, tiny cakes, tarts, scones and similar fare. After a while her friends found her out and rather than condemning her or making fun of her, they thought it a grand idea. Apparently they were hungry also. So with her friends approval and joining her in her new habit, she came out of the closet and introduced the Afternoon Tea. This soon became the “in” thing to do and quickly became not only a ritual, but a mark of status of gentility of a lady. How you gave a tea became the gauge of your status and you were judged accordingly.

Afternoon teas became even more popular with the opening of the Tea House, Lyons, which not only opened their doors to and served women (remember coffee and chocolate houses had been strictly a man's domain), but also employed young women as waitresses. Now a woman (properly escorted by a man) could come and socialize with her friends in an acceptable public place rather than be restricted to her home. In the 1730's, tea being so popular led to the opening of tea gardens. These opened as early as April and closed in September. The most well-known tea garden today is found mentioned in many a Regency or Victorian romance novel. Its name being Vauxhall Gardens.

Vauxhall Gardens was not considered a public place, nor was it open to the working class. There was an entry fee required which provided for all the tea (and alternative beverage) and bread and butter that you could eat and drink. Its many paths provided places for strolls and romantic assignations. Entertainment was always provided. Musicians such as Handel presented their works there for listening or dancing. There were other amusements such as hot air balloon ascents, tightrope walkers, acrobats, fireworks, and of course the gardens themselves. At night the place would be lit with hundreds of lamps. Tipping a waiter originated in the Tea Gardens of England. Small locked wooden boxes were placed on tables in the gardens. Inscribed on them were the letters T.I.P.S. - To Insure Prompt Service. If a guest wished a waiter to hurry so that the tea arrived hot (the kitchens were a long distance from the tables) he dropped a coin in the box as he was being seated. So we can blame the Tea Gardens of England for the custom of tipping waiters, although nowadays we do it after we are served.

Tea Dances began around 1819 and continued in popularity through World War II. People would gather between the hours of five and six-thirty in the chosen venue. Tables and chairs were assembled around the dance floor and an afternoon tea menu would be served while the people danced.

The ritual of Afternoon Tea led to what was known as the “At Home.” Around the mid 1800's the coffeehouses morphed into exclusive gentlemen clubs. Women were allowed in the tea houses, but only with a male chaperone. With men going to their clubs, it left women without available chaperones to accompany them to the tea houses, so the only action left to them was to serve teas at home. It became the ritual to set aside a day to have your “at home” hours. A lady would send out formal invitations with the hours, dress, theme of the tea, and stay home all day to receive the visitors. As ladies would choose to do this on different days, if a lady had many friends, she could find her time filled with going to “at homes” all week long.

These “at homes” would sometimes be more than just a tea with food. The ladies started created themes around their teas to make them more interesting. It also made them more exclusive. They offered musicales, dances, tennis, and bridge to name a few of the various activities offered. It was the custom of these teas to give the honored guest the job of pouring tea. This seems counter intuitive to us to make the honored guest work, but as tea was so expensive and was locked in caddies, like precious jewels, it was considered an honor to be asked to serve tea. If no one was designated as an honored guest, the hostess would pour out the tea. If the honored guest poured the tea, the hostess would pour the alternate beverage, otherwise if the hostess poured the tea, the daughter of the house or a close friend would pour out the alternative beverage.

With the rise of all these tea houses, gardens, and “at homes” it became necessary to impart a type of etiquette upon the custom. In time the Tea became more ritualistic and ceremonial and accumulated a set of rules of etiquette. These rules were serious, serious business. You were judged harshly on your refinement as a lady based upon your knowledge of all these things. A Mrs. Beeten put together a massive tome on all the rules of how to not only give a tea, but how to properly do every job in your home. Knowing all of these rules was imperative if one wanted to climb the social ladder, and with the Industrial Revolution providing more money, the middle class was climbing the social ladder. They took it even more seriously that these rules must be stringently adhered to, for they were trying to elevate themselves and ingratiate themselves into the upper class.

During this time three types of formal social visits came into being. There was the “Congratulations or Condolence” visit in which you would leave a calling card with a message. Depending on whom you were and how the person receiving the visit felt about you, you may or may not have been received. The second type of social visit was the “Ceremonial” visit. This was kept brief and if another person came while you were calling you excused yourself and left. The entire purpose of this kind of visit was to elevate your social standing by being able to name drop with whom you were socializing. The third type of visit was the “Friendship” visit. If you were a good friend, you did not have to leave if someone else arrived. The entire purpose of your visit was to spend time with your friend, so you were under no obligation to observe the proprieties of the ceremonial visit. It was all these type of rules that made the Tea into an art form rather than just people socializing.

Today in this country the Afternoon Tea is making a comeback, especially in the South, although it is gaining in popularity in the North. It can be found to some degree all around the country. The reason it is making a comeback is because women seem to have reached a place where they are tired of the rat race and are trying to capture some of the romance and elegance of a bygone era. They are also seeing the need for “me” time in which to slow down their lives and take some relaxing, special time to spend with their friends to connect and bond in a day and age when everyone is communicating by electronics. It also provides an opportunity to do something which has also gone the way of the dinosaur - to dress up and especially dress up in feminine frilly clothes of the past, such as hats and gloves. Women are also using it as a health benefit. Slowing down, relaxing, drinking tea which is full of antioxidants, sharing burdens and joys, and just pampering themselves is relieving a lot of stress in their lives.

It is also becoming a practice in the business world to have Business Teas instead of Business Luncheons or Dinners. With this in mind, etiquette schools are on the rise, especially for the political and business world. With people traveling all over the world and the different etiquette of different cultures, people need to be briefed on the rules of the culture they will visit. Tea seems to be a constant across many nations and cultures. Even colleges, seeing the lack of etiquette and manners in new graduates, are giving short courses on this to prepare them for careers in various fields. Lastly, Tea Rooms are opening up all over the country and it is nice when a person visits one to know the proper way to behave.