Most people still find the term “high tea” somewhat confusing so we hope this information will make it clearer.
What is High Tea?
High tea is a meal served in the early evening hours, usually around 5:00 or 6:00. Most often, the meal is enjoyed as the primary meal, a time when tea is served. In this case, most people would not have afternoon tea, instead looking forward to tea with this meal. The term “high tea” comes from “high”, which is the primary table where everyone gathers opposed to a “low” table.
For this meal, foods would include sandwiches, eggs, fish, cakes, fresh fruits, and other cold types of foods. Because of this, the high tea meal was informal, one consisting more of snack type foods instead of a hot, five-course dinner.
Traditionally, the high team meal began at dusk, a time when workers from the farm or other people in working class homes would get together and enjoy food and tea. Again, instead of afternoon tea, high tea would become the only time of day when tea would be enjoyed.
Today, high tea has been changed somewhat, usually meaning afternoon tea when friends and family gather in a casual setting, which may or may not include finger foods and snacks.
Primary Evening Meal
The confusion is that with high tea, this is the main meal, whether people drink tea or not. Therefore, around 5:00 to 6:00 pm, everyone comes in to start eating and drinking tea if wanted. While this meal is usually early in the evening, sometimes it may not start until 8:00 or 9:00 depending on the work needing to be completed.
Even in the United Kingdom out in country settings, tea in the form of a meal is dinner, as people in the United States know it. In addition, rather than calling the afternoon meal “lunch”, they usually refer to it as “dinner”
Tea in the US
Now, for people in America, the term “high tea” could be tea enjoyed with friends in the afternoon or alone while reading a good book, it could also be a formal tea party. For this type of party, close friends would gather, again eating various types of finger foods while enjoying a luxurious environment. Because of this, some people remain confused, thinking that high tea in the US means a formal occasion.
In the past several years, more and more people in the United States are beginning to enjoy tea in the afternoon, especially when staying in classy hotels. In fact, during cold winter months, tea has become a very popular choice. You could even visit any of the larger cities such as Chicago, New York, or Los Angeles and find beautiful teahouses where afternoon tea is served.
In the United States, a tea party is generally for some type of special event, such as a wedding. This formal occasion involves high quality tea such as the best green tea, Chinese black tea, and others. However, a tea party can also be an informal occasion involving a few friends getting together to catch up on life.
The bottom line is that for people all over the world, tea is a very important beverage that is enjoyed in the afternoon with friends, with the evening meal, and for special occasions.
