The traditional English afternoon tea is elegant, and invites three or five friends to chat together, together with the tempting pure tea, the delicious snacks, the classical melodious music and the rich flowers. A timeless, easy-to-use killing time trick. But when you have a leisure time with your friends, don't forget some important etiquette. These rituals are a sub-item of personal temperament, reflecting your cultivation and attitude towards life.
- The origin of afternoon tea
Afternoon tea is the essence of British tradition, but its history is not long. In China, the history of tea drinking dates back to 3000 BC, and in the UK, the custom of drinking tea did not begin to flourish until the King Charles II period in the 1760s.
The afternoon tea was first created by Anna Maria Stanhope of the Victorian era (Victorian Era, 1819-1901) in Bedfordshire and was popular throughout the UK in the 1940s. According to the custom at the time, the dinner of the nobility usually began at 8 pm, and the Duchess often felt hungry around 4 pm, so she asked the servant to prepare some tea, bread, butter and cakes to her room. Go, eat it very comfortably. Gradually, the Duchess invited three or five confidants at 4 pm every day to taste the pure tea of the above-mentioned porcelain tableware, accompanied by exquisite sandwiches and small cakes, and enjoy a relaxing afternoon.
I did not expect this practice to become a fashion in the aristocratic social circle at that time, and gradually spread to the civilian class. This tradition has continued to this day. It is an elegant afternoon tea culture and an orthodox British black tea culture. It is considered to be the ideal way to entertain neighbors, friends and even shopping malls in the UK.
- What do you drink in afternoon tea and what to eat?
The traditional English afternoon tea time is between 3-5 pm. Afternoon tea comes standard with good black tea and delicious snacks. In addition, flowers and music are also essential. Flowers should be refreshed and elegant, and the songs should be melodious and elegant. Chatting with tea, eating delicious snacks, and enjoying classical music is not easy!
Tea: British people usually choose Darjeeling, Earl Gray or Ceylon, use the teapot to brew directly, then filter the tea residue with tea, and finally pour the tea into the delicate Drink in Chinese porcelain teacups. But you will find that in addition to these necessary teacups, teapots and saucers, there are milk thistle, sugar cans, sugar cubes, sugar cubes, teaspoons, etc. This is because the British think that milk and black tea are perfect, usually after drinking. Some milk will be added after 1-2 pure tea.
Should you add milk or tea first when you have afternoon tea? There are no specific requirements in modern times, and the ancient sayings are not the same. It is said that traditional English afternoon tea should be added with milk and tea. It is also said that tea should be added first. After enjoying the tea, add milk and sugar according to the taste. However, when drinking tea in early France, people will first add milk to protect high-quality porcelain from rupture due to tea heat. Therefore, some people say that adding tea before adding milk is a careful machine to show off the quality of porcelain.
Dim Sum: Orthodox English afternoon tea is served in a three-layer snack tray. The bottom layer is served with a salty sandwich. The middle layer is served with traditional British confectionery scones, and the top layer is filled with desserts such as cakes and fruit towers. The order of the three layers of snacks is from bottom to top. Try the salty sandwiches first, let the taste buds slowly taste the true taste of the food, then sip a few mouthfuls of black tea; then apply the jam. And the creamy scones, let a little bit of sweetness slowly spread in the mouth; finally, from the sweet and thick fruit tower, let you personally taste the climax of afternoon tea.
- Etiquette for afternoon tea
(1) About wearing: In the Victorian era, men wear tuxedos and women wear long skirts when attending afternoon tea parties. Now the official afternoon tea party in the UK still requires men to wear tuxedos, high hats, women's day dresses and hats. Nowadays, we have done a lot of simplifications on the etiquette, but we also have to dress properly. Men should wear gentlemen and ladies should be elegant.
(2) About napkins: At the afternoon tea party, the usage of the napkins is the same as that used in the western restaurant. The napkins must be folded on the thighs and the inside of the napkins should be used to wipe the corners of the mouth.
(3) About pouring tea: Pouring tea is the right and duty of the hostess. Others can't pick up the tea pot to help themselves or help others pour tea. Generally speaking, an afternoon tea can be assisted by a servant, but it must be personally hosted and served by the hostess to show respect, which is also a good time to show the style and taste of a hostess.
(4) About holding a cup: When you drink tea, you can directly pick up the teacup, and the tray is left on the table. Unless you have no table to place the tray, you can hold the tray in your left hand and the teacup in your right hand. If the cup does not have a cup handle, the thumb is placed at 6 o'clock, the index and middle fingers are placed at 12 o'clock, and the cup is directly held. The little finger can slightly touch the cup, slightly tilted to maintain balance and stability (the little finger does not tilt If it is too high, it is very unsightly); if the cup has a handle, be careful not to pass your fingers through the ears of the cup, and pinch the cup with your fingers to end the cup.
(5) About drinking tea: Do not eat snacks while drinking tea, and do not drink tea when eating snacks. You can pick up a cup and drink tea when you swallow the snack completely. When you are eating snacks or chatting with others, you need to put down the teacup and pick up the teacup when you want to drink. Drink with a small mouth while drinking tea, because the tea is hot.
(6) About teaspoon: The teaspoon matched with the tea set is used to reconcile the milk and sugar cubes in the teacup. It can not be used for tea drinking. After adding milk and sugar, you can gently stir it evenly with a teaspoon. The stirring action should not be too large, otherwise the liquid in the cup will easily splash out. After mixing, the liquid on the teaspoon should not be cleaned with your mouth, but should be lightly placed on the edge of the cup to allow it to slip naturally. After mixing, put the teaspoon on the tray.
(7) About Sco Cake: Westerners believe that “there is no squid when drinking afternoon tea, which means that there is no knife and fork when dining”, which shows the importance of this snack to afternoon tea. In general, no matter which afternoon tea party, there is no shortage of scones. So what is the correct way to eat Si Ke cake? First, the level of the scone should be torn in half (like a hamburger) or torn into small pieces.
If the scone is particularly large, you can tear it horizontally and then tear it into small pieces (this piece should be eaten in 1-2). Then use a tea knife to spread the jam and cream on the torn piece of scone, and finally you can eat it. Be careful not to spread the jam and cream on the half-peeled scones and then stack the 2 pieces together like a burger. Because the scones are crispy, if they are stacked together, they will be broken, and the crumbs will fall. This kind of eating is more embarrassing.
(8) Regarding other snacks: When tasting a snack, the snack must be placed on a special snack tray before it can be eaten. Never take it off directly from the snack tray.
(9) About the hot water bottle: There are usually 2 teapots on the table, one pot is filled with tea, and the other pot is hot water, so it is called a hot water bottle. This is to take care of everyone's preferences. If you think that the tea is too strong, you can add some hot water to dim.
(10) Regarding the serving size: the amount of afternoon tea and the amount of tea must be prepared for one person more than the number of participants. For example, 2 people's afternoon tea will prepare 3 people's refreshments; 4 people will prepare 5 person's refreshments.