Using the term "high tea" when you really mean "afternoon tea" is a dead giveaway you're American.
Whilst they both include tea as a beverage, afternoon tea includes delicate pastries, little sandwiches, scones and cakes. Whereas high tea is typically a more wholesome meal of meat, potatoes and vegetables served after a long hard day at work.
Afternoon tea was often served at a low table in a parlor or drawing room and thus called 'low' tea or 'afternoon tea'. In contrast, High Tea is what workers came home to after a hard day's work, especially in northern England, and was served in the early evening
Ingredients: Organic whole leaf black tea
Description
Royal Palace tea is a lovely blend of black tea, with notes of lemon and grapefruit. Featured in our Historic Royal Palaces Collection in a traditional tin design.
Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace, and Hillsborough Castle and Gardens.
Ingredients: Black tea, lemon flavor, grapefruit flavor. Contains natural flavors.
The most famous flavored tea, Earl Grey is a blend of fine black China teas and the natural oil of bergamot, a pear-shaped citrus fruit grown in Italy and Sicily. A delicious, very aromatic tea, it is best served black or with a slice of lemon at any time of the day. It is said that a Chinese Mandarin gave the secret recipe to one of Earl Grey's diplomats in 1830 as a reward for saving his life.
Ingredients: Black tea, natural oil of bergamot
Real chunks of decadent dark chocolate are blended in to help melt away the day's worries followed by the warmth of chai & chili kick to awaken your taste buds.
Each person was given a taste testing sheet, if they wanted to play along. I sent the tea around the table first to see if people could guess what was in the tea by sight and smell.
What is the proper English way to drink tea:
Rules for Afternoon Tea:
*Do not call Afternoon Tea, High Tea
*After sitting down, put your purse on your lap or behind you against the chair back.
*Unfold napkin and make sure to place it on your lap.
*Never, ever use your napkin as a handkerchief, and only dap, don't wipe
*Sugar is placed in your teacup first, then thinly sliced lemon.
*Stirring backwards and forwards (never in a circular motion, one should never touch the sides of the cup).
*Do not learn forward, bring the cup to you, leaving the saucer on the table.
*Dress smart causal, no jeans, t-shirts, or sneakers
*Do not put your pinky out, do not cradle the cup, hold on to the handle, but your fingers are not meant to go through the handle (To hold your teacup, place your index and middle fingers on the back side of the handle and put your thumb over the front side. Your fingers and thumb may meet each other through the tea handle, but you will want to keep your fingers from curling through the handle itself. Support your teacup with your ring and pinky fingers — and remember to keep that pinky down.)
*Do not drink tea with the spoon in it
*Do not put the spoon in your mouth
*Do not lick your fingers
*Do not blow on the tea, let cool on your saucer or add milk
*Never fill the tea cup to the top, only 3/4 full
*Tea is served by the host
*Take small sips, never slurp or swish your tea
*Milk and sugar only goes in black tea, not white, oolong, or green- do not add cream to your tea
*Eat with your fingers, take small bites, even if it all fits in your mouth, take small bites
*Eat sandwiches first, then scones, the desserts
*The knife is for clotted cream and jam
*Break off small pieces of the scone, it is not a sandwich
*Never dunk your scone in the tea
*Used utensils never go on the table, they go on the side of your plate
*You want to make sure that the little teacup handle stays parallel to your body. This means that it will either face the direction of 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock.
*Putting any utensils you’ve used in the 4:20 position lets the server know you’re done with your meal and that it can be taken away. Fork tines should be up and knife blade facing you
*When you get up the napkin should go on your chair, not on the table
*After sitting down, put your purse on your lap or behind you against the chair back.
*Unfold napkin and make sure to place it on your lap.
*Never, ever use your napkin as a handkerchief, and only dap, don't wipe
*Sugar is placed in your teacup first, then thinly sliced lemon.
*Stirring backwards and forwards (never in a circular motion, one should never touch the sides of the cup).
*Do not learn forward, bring the cup to you, leaving the saucer on the table.
*Dress smart causal, no jeans, t-shirts, or sneakers
*Do not put your pinky out, do not cradle the cup, hold on to the handle, but your fingers are not meant to go through the handle (To hold your teacup, place your index and middle fingers on the back side of the handle and put your thumb over the front side. Your fingers and thumb may meet each other through the tea handle, but you will want to keep your fingers from curling through the handle itself. Support your teacup with your ring and pinky fingers — and remember to keep that pinky down.)
*Do not drink tea with the spoon in it
*Do not put the spoon in your mouth
*Do not lick your fingers
*Do not blow on the tea, let cool on your saucer or add milk
*Never fill the tea cup to the top, only 3/4 full
*Tea is served by the host
*Take small sips, never slurp or swish your tea
*Milk and sugar only goes in black tea, not white, oolong, or green- do not add cream to your tea
*Eat with your fingers, take small bites, even if it all fits in your mouth, take small bites
*Eat sandwiches first, then scones, the desserts
*The knife is for clotted cream and jam
*Break off small pieces of the scone, it is not a sandwich
*Never dunk your scone in the tea
*Used utensils never go on the table, they go on the side of your plate
*You want to make sure that the little teacup handle stays parallel to your body. This means that it will either face the direction of 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock.
*Putting any utensils you’ve used in the 4:20 position lets the server know you’re done with your meal and that it can be taken away. Fork tines should be up and knife blade facing you
*When you get up the napkin should go on your chair, not on the table
