Afternoon Tea: The History of the English Tradition

As legend has it afternoon tea was concieved in the early 1800's by one of Queen Victoria's Ladies-in-waiting, Anna Marie Stanhope, the 7th Duchess of Bedford. The tradition of the time was to have only two main meals during the day: breakfast and dinner. Dinner was usually served between 8:30 and 9 p.m., maybe even later during the summer. The Duchess would find herself feeling hunger pains in the late afternoon around 4 pm, so she asked her servants to secretly serve her tea with bread and butter and cake. She decided she liked this afternoon treat so much she started inviting her friends to join her for her afternoon tea. It soon became popular among the aristocrats in her circle including Queen Victoria.

Afternoon tea became more elaborate as time progressed. In the 1880's ladies where changing into long tea gowns for the occasion. Tea serves also evolved thanks to Josiah Spode, who at the start of the century invented bone china. Bone china was a beautiful and inexpensive form of porcelain, which kept tea hot even though it was so thin you could see the shadow of your fingers through it. The small snack evolved into including hot dishes being served by footman and professional musicians playing in the background.