MCM College Activity: Celebrating Traditional British Afternoon Tea
  
 
 
One quintessential British tradition is enjoying Afternoon Tea: Irish, Scottish and Welsh regional versions all have slight variations to the English Afternoon Tea. The tradition was introduced by the Duchess of Bedford in 1840, and the idea was to have a light meal during mid-afternoon to ‘stem the pangs of hunger’ before supper later in the evening. This social ritual has become popular ever since.
MCM College Afternoon Tea aficionados were very fortunate to have had the opportunity of observing the correct etiquette for a high-end Afternoon Tea at the Bela Vista Café of the Grand Lapa Hotel. This was to prepare them, including required Dress Code, to partake of Afternoon Tea at The Ritz or The Savoy in London, as described in Debrett’s, leading experts on manners and etiquette.
As students and staff were seated at the table, Dr. Thompson explained that the linen napkin is placed on one's lap. She stressed that:
“It should never touch the table once one is seated. If one leaves the table for a moment, the napkin is placed on the seat”.
Firstly, Dr. Thompson explained many facts about tea, and stressed that one should let tea brew for between three and six minutes for optimal flavour. Students were surprised to learn that in the past, it was traditional to pour milk first before tea. Dr. Thompson explained that tea cups (made from inferior quality china) often cracked when hot tea was poured first. Finally, the correct way to stir tea, is up and down from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock position, without clinking the spoon on the side of one’s cup.
Afternoon tea traditionally serves ‘finger’ sandwiches with crusts removed, scones with cream and jam, sweet pastries and cakes. Scones should be broken into two halves easily with a twist of the hands, and eaten in two halves, rather than being ‘sandwiched’ back together. Dr. Thompson clearly pointed out an everlasting debate about whether cream or jam should be added first to the scone. While the Devon tradition is for cream with jam on top, the Cornish prefer the other way around.
Although afternoon tea was initially introduced as a ‘private social event’ for ladies to occasionally indulge or to celebrate a special occasion, over time it became a formal occasion on a larger scale, known today as 'tea receptions'.
Here is a small selection from the students’ very positive feedback about participating in the event:
“What I liked the most was that we got to learn the English afternoon tea etiquette in a really fun way. We tasted about 6 different delicious snacks, and my favourite was probably the scone with whipped cream and jam. It’s a great experience for me. I would recommend this to everyone. “ – Eemeli
“It’s wonderful to be at Grand Lapa Hotel, spending time with all my friends who were in elegant attire! Special thanks to Dr. Thompson who shared her knowledge on afternoon tea etiquette with us. The champagne and desserts were a great match!” - Rosen
"English culture of drinking afternoon tea is completely different from the local. We learned to socialise formally in a real place with support from the college" - Ford
“It was wonderful to have English Afternoon Tea with our college members, and to learn the etiquette for enjoying English Afternoon Tea. The workshop provided me with useful knowledge, which is helpful to get more accustomed to English culture.” - Ariel
It was emphasized that Afternoon Tea can also be enjoyed less formally in the many teashops throughout the country, for which Britain is known.
|