High Five For High Tea

Don’t be confused, there is a difference between High Tea and Afternoon Tea.

Afternoon Tea is a social occasion, enjoyed around 4pm, served with little sandwiches and delicate cakes and slices. Tea is served in a cup and saucer served from a pretty china teapot. Introduced during the Victorian era, it symbolised wealth and good breeding as few but the rich could afford to enjoy the imported aromatic leaves from China or India.

High Tea, by contrast, was for the working classes. Wholesome, functional food - breads, cheeses, vegetables, maybe some pies or meat of some sort, all served with a steaming mug of hot strong tea around 5-6pm.

The elevation of the chairs is the differentiator between the two teas - Afternoon Tea is served on low, coffee tables and you’d be seated in comfortable, lounge chairs. High Tea was eaten at a dining table, with tall backed chairs, stiff and upright.

Apparently, tourists are always easily identifiable at London’s Ritz when they turn up asking for High Tea at 2pm. Know your teas, please.

As a little girl, my memory of High Tea was a magical one. A very big and rare treat was a visit to a rather fancy local hotel which had a spa like pool.  On Sundays, Joe Public was allowed to swim there if you were taking High Tea afterwards.  Having only ever used a municipal pool with their grungy cold changing rooms and Olympic sized functional pool, this swimming experience was indeed luxurious. Nowadays, we’ve all swum in a gazillion hotel pools and the experience is just so-so. But back then, oh my, there was a feeling of wealth and privilege that just being in the pool made you feel part of. You belonged. For a short precious hour, you too lived in that world.

Following our swim, was the next big treat. High Tea. When eating out was such a rare occasion, this was just as exciting as the swim.  Sitting in the posh dining room, pre the evening dinner service, our fish fingers and baked beans tasted heavenly. The soft table linens and heavy cutlery made us feel so grown up. A bowl of cool, creamy ice cream to finish, we felt satiated, tired and indulged. Ready to head home to bed, dreaming of the princess beds I imagined were housed in those glamorous hotel rooms.