Tag: high tea

Teas-ing out the confusion

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Lucien Smith remembers enjoying a ‘high tea’ at The Black Swan in Helmsley in his school days 

The question about what we call our daily meals, and what it says about our roots, has sparked a lively conversation. If you recall, I wrote about the difference between ‘afternoon tea’ and ‘high tea’, and the confusion between the two.

Reader Judith Barber remembers having high tea when she was a child in the 1950s. She writes: “‘High tea’ is a Scottish thing. I was born in England of Scottish parents. I remember it from our annual summer holidays visiting relatives. There was definitely something cooked, followed by cake or bread and jam. At home, our main meal, dinner, was always in the middle of the day. I would still rather have high tea than eating a big, cooked meal later in the evening. Whether Papa, my grandfather, needed something more after his day’s work as a gamekeeper, I can’t remember.”

Katie Westmorland is of Scottish descent and says: “Growing up we used to go out for high tea. Like you said, it was a hot meal, a cup of tea and followed by a selection of cakes! I loved it!”

Lynn Catena is British-bornbut now lives in Canada, and understands why people get confused. “I think the connotation of the word ‘high’ makes people believe that it’s the ‘posher’ of the two.” She adds: “I have happy memories of going to Betty’s Cafe for afternoon tea. Last time I was at the Betty’s in Harrogate was with my sister and mum, just before mum died.”

Lucien Smith (who I’m sure won’t mind me saying is a rather ‘posh’ friend of mine) associates ‘high tea’ with his boarding school days. When his parents came to visit, they would often eat out in nearby Helmsley.

 “ ‘High tea’ was at the Black Swan in Helmsley, something cooked circa 5pm, rather than ‘supper’ in school itself. We were definitely ‘lunch’, ‘tea’ (afternoon) and ‘supper’ at home, whereas we went out to ‘dinner’.”

However, his elder brother Quentin describes his evening meal as ‘tea’, and Lucien has chastised him about it, reasoning that they never used that word at home. Quentin just happened to be good friends with my brother, and in our less-than-posh house the evening meal was always called ‘tea’, so perhaps we are to blame? As Lucien points out, a couple of words can tell you so much!

Staying with Helmsley, Anna Lupton remembers: “In the 1970s The Crown in Helmsley served high teas which were gammon and eggs. Next door at the (posher) Black Swan it was afternoon tea as we know it today. They bought all the cakes, buns and tarts from Sanders cafe/bakery where I used to work in the school holidays. The buns were butterfly buns, chocolate or plain, or with icing and a cherry on top.”

Like many, Michel Laning seems to have confused the two types of teas, but I think we can forgive him, seeing as he’s from the Netherlands. Our strange ways and bizarre language must be rather baffling for foreign visitors. He says: “I did a ‘high tea’ with a friend of mine last year. I was the only man in a group of her invited female colleagues. I tried several blends of tea, but I preferred the scones and sandwiches. It was quite an interesting experience, but ‘high tea’ is not exactly my ‘cup of tea’. Next stop will be ‘high beer!’.

It sounds like Michel actually had ‘afternoon tea’ rather than a traditional ‘high tea’. Nevertheless, whatever traditional English tea he sampled, he doesn’t sound very impressed! Monica Gantz got in touch all the way from Chicago saying: “I grew up in America  with an Italian mother, so no high tea for us. Of course, we like the ritual of it. We all want something late afternoon. For the Italians it would be an espresso with a slice of cake or two cookies, then after 7pm a small dinner.”

I was also contacted by my former journalism colleague Jane Ridley, who now works for the New York Post. She was straight to the point, and said simply: “This has always perplexed me.”

Well, Jane, me too, because at at my mum’s tonight, my sister cooked tea, I ate dinner, and my mum had supper. But we all ate the same thing at the same time at the same table! No wonder we are all a bit confused!

Read more at countrymansdaughter.com. Follow me on Twitter @countrymansdaug

This column appeared in the Darlington and Stockton Times on 30th June and Ryedale Gazette and Herald on 28th June 2023

High and my tea

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My best friend Rhi’s family used to have afternoon tea most days when she was a child.

I used to think my best friend Rhi’s family were very posh because of how they took their daily meals. They would have a hot meal at 1pm, which they called ‘lunch’ and which might be something like sausages, or eggs (or my personal favourite, pyttipanna, a type of Swedish potato hash which seemed very exotic), then ‘tea’ would be eaten at 4pm, which would be sandwiches and cake, followed by ‘supper’ at 7pm, which would be the main meal of the day.

At our rather less posh house, we would have dinner in the middle of the day, which might be soup, a boiled egg, beans on toast or a sandwich, then tea at 6pm, which was the main meal of the day. We might also have a cup of tea in the middle of the afternoon with a biscuit or two. ‘Supper’ happened just before bed and was a hot drink or a glass of milk with a bowl of cereal.

What you call your mealtimes is a legacy of your roots. The working classes, who would have been doing hard physical labour for five or six hours by the time ‘dinnertime’ came around, would be ready for a substantial hot meal at noon. The upper classes on the other hand, would quite possibly have a hot ‘luncheon’, but their main meal would not be taken before 7pm and would either be a formal ‘dinner’ (often when guests were being entertained) or a less formal ‘supper’.

I was walking near Rosedale with a friend recently when we passed a farm which he remembered used to sell ‘high tea’ to passersby when he was a child. I immediately assumed he was referring to ‘afternoon tea’, the kind of dainty fare we are accustomed to buying from quaint little tea shops, and which consist of delicate sandwiches, cakes and scones.

But he wasn’t. He meant a different meal entirely, and one that seems to have died out out in recent years, or at least to have evolved into simply ‘tea’. ‘High tea’ was a substantial hot meal featuring meat or fish, vegetables and bread, and was always accompanied by a pot of tea. It would be served after 5pm once the working day was done. You would sit on high-backed chairs at the dining table, hence ‘high’ tea. My friend remembered eating things like gammon and eggs or a meat pie with potatoes in the dining room of the farmhouse. My guess is that the owners probably had plenty of food that they produced themselves, and therefore decided to make a bit of extra cash by offering it to travellers passing their way. And why not? They would be making a large meal for themselves anyway, so they may as well sell the excess to those who would appreciate having a hearty meal cooked for them.

Interestingly, I am not the only one who has confused these two traditional teas. When I started to research this piece, many references to ‘afternoon tea’ came up when what I was actually looking for was ‘high tea’. Only a handful of websites went to the effort of describing the difference between the two.

‘Afternoon tea’ very definitely has its roots among the upper classes, with Anna Russell, 7th Duchess of Bedford and lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, being given the credit of starting the trend in around 1840. The Duchess would find it difficult to last the long interval between luncheon at 1pm and dinner at 8pm without a light bite to eat. She asked for a tray of bread and cakes, along with a pot of tea, to be brought to her in her private quarters. It became a daily ritual, and soon she would ask her friends to come a share the tea with her. It was also referred to as ‘low tea’ due to the fact it was served on a lower table than a formal dining table, and consisted of foods that could be eaten with the fingers from a small plate while sitting on more comfortable chairs. It quickly became a fashion trend, and soon wealthy ladies could be found gathering in smart hotels for a gossip over afternoon tea.

Do you have any recollections of ‘high tea’, and what did you eat? Get in touch by contacting this paper, or at my contact page at http://www.countrymansdaughter.com.

Read more at countrymansdaughter.com. Follow me on Twitter @countrymansdaug

This column appeared in the Darlington and Stockton Times on 16th June and Ryedale Gazette and Herald on 14th June 2023