Do you ever feel a bit peckish at around four in the afternoon? If dinner isn’t for another two or three hours, you might find it difficult to wait until then to satisfy your hunger. That’s exactly how Anna Russell, the seventh Duchess of Bedford felt one day in 1840, and she decided to do something about it.

Afternoon tea has become a beloved, and often elaborate, tradition in the West, and it all began in England with Anna. On that fateful day, feeling hungry at around four, and knowing dinner wouldn’t be served until eight in the evening, she asked for a tray of tea, bread, butter, and cake be sent to her room to tide her over. It did the trick, and Anna, happy with the result, decided to have it every day, which she did.

Soon, Anna began inviting her friends to her room to join her for afternoon tea. They agreed with Anna that this was an enjoyable, as well as a satisfying, pastime, and afternoon tea soon became a fashionable social event. Finger sandwiches quickly became part of the repast. 
By the 1880’s, women from the British upper classes were dressing up in their best gowns, hats, and gloves to gather in elegant drawing rooms and socialize over tea,  dainty sandwiches, and cake from four to five in the afternoons. Discussing the events of the day, their children’s latest escapades, or the most recent novel of a favorite author, just as we would today, they sipped tea from fine China teacups poured from gleaming silver teapots lifted from tables dressed in gorgeous linens. Presentation was as important as the quality of the tea being sipped and the taste of the food being sampled. 

At this point, afternoon tea had become a tea party and was often moved outside to be enjoyed amongst the beauty and scent of well-manicured English gardens. As the popularity of tea parties spread throughout England, Tea Rooms and Tea Gardens began to proliferate. 

Tea became more affordable in the late 19th century. This made it possible for the burgeoning middle class to be able to host their own fancy afternoon tea parties. Not only were the British middle class enjoying the ritual, so were the American middle class, as the trend had moved across the pond. In the 1920s, music was added to tea parties. This ranged from tea parties featuring live orchestras performing in lavish gardens for the very rich to hotel tea dances for the not-so rich. 

Today, afternoon tea is reserved more for special occasions than something done on a regular basis. Afternoon tea, or a tea party, is perfect for wedding and baby showers, birthday parties, engagement parties, and Mother’s Day celebrations. Sometimes, too, the occasion is simply to get friends together to have fun and add a touch of elegance to their day. 

Today’s afternoon tea menus consist of various finger sandwiches, the most popular being cucumber sandwiches; scones with clotted cream (a thick cream made from heated milk that has been cooled slowly so the cream rises to the top forming clots) and jams or preserves; a selection of fancy cakes and pastries; and a variety of different teas. Restaurants and hotels that do afternoon tea do it well. Some even include a glass of Champagne.  If you want to be treated like royalty, take advantage of their expertise and hospitality. You won’t get service like that at home. Tea rooms are fun places to enjoy afternoon tea as well.

Afternoon tea is an indulgence we should all allow ourselves once in a while. Whether we choose to put it together ourselves to share with our friends and family or to allow someone else to do it for us in a favorite restaurant or tea room, with or without Champagne, afternoon tea elevates us and allows us to relive a time when the practice was a part of daily life. The next time you’re sipping a cup of Earl Grey tea from a bone China cup and waiting to savour a scone with clotted cream and strawberry preserves, think of Anna, and thank her. Without her, afternoon tea may never have existed at all.