August 2005 |
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Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / BeveragesThe History of TeaPage 7: Afternoon Tea Dances |
Afternoon Tea & Tea Dances
Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, introduced the concept of afternoon tea in the early 1840s. English high society didn’t dine until 8:30 or 9 p.m.—even later in the summer—and she needed something to tide her over during the stretch between lunch and dinner. To refresh herself, she ordered what we would call a snack—a small meal of bread, butter, perhaps cakes and tarts—to be brought secretly to her boudoir. When she was exposed, she was not ridiculed, as she had feared, but her habit caught on and the concept of a small meal became popular. Over time, her friends joined her, and “afternoon tea” became an elaborate social and gustatory affair with sweet and savory delicacies, special “tea cakes,” and even tea gowns to bridge the fashion between casual afternoon and formal evening dress.
NOTE: Americans can easily confuse High Tea with Afternoon Tea. High Tea is a hearty working class evening meal, generally served around 6 p.m. It generally includes roast beef or leg of lamb, pastry or custard for dessert, and tea. Although it sounds similar, High Tea is a world away from the fashionable world of Afternoon Tea.
In 1842, a well-known actress named Fanny Kemble first heard of afternoon tea, and did not believe the custom had been practiced prior to that date. Within a few years, a complex set of rules and etiquette developed surrounding the social custom of women visiting each other for tea.
In the 1840s, upper middle class and upper class women commonly held at-home teas. Each chose a permanent day of the week to hold at-home hours, and would then send announcements to friends, relatives and acquaintances. Unless regrets were sent, it was expected that invitees would attend. On that particular day of the week, she would remain at home all day to receive visitors. Conversation, after the model of the French salon, was the primary entertainment. Tea, cakes and finger sandwiches were served. There was at least one person holding an at-home day on any given day, the social fabric of the community was established, and most women saw each other almost every day at different houses.
The hostess would announce when tea was served, and would take a seat at one end of the table to pour tea for her guests. The eldest daughter of the household, or the closest friend of the hostess, poured coffee or hot chocolate. The hostess also added the sugar and milk or lemon to the tea per the guest’s preference. Why not a buffet? Tea and sugar were more common and affordable by the 1800s, but as consumable luxuries they still represented wealth and were controlled by the hostess (tea was stored in locked tea caddies to which only the woman of the household held the key, and did not become widely available and affordable to the working classes until the middle to late nineteenth century, with the introduction of cheap black tea from Sri Lanka). The upper classes, wealthy enough to hire servants, had them pour the tea, and guests could add their own sugar, milk or lemon. By releasing control over dispensing tea and sugar, the upper classes demonstrated their wealth and ability to buy as much of these items as desired.
In 1919, the tea dance emerged as a popular way for younger people to take tea, and continued through World War II. Friends and acquaintances gathered between 5:00 and 6:30 p.m., and table and chairs for tea and snacks were set up around a dance floor.
Continue To Page 8: Clipper Ships & The American Tea Trade
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