history of the Victorian afternoon tea parties tea drinking has been around for some time now but it wasn't until the Victorian era that it became a specific occasion women and men would dress up and gather in their living rooms to enjoy a cup of tea with an assortment of finger foods and cakes during the afternoon etiquette during tea parties etiquette for eating place your bag on your lap after you sit down you can also put it against the back of the chair unfold the napkin and place it on your lap if you have to leave
the table however momentarily keep it on your chair don't use your napkin as a handkerchief excuse yourself and go to the ladies room instead tea parties were considered social occasions hence you must take small bites to avoid participating in conversations with your mouthful you could eat finger foods with your fingers but if the food is messy you are encouraged to use a fork or spoon etiquette for drinking tea place the sugar in your teacup then follow it up with a thinly sliced lemon and pour the tea if you're using milk skip the lemon slices as
they can cause your milk to curdle and go bad when stirring your tea with a spoon make sure not to tap it against the sides of the teacup when you're done you must rest your spoon at a 15° angle on the saucer or more specifically behind the teacup and to the right of the handle use your thumb and first one or two fingers to hold the C look into the teacup not over it when drinking tea when you are not drinking tea but are seated you can place the cup on the saucer when you're standing
lift the saucer for convenience something to note confused about when to add milk to your milk tea we got you previously pouring the milk before tea was a necessity as it could prevent the glaze on delicate teacups from cracking this is not an issue with modern teacups so you can add milk after tea to get your desired color how tea parties start it would seem that we have urbanization and industrialization to thank for this ceremonial social Affair together these changes pushed the evening meal later and later which meant there was a bigger gap between lunch
and dinner in fact at that time most people had only two main meals breakfast and dinner since dinner was served fashionably late around 8: to 900 p.m. there was a long long break in between Anne Maria Russell the seventh Duchess of Bedford and a lady in waiting for Queen Victoria found the change disconcerting according to her the long gap between meals gave her a Sinking Feeling she thus requested that a tray of tea along with bread butter and Cake be brought to her room in the late afternoon it quickly became a habit of hers that
spread as she began to invite her friends and acquaintances to join her eventually turning it into a tradition tea drinking and taxes despite the Charming tale of an Maria the 1650s and 1660s were when tea drinking really started in England tea was exported from China and it came with heavy taxes this meant it was only accessible to the upper classes and was initially only consumed in public coffee houses the idea is attributed to King Charles II and his wife Catherine of branza Katherine of branza was a Portuguese who grew up drinking tea which was the
preferred beverage at the time by the 18th century the East India Company emerged and gained a monopoly over the tea trade which had a 119% import tax at the time the costs however dropped oped during the 18th century removing the need for the black market since the company imported enough tea to make about 28 Million Cups the populace was encouraged to replace their gin with tea as a more acceptable breakfast drink tea drinking as a radical feminist act women weren't allowed in coffee houses but tea was about to change that the making of tea was
considered a feminine Affair giving women the opportunity to socialize with men and women who were not from their immediate families tea drinking's popularity grew to a point where it was talked about in table talk 1895 the ritual was said to be a party in the daytime a large gaslighted ball at 5:00 where half of the ladies were in decol dressing the other in fur Tippets in a way tea parties gave women chances to exchange their ideas thoughts and opinions which was pretty radical at that time types of food served in these parties here are some
of the most popular ones teac cakes the victorians enjoyed alond seed pound rice Plum and madira cakes and later switched to the Victorian sponge cake which was said to to be seasonable at any time in Mrs beaton's book of household management cucumber sandwiches dainty sandwiches made with thinly sliced cucumber were popular with the victorians they were seen as a sign of high status and were thus served with afternoon tea scon scans are a traditional part of afternoon tea the finger food has its own set of etiquette for eating here's how it went split the scone
with a knife place the used knife on the knife rest or on the side of your plate use a serving spoon to place Jam or curd on your scone then top it with a dollop of clotted cream spread the jam Cur and clotted cream with your spoon don't use a serving spoon for the task Tarts the perfect menu of 19th century afternoon tea would also contain SA Tarts and pastries to tantalize one's taste buds trifle dainty Trifles are a type of cold dessert made with sponge cake and Delicacies like custard jelly and cream they sometimes
accompanied thin slices of bread butter sandwiches and other tea menu Staples types of tea parties high tea high tea was a type of evening meal in middleclass households all the way working class it got its name from The Tall chairs and high kitchen tables where the workers would gather around after a long day of work at home tea at home tea was a standing room only simple tea party it only had family members in attendance and the food menu was rather modest afternoon tea the custom was to have sweets savories and other sorts of pleasantries
with tea being served around 4: to 5:00 p.m. in the drawing room the women changed into long gowns for the event and tea was served in delicate tea sets as a sign of wealth and Status best of all corsets were optional while we still reach for a cup of tea in the afternoon it's not the only time we drink the beverage no Mom most people drink anywhere between 3 to four cups of tea at various locations and times of the day however if you want that quintessential Victor like Ambiance you could go to a wide
selection of hotels in London to celebrate this delightful afternoon break in traditional Victorian fashion thank you so much for watching if you enjoy our videos please like comment and subscribe to our Channel and hit the Bell button to be notified of new videos see you in the next one
