Week 13 - Vinage Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea is a serious tradition here in the UK. It usually take place between 3 and 5pm and it consist in tea (duh!) served with savoury sandwiches, selection of cakes and scones with cream and jam. I have already discovered many things about the beverage. But boy I knew nothing about the etiquette of afternoon tea until I experienced a true 1920s afternoon tea.

First of all: never be seen having afternoon tea without a hat and some fashionable gloves.

Milk has to be added after the tea. Aristocracy would drink their tea in fine bone china. It is the servant that would pour milk in first, because they would drink it in cheap pottery mugs that could not withstand high temperatures. Therefore they needed milk to cool down the temperature of the drink, and prevent the mug from cracking. So watch out! The way you drink your tea tells your breeding!

Finger sandwiches are supposed to be eaten with…..fingers. Not cutlery!

Do not compliment your host on the beauty of their house. You do not want them to think you live in a hut, do you?

Sex, health, religion, politics and money are topics you should not talk about during a proper afternoon tea. It would be very rude!

And the napkin! Leave it on the chair if you’re coming back. Place it on the table if you want to storm out dramatically, maybe because someone was complimenting you on the beauty of your house, pouring milk before tea, and describing in huge detail his/her love success, while cutting a sandwich with the knife.

So much to think about! It is good that we are not in the 1920s anymore! Now we can go into a tearoom without gloves and hats, and play around with the vintage accessories available, and talk about work, money, love and whatever crosses our minds. Now we can play with those rules, and follow them only if we want to. And I assure you that dressing up as a Downton Abbey character to have tea is une of the funniest things you could do in London.

If you fancy it, here is the tearoom I tried: http://www.bettyblythe.co.uk/

And in case you wanted to find out more etiquettes rules, here is where I found the ones described above: http://www.sofeminine.co.uk/fashion-designers/the-downton-abbey-rules-for-afternoon-tea-a-masterclass-in-1920s-etiquette-s218846.html