Afternoon Loose Tea
Afternoon Loose Leaf Tea, English, American and Irish
Afternoon Tea has been a part of society for the better part of two centuries, starting in the 1840's as a bridge between breakfast and dinner which would be served at 8p.m. It's hard to believe that this all came from a single woman, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, Anna to become a worldwide phenomenon.
The English Tea Store is happy to offer you some fine selections in Afternoon Loose Leaf Tea.
We have our very own exclusive English Tea Store brand Buckingham Palace Garden Party Tea. This is a loose-leaf blend of Ceylon Earl Grey with soft Jasmine and Assam. This tea has a medium caffeine index and is high in antioxidants. This the perfect tea whether you are hosting royalty or simply inviting your friends and family over to combat that "sinking feeling," in the afternoon.
With a stellar five-star rating in our reviews, we have Ahmad's brand of English Afternoon Tea from the United Kingdom. This 20-count set of teabags comes in a London trolly airtight tin. It is an English breakfast blend mixed with Assam tea, Ceylon and Kenyan teas, giving you a full bodied, yet bright and robust style tea fit to get you from point a to point b with some pep in your step.
Bewley's Irish Afternoon Tea comes to us from Ireland and is a blend of loose-leaf black tea from Kenya and other parts of Africa. It has a golden orange color with a brisk flavor. In 2014, this tea took home 1st place at the Great Taste Awards, often referred to as "The Oscars," of the food world.
Harney and Sons is an American based take on Scottish Afternoon Tea. This tea offers a strong kick with its combination of Ceylon and Assam varieties and Darjeeling. It also comes in a stylish, modern tin fit to come out onto the tea table any day of the week.
What is the usual time for afternoon tea?
The usual time for afternoon tea finds itself rooted anywhere from 3p.m. to 7p.m. This started initially to combat the hunger one would experience in the afternoon prior to their 8p.m. dinner time. Although, most places will set their own times on a little more stringent schedule with some inns, hotels and teahouses setting it typically around 4p.m. to 5 p.m.
What are the 3 main foods served at an afternoon tea? What's the menu?
Main foods served with afternoon tea were set up as a snack style luncheon to supplement some extra energy requirements between lunch and dinner. The 3 main foods one will see with afternoon tea are most simply classified as sweets, scones and savories. Your sweets would consist of what is called "a biscuit," in England is more similar to a cookie in America, as a hardened piece of sweetened flour. Scones are generally served with butter or jam and are a fluffier biscuit like carbohydrate. And finally, savories, which were often times tea sandwiches, a little saltier in their taste profile.
What is the difference between high tea and afternoon tea? What's cream tea?
High tea and Afternoon tea are two different takes on the same concept. Afternoon tea started as more of a high-class pass time in between lunch and dinner, as their schedules would allow this not being tied to a factory or other day job so to speak. High tea would be the middle- and lower-class compromise at this as most workers would be gone during the day and not come home until 6 o'clock. This is when they would have their tea and it would usually be served at the dinner table which was higher up than say sipping tea from the comfort of a couch, pillowed chair or coffee table. Afternoon tea would be a separate "meal" from lunch and dinner to where high tea is more of a dinner time tea.
Cream tea is a less formal version of afternoon tea, typically served with scones, jam and clotted cream.
What is served at teatime? Tea party food and snacks
Typically, handhelds or finger foods is what is served at teatime. These foods usually served as a condensed version of a meal in a snack form. Usually one starts with savories, which can be anything from tea sandwiches to charcuterie style meat, cheese and crackers. Then you would move onto scones, biscuit style baked goods served with jam, butter and or cream. And finally, you would finish it off with sweets, anything from cookies to digestives.
