The Great Tradition: Afternoon Tea
Almost anyone who drinks tea has their own idea about the tea tradition of Afternoon Tea. It’s an event celebrated through decades of British poetry, books, and movies, and is an event known around the world as a result. However, few Americans understand the history of this experience and its origins, and therefore they understand little of its true significance.

The History
The 7th Duchess of Bedford, Anna Maria, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, is reputed to have begun the tradition. Because Victorian dinners were often served “fashionably late” she would begin to feel hunger pains around five in the afternoon. Rather than waiting until dinner to satisfy her hunger, she asked her butler to have tea served in the late afternoon accompanied by bread and butter and a few cakes or biscuits. It satisfied her to the degree that she soon made it a habit, even inviting her friends to join her in the sitting room for the event. When Queen Victoria herself adopted the practice, the tradition became even more popular. As tea eventually became more affordable, the middle class was able to join in on this ritual dessert tea as well, and when that occurred, the event quickly became an activity enjoyed by all.

Of course, this is a well known and respected tradition in the United Kingdom, and it is really a light meal. References to low tea and high tea have little to do with the elegance of this popular tea service. The terms low tea and high tea have more to do with the height of the surface on which tea is served than whether it is elegant or inelegant.

In fact, Afternoon tea can be very elegant. It is traditionally served between two and five in the afternoon and may include finger sandwiches, scones, jams, cakes, and even assorted pastries. It might very well be served on a low table in the sitting room or even the bedroom, hence the term “low tea.” Traditionally, only loose tea is served in a china teapot, possibly accompanied by milk and sugar. Occasionally, even more elaborate desserts such as trifle, a multi-layered cake, are served as well. Afternoon Tea is usually served in the more formal rooms of the house rather than the kitchen, and this elegant treat is accompanied by the best linens, fine china and silver teapots.

High Tea
As I mentioned, high tea is a different tea service. High tea is really an early evening meal, and generally occurs between the later hours of 5 and 6 o’clock. It typically consists of cold meats, eggs, cakes and sandwiches and is a more formal event. Because of the type of foods served tends to be served on the table regularly used for meals, a higher table, and hence the term “high tea.”

Which Type of Tea?
When it comes to what tea should be served at Afternoon Tea, there are many choices. Often, the hostess makes the tea using an electric kettle to boil the water. Because the water is just off the boil when it is poured over the tea more flavor is extracted. It also effectively reduces the time it takes to actually brew the tea.

The longer you brew tea, the more the tannin will be dissolved, and the tea will taste less bitter. Full leaf tea will also taste better because full leaf loose tea is not as broken as some of the the tea you might find in teabags which often include finely ground tea dust called fannings. Keep in mind that if you do use loose tea, you will need to use a tea strainer to keep from getting tea leaves in your cup. On the other hand, tea leaves in your Afternoon Tea cup gives you the opportunity to give a tea leaf reading, but that’s for another article. Tea is a delicious beverage that is enjoyed around the world and in many cultures. Why don’t you brew a nice steaming “cuppa” today.

At Rose Arbour Tea Room, we serve a spectacular afternoon tea. Call suzy at (802) 875-4767 and make a reservation for an outstanding tea event or visit our Rose Arbour Tea Room website.

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There are some simple techniques for brewing tea that will make the difference between making a good cup of brew and a great one.

Sparkling Clean Equipage

Before making your tea, check to be sure your teapot and utensils are clean. While this seems obvious, kettles, teapots, cups, strainers and other tea accessories need to be gently washed on a regular basis with soap or baking soda (even if they are just used for water or tea) to remove mineral deposits and old residue that can taint the flavor of your freshly made brew.

Start with Cold, Good-Tasting Water

Since tea is comprised of 99% water, the type of water you use will affect the clarity and taste of your beverage. So if your water tastes good then your tea will taste good.

The best type of water to use when brewing tea is filtered or bottled water (not distilled water) that is free of chemicals and chlorine. If that isn’t available and you are using tap water, run your faucet for around ten seconds and until the tap water is cold before filling your tea kettle.

Water and Steeping

For each cup of tea you prepare, you will want to heat 6 ounces of water. So if you are making a pot of tea, be sure you have pre-measured the amount of water the pot holds. The water temperature and length of steeping time varies by the blend of tea you are brewing.

Here are some general tea brewing guidelines for water temperature and steeping times. Adjust the heat and time based on your individual preferences. The time it takes to brew tea correlates to the size of the leaf in your blend. This means the larger the leaf the longer the brewing time.

Black

• Water Temp: 195-210 F
• Steeping Time: 3-5 minutes

Oolong

• Water Temp: 185-200 F
• Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes

Green

• Water Temp: 165-185 F
• Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes

White

• Water Temp: 160-175 F
• Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes

Herbal/Tisanes

• Water Temp: 205-210 F
• Steeping Time: 3-5 minutes

Amount of Tea

To maximize taste, it is preferable to brew tea leaves in loose form rather than using a small tea ball or infuser (yet these accessories are popular, convenient, and yield tasty brews). This allows the leaves to fully open and release all their flavor.

Use 1 teaspoon of whole leaf tea for each 6 ounce cup you are brewing. This is the standard for compact blends. If you are brewing tea that has a lot of volume, consider using up to two tablespoons per serving.

If you want the convenience of using a tea bag or sachet, simply use one for every cup of tea you are making. The key to good tasting brew is to make sure your tea bags are always fresh.

The tea in commercially produced bags is typically comprised of small pieces of leaves or fannings that are susceptible to becoming stale faster than the well-stored loose leaf variety.

Serving

When your tea is done steeping, immediately remove the loose tea from the strainer or the tea bag and lightly stir. Then serve while fresh and hot. If your tea gets too cool, it is best to enjoy it over ice verses re-heating the brew.

Depending on your preference, you can enjoy drinking your beverage plain or with a bit of milk, lemon, honey or sugar. In Asia, people typically drink tea without accompaniments. In England, a small amount of milk is often added for extra body and smoothness. In Russia, it is common to add lemon for extra flavor or raspberry jam for sweetness.

Yet, brewing tea is all about the experience and how you take your tea is a matter of individual taste and enjoyment. Experiment until you find a combination that suits your palette “to a tea.”

This article was written by Jules Sowder. Visit www.learn-about-tea.com for more information on tea, including varieties, health benefits, selection, accessories, gift-giving and entertaining.

The second most consumed beverage behind water is tea. Interestingly enough the 3,200,000 tones of tea produced worldwide come from only one plant species, named “camellia sinensis.” But how a plant becomes a beverage? Tea is made by steeping processed leaves, buds, or twigs of the tea bush in hot water for a few minutes, a great variety of tea tastes, aromas and colors can excite even the more skeptical drinker.

If you do like tea drinking, but simply never had the opportunity to learn more about it beyond the fact that you enjoy it, you should know that there are thousands of kinds of tea offered on today’s market.

Shades in flavor derive from the region of cultivation and the method of processing the tea leaves. It is the processing techniques that produce the four simple tea categories are considered the art of tea making. In its most basic form, processing is the taking of the raw green leaves and deciding whether or not, and how much oxidation (or fermentation) should take place before drying them out. Oxidation is the reaction of the enzymes contained in tea leaves when they are broken, bruised or crushed.

The first category is that of black tea. Black tea is nothing more than the leaves of the camellia sinensis after being exposed to 8-24 hours of open air. After the leaves are picked up they are spread out to let the water they contain evaporate. You have probably witnessed it happening to a flower that is left without being watered. The foliage curls up and begins to dry. After this part of the process, the tea leaves are balled into rolls that encourage oxidization. When fully oxidized, the leaves turn into a rich black color. Tea producers then put the tea leaves into the final drying period before sorting and packaging them. Oolong tea is another tea category and is considered to be the most difficult of the four types of teas to process.

The best way to describe oolong tea is that it is somewhere in between green and black tea. This is because the leaves are only partially oxidized during the processing. As with black tea, the leaves are spread out to dry for 8-24 hours, but after that, they are tossed about in a basket in order to create a bruising and partial exposure to the air. The final step involves steaming the leaves, which neutralizes the enzymes in the tea and prevents further oxidization. Green teas, like white teas, are closer to tasting like fresh leaves of grass that the other two tea categories. This type of tea is also lower in caffeine and has higher antioxidant properties.

The whole process of creating green tea revolves around preventing oxidization from taking place in the leaves. Though the tea leaves are sometimes laid out to dry for a few hours, then, in order to neutralize the enzymes and prevent further oxidation, the leaves are steamed or pan fried. It is this very technique which results in the preservation of the enzymes which have recently become the focus of medical research. After steaming, the leaves are rolled up, still quite green in color.

Finally, white tea has recently become a popular item in the west as it is the least processed tea and thus tastes the most like fresh leaves or grass. White tea is made of the little buds of the tea plant. Again like green tea, white tea is steamed or pan fried to prevent any kind of oxidization, and great care is taken to avoid bruising or crushing the tea. The dried buds have a silver-like appearance because the tiny white hairs of new growth are still present.