The English Tea Table
English Afternoon Tea Information and Practical Study classes
Created by Caroline Hope, the English Tea Table imparts information about different aspects of the English Afternoon Tea ritual. This is done through practical workshops , study courses and short essays.
The Afternoon Tea ritual
There are various components that make up the English afternoon tea. Within one social group since the early 18th Century, the custom of consuming tea with bread and butter has taken place at the heart of the family home. A performance of polite (as in gentlemanly) etiquette began to take place as members of different families socialised around the tea table. This involved having the right objects and knowing how to use them correctly.
Today the focus has shifted to a visual feast of the food and drink, embodied in the public hotel offering. This proudly holds up its symbol, the three-tier cake stand.
The English Tea Table can satisfy your curiosity about this complex ritual. This might be as simple as learning the technique of baking light and fluffy scones. Today these are frequent presence on the afternoon tea table. Alternatively, you may wish to study the steps that take us from tea’s arrival in Europe in the 17th Century to the present-day manifestations.
Caroline Hope enjoys discourse on the intersecting histories of the English Tea Table. Please do contact her, caroline@carolinehope.co.uk, to discuss any aspects of this cultural phenomenon.