How does a traditional british tea time look like?

Question

What has to be put on the table (or where you take your tea time) to make the British man or woman happy?
Need that for a short presentation because I'm visiting Great Britain with my school, starting tomorrow. (I'm from Germany)

I want to know for example which sort of tea you like best, what other things to eat you need for a nice tea time... list, please..

Answer 1

Afternoon tea is served at around 3pm. Generally the table is laid with a tablecloth and trays of scones, breads, cakes, biscuits etc - sweet things mainly. There will be a bowl of sugar and small jug of milk on the table to match the china cups and saucers. Matching side-plates too are used to catch the crumbs from the cake etc as the tea is often taken away from the table, with the plate on the persons lap.

High tea is generally served in the evening around 6pm in homes where the main meal is eaten in the middle of the day. Often, for people who are out of the house at work during the day, high tea is restricted to sundays. It is usually a light meal consisting of a selection of salads, sandwiches, cold meats and cheeses and of course a cup of tea. Sometimes finished off with sweet cake.

Answer 2

Tea time varies from county to county. It is also dependant on the type of work people do.In some areas, eg. Devon "tea" means full meal eaten at around 6p.m. when the worker returns home. For others a light meal of cups of tea and perhaps a biscuit or cake will be taken then and the main meal, sometimes called dinner, sometimes, supper, will be served at eight p.m. Just to confuse matters more there is "high tea", which might comprise sandwiches, rolls, biscuits and cakes. Sorry if you find this confusing......we have had a varied history and complex conventions ruled by our class system in the past and these govern our eating habits nowaddays to a large extent. I hope this helps. I'm off now to have a nice cup of tea. I have been invited to dine with friends at 6p.m. I expect they will call this meal supper, or maybe tea....or even dinner?

Answer 3

Tea time is just our name for our evening meal and can be around 4 - 6pm, it can be any dish, a lot of people eat things like casseroles, or stews, steak and chips, fish and chips or salad, or just a sandwich ?.

Most people have their tea at the dinner table as its the only chance to sit and enjoy some quality time together after being at school/work.

And we normally have salt and pepper, tomato ketchup and brown sauce, and maybe mustard & vinegar as condiments on the table too, we also eat a lot of bread with our meals and so you might find a loaf of bread and some butter or spread at the table too ?, plus there is always Tea & Coffee to be had.

Of course not all british homes are like this and some of us like to eat our tea while watching tv too.

Hope this helps a little ?.

Answer 4

The british do drink lots of tea. I remember learning somewhere that when the ask, "Would you like some tea?" There not only asking about having tea but lunch as well. So there my be more involved than just tea.

Go to Wikipedia.com. An online encyclopoedia that can tell everything.

Answer 5

'Taking tea' is a bit of an old fashioned convention these days.
There is a current vogue for young fashionable things drinking tea in cool or traditional tea places such as Sketch, Claridges and the Ritz but it is pretty rare sight to 'take tea' in the afternoon.

That said, us Brits definitely drink a lot of it but the 'ceremony' has been replaced by "anyone fancy a cuppa?", a mug of tea made with a teabag and a biscuit if you're really lucky.

Answer 6

Depends if it is afternoon tea or high tea!

High tea is had in the country where farmers etc. eat immediately after coming home... remember in the winter it can get start to get dark at 4pm. Too early for dinner. So they have a mini dinner. Their supper is a light meal before going to bed.

An afternoon tea is tea and/or coffee served with biscuits (cookies), pastries, cheese, etc.

Answer 7

Here are a couple webpages about English Tea Time.

Answer 8

I think people stopped having traditional Tea time a longgg time ago...

But here goes:

Put out the best China (Tea pot, cups, saucers and silverware ie. tea spoons..)

Brew the best english tea, put out scones, currant buns and some biscuits....

and that 's it!!!

Enjoy....



nai nai xx

Answer 9

Scones (small cakes) with cream and jam, tea, and maybe small cucumber sandwiches. Must be served between 4-5pm.

Hope this helps and enjoy the UK!

Answer 10

proper linens, silver serving set, the correct tea (too many to mention), sugar cubes (not powdered sugar), honey, lemon, salt, and some nice scones with a variety of jams. make sure it's raining, they hate the sun.