How to do Afternoon Tea

Any place worth it’s name can off an afternoon tea. But to get it right, well, that takes some skill. And if it’s not something you’re used to, how do you know if it’s being done right? Well, this handy little guide should help.

Firstly, afternoon tea, what’s that about then? Well, it’s about taking some time, mid-afternoon to enjoy some refreshment with a little bit of sustenance. It’s an earlier, more refined version of an afternoon snack.

Afternoon tea with snacks is a big part of British culture

Where does it come from?

Afternoon tea originated in the UK around the 1800s. Middle-class society would not eat their evening meal until late, around 9pm. It was rumoured that the Duchess of Bedford would request tea and something simple like bread and jam, maybe some cake too, in her room during the afternoon to see her through until dinner time. This soon caught on, though, and before long afternoon team became a mainstay in Britain. These days, every major hotel in Britain or Australia offers an afternoon tea, like the Windsor’s afternoon tea here.

 

Tea today

It’s not common for the average British person to have afternoon tea on a daily basis, most people have simplified this with a cup of tea and maybe a biscuit either in work or just as they arrive home. The tradition is alive and well though, with most hotels
offering a range of afternoon tea options. Plus, independent tea rooms are sprouting up throughout the country, offering a slice of Victorian life.

 

Cream tea: The facts

Don’t be fooled by the name, this isn’t strictly an afternoon tea at all. Tea or coffee will be served alongside a scone (or two) complete with butter, cream and jam. There have been many debates on how you should assemble this (do I use all three options? Do I put jam then cream?).

Cream tea is said to originate in Devon and Cornwall and they have their own set of rules. In Devon it’s all about a mountain of cream topped with jam, whereas in Cornwall, jam is slathered on first. So really, it’s all a matter of personal preference.

 

Afternoon tea

Also sometimes called a ‘low tea’ due to its informal roots. Afternoon tea would be served around 4pm and would feature small sandwiches—cucumber, egg and cress usually – in addition to cake and often scones. Traditional black tea would be drunk, with either milk or a slice of lemon and sugar as needed. More floral teas such as Earl Grey or Darjeeling were also common.

Oh, but however you take your tea, remember the rules of stirring: imagine your cup as a clock face. The teaspoon starts at the 6pm position and is stirred clockwise. Don’t clink your spoon on the side of the cup and never leave your spoon inside it. Some places in the UK will refer to an afternoon tea as ‘high tea’. This is mainly to cater for the American audience who commonly call it high tea.

Here is a video showing you what it’s all about:

 

Afternoon v High

If you’re venturing out for tea, check the menus and you should be able to determine whether you’re getting an afternoon or high tea. High tea is traditionally more substantial and was usually served a little later, at around 6pm. The idea was that this
would combine both the afternoon snack and a light dinner. A kind of opposite brunch, if you will. High tea was popular with farm workers and rural communities. Tea was still a central part to the meal, something many of us now might find strange—drinking tea with a meal that isn’t breakfast. In addition to the staples of an afternoon tea, high tea would feature cold meats plus maybe eggs or fish.

 

Bubbles

It’s not very common to see the term Royal tea, this simply means that a glass of champagne or prosecco is served with your tea.

Guidelines for Making Tea

I think improper preparation is the key reason why some folks don’t like the taste of tea. With every kind of tea in essence having its own method of preparation, it’s simple to see why people might not know the way to best make their tea. And just a few key errors will give you an unappetizing cup of tea. Not to worry, though, since almost any process will be successful for almost any cup of tea. Looking out for a couple of important elements is really all you need to do and I’ll indicate those below.

Why don’t we begin with the easy one. Black tea doesn’t typically present any difficulties for most folks. Basically, use boiling water and let the leaves steep for 2-3 minutes. This process will work for all black tea, from the widely consumed Assam tea, to the Chinese teas, Ceylon teas and Nepalese teas. Darjeeling tea, however, is made using a separate process. It should be prepared employing cooler water (80-90ºC or 180-194ºF), owing to the fact that it is not completely oxidized and essentially very similar to an oolong tea.

With a large variance in the way of preparation among the various varieties of green tea, they are are definitely somewhat more tasking to brew the correct way. The issues you should take care to get right more than anything, are the steeping times and the water temperature. Pretty much all green teas are best brewed using a temperature of approximately 80°C (176°F). Definitely use a significantly colder 50°C–60°C (122°F–140°F) for the very high quality Japanese tea gyokuro, however. The Japanese tea Houjicha, which is roasted, is one additional exception. You can simply employ boiling water to brew this tea, since it is perhaps the easiest and most forgiving to to prepare. The guidelines given on the packaging will indicate a good time to start when it comes to steeping times. Otherwise, go with one minute and 30 seconds for gyokuro and two minutes for all other teas.

There is one green tea that is altogether different from the others and that should not be made employing the suggestions written above: Matcha green tea powder. Since it is in powder form, it needs a distinctive and somewhat involved way of preparation, including unique gear. If you have ever before had the pleasure of viewing a Japanese tea ceremony, you have witnessed the preparing of matcha. The method of brewing for this very high quality tea could cover many pages, so I won’t worry about it here.

Darjeeling tea leaves

White tea is another variety that can be somewhat more challenging to prepare correctly. It is made up of new leaves, which means they are somewhat more delicate and thus require a lower water temperature than all the other types of tea. The two most popular kinds, White Hair Silver Needle and White Peony, are each best brewed at 75-80°C (167-176°F). 2-3 minutes is a good starting place for steeping times; modify it from there according to individual taste. To get your tea more bitter, add to the steeping time; to make it weaker, shorten it.

The most challenging type of tea to prepare perfectly, excepting matcha, is oolong tea. The traditional gongfu method of brewing requires a large number of short infusions using a heaping amount of of leaves. Not to worry, though; you can prepare oolong teas by sticking to general methods and they should taste great. If the water temperature is just slightly below 100°C, the infusion should definitely taste delicious.

I’m sure everyone is thinking the instructions I’ve presented above are somewhat simple. Of course, to prepare the tastiest cup, you’ll need to follow the instructions for the individual type of tea. Many individuals are lacking the appropriate guidelines or the specific utensils they need and if you fall into that category, following my instructions will result in a tasty cup of tea, no matter the variety you have. Should you have previously made up your mind that you detest tea, hopefully reading this will embolden you to give the world’s most loved beverage, excepting water, one last taste. Tea is delicious and healthy and definitely worth trying many times, until you discover a variety and a brewing method that suits your tastes.

For more information check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darjeeling_tea or http://www.letsdrinktea.com/.

Finding Darjeeling Tea at a Local Market

When I was touring India in 2010, I went all over the country. Of course, I didn’t go absolutely everywhere, but I went to most corners. Unfortunately, one place I didn’t get to go was the Darjeeling region in the far northwest of the country. I’m a huge tea drinker and I especially love Darjeeling tea, as I’m sure you can guess from my blog, so I really regret not making it to this area. I’ll definitely have to get back to India someday to make up for this oversight.

Tea plantations near Darjeeling in northwest India

That said, you can obviously find tea all over India. The biggest problem I found, however, was that most of the tea was pretty horrible. Whenever you order a cup of chai from a street side vendor, or in restaurant, or on a train, or anywhere really, it is utterly undrinkable. I found it much too sweet. The tea leaves used to make chai are generally not very good either.

In fact, most chai seems to be made from absolutely the worst tea leaves, using dirty water; then the whole think is drowned in ridiculously sweet condensed milk and sugar is often added on top of all that. The resulting cup is so sickly sweet that having one always made me twice as thirsty as I was before I drank it and it left a disgusting sugary residue on my tongue. I don’t know how people drink that stuff to quench their thirst.

Because a lot of the tea sold in India was so disgusting, I ended up just brewing my tea the whole time I was in the country. I had a bunch of green tea left from China and also from Nepal, which kept me going for a while, but I eventually begin to run low. That’s when I went to a local market to see if I could find a decent tea. As is usually the case with any product in India, most of the tea I found was low quality. That said, when I looked long enough and hard enough, I eventually found quality tea for sale. Naturally, the price they quoted me was ridiculous, but after a lot of annoying bargaining, I got it down to a reasonable level.

I ended up purchasing two teas. One was a Darjeeling white tea that was basically like the Chinese white hair silver needle variety. It tasted pretty good, although it didn’t come close to the Chinese version. The other tea I got was a standard Darjeeling tea. It is generally referred to as a black tea but is actually an oolong. It was very good. Again, it wasn’t quite as good as the high quality Chinese oolong teas, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

If you are a tea drinker and are traveling through India, you might have some trouble with the stuff they try to pass off as tea there. I imagine it would only appeal to those who consider the sweat tea sold in the south of the US to be delicious (or even just drinkable). If you go to a market and spent some time searching, however, you can definitely find some gems. Of course, Darjeeling tea is first among them, but don’t forget India’s other well-known teas, such as Assam tea. Try as many as you can and I’m sure you’ll discover at least one good one. Then buy a whole bunch of it.

Buying Darjeeling Tea is not as Easy as it Seems

Darjeeling tea comes from the Darjeeling district in India. You may have guessed that from the name. This district is located in the West Bengal state, which is a mountainous area in the little Western outshoot of India between Bangladesh and Myanmar. The lush and cooler hillsides result in one of the world’s most famous teas.

Most people think black tea when they hear Darjeeling tea, but the area actually produces all kinds: green tea, white tea, oolong tea and black tea. In fact, the most common product from the area is actually an oolong tea and most people simply mistakenly believe it to be black.

A Darjeeling tea plantation in West Bengal, India

Darjeeling tea is a high-quality tea, but what most people get when they buy this variety is actually pretty low-quality. You see, every year 40,000 tons of this tea are sold, but only 10,000 are produced. Obviously, that means a lot of people are buying a falsified product. Most people, in fact. And that is the big problem with this variety of tea, the same problem you have with all products from India. How do you trust what you are buying?

The preponderance of scams and fakes in India is off the charts. No matter what you buy, you can never be certain you’re getting the real thing and that goes even more for famous products from the country, such as the tea from Darjeeling. The problem is compounded by the fact that most people who come to India as tourists and want to take home some tea, but have no idea what good tea looks like and tastes like. They are very easy to fool, so they are fooled—to the tune of 30,000 tons of tea leaves per year.

So if you find yourself in India and especially if you find yourself heading west to Darjeeling, don’t fall into the trap so many before you have and get blinded by that romantic notion of India that simply doesn’t exist. It is a wonderful country to travel around, don’t get me wrong, but you need to be realistic. The people are not as friendly as they pretend and if you would argue this point with me, I can guarantee you, you’ve been getting ripped off a lot. You simply didn’t know it.

I just realized that what I wrote sounds a little angry, but I guess it is. The people who let themselves be fooled because they go through life in naïve haze, are largely responsible for the very problem they are falling victim to. If these scams were not so successful, they would disappear. So wise up and if you do, hopefully you’ll get to try a real cup of Darjeeling tea someday. Trust me, it is very much worth it.

 

You’ll find a good variety of Darjeeling tea on Adagio.