Festivi-Teas

I’m sitting here with a full belly (god bless mothers), and all I want now is a nice cup of tea. But the problem is which to choose? There are so many varieties of teas available on the market these days it’s hard to really narrow it down to one. Not to mention, the tea drinks you can get at places like Starbucks and Timothy’s. Although coffee is possibly a more popular drink than tea, it’s nevertheless true that tea has made a name for itself in the world of hot and cold beverages. I think over the past 2-3 years we’ve really seen an outcropping of teas and their popularity has really soared. I think this trend is a positive one because if the choice comes down to it, tea is a much ‘healthier’ option than coffee. I feel a little hypocritical saying this because I love my coffee too. Of particular interest to me is the increase in the interest of green tea. Because of its health benefits, people seem to have taken a huge interest in this particular brand of tea lately; it’s nice to see. I think in this current society of health conscious individuals, it’s not just food that’s being reassessed for its nutritious qualities, but also drinks. I think the same holds true for carbonated beverage alternatives. Although things like V8 have been around for quite some time, I have noticed a greater emphasis being placed on juices, flavoured waters and things of that nature over the last 5 years or so.

I remember a few years ago a friend and I had gone downtown to have High Tea. It was quite the experience; the room was decorated very elegantly, and everything from the tea cups to the finger sandwiches to the scones couldn’t have been called anything but dainty. Although I quite enjoyed the experience, it dawned on me that I had no idea about the origins of the high tea, or afternoon tea ceremony. So I did some research, and thought I’d share my findings with you:

High Tea History:

The concept of ‘tea’ as a meal originated in Britain where it was made popular by the Duchess of Bedford, Ann. To put it simply, the reason for its conception: Ann got hungry. Apparently at that time in Britain, meals were spaced far apart from one another. Sources indicate that Ann had a ‘sinking feeling’ in the afternoon. To remedy this, she would have her servants sneak her up some tea during the afternoon. I guess she must have enjoyed this so much that she began to have them bring up little finger sandwiches and scones along with her tea. This was known as ‘afternoon tea’. Eventually, she began to invite her friends over for tea, and it became a regular occasion that spread throughout Britain over a period of time. The name ‘high tea’ originates more from the working class although now mostly both ‘after noon tea and high tea’ are used synonymously. Afternoon tea began to be called ‘High Tea’ by the working class when they would return home from a day’s work and enjoy tea with leftovers, such as pieces of meat, sandwiches and scones at a the traditional high dinner tables as opposed to the lower, smaller tea tables.