High Tea - does such a thing still exist?

caronc · 20 January 2017 at 12:02AM

When I was a wee girl a "high tea" was something much looked forwarded too. Unlike afternoon tea a hot element was expected (though not always a ham or cheese and pineapple salad with some crisps and Heinz Vegetable salad was perfectly acceptable) most often partaken on a Saturday or Bank Holiday around 5pm and usually at a local hotel though sometimes at home. The hot element was usually a small fillet of fried fish or gammon steak and pineapple or steak pie or a small mixed grill and chips, tinned peas and a side salad (lettuce leaf with 1/2 tomato, a slice of cucumber and maybe some pickled beetroot or onion) seemed to be obligatory. A small sherry or a 1/2 of beer or lemonade (a rare treat) was essential beforehand. After the the "main", cups of tea and teabread of some kind with butter and jam, some sort of sponge cake and a creamy treat (eclair or individual trifle) followed. I remember these really fondly but haven't had one in 30+ years nor seen them advertised anywhere. Does such a thing still exist?

PasturesNew · 20 January 2017 at 1:06AM

I've heard the term High Tea before, but just thought it meant "tea and cake".

I'd not heard of anything like what you've described above. It certainly wasn't anything we did when I was growing up, nor have I ever heard of anybody doing it.

I've never had anything "at a local hotel" either though.

I guess it's something peasants don't partake in ... so interested in who replies to you..

Torry_Quine · 20 January 2017 at 1:11AM

They do still exist and you described it perfectly.

lr1277 · 20 January 2017 at 1:25AM

I took a punt and looked at "High tea" in Scotland and got to the following link:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/5-places-high-tea-highlands-7620820

summerlady_2 · 20 January 2017 at 9:04AM

I'd forgotten about high tea. It was always a treat on school trips - as you say, with fish and chips then the afternoon tea elements.

I am in the East of England so I don't think it was just a Scottish thing, although perhaps the custom has carried on there.

The afternoon tea has had a resurgence which I love (except when I am trying to lose weight) so the high tea could be due a comeback?

tooldle · 20 January 2017 at 9:17AM

Our local Debenhams used to serve High Tea. Not sure if they still do. This would have been just over ten years ago.

katkin · 20 January 2017 at 9:26AM

High Tea is still popular in Scotland. There's 3 places in walking distance from me who serve it.

The main dish is usually a small portion, bread butter, scones / scotch pancakes, jam and cakes, or a trifle. Big pot of tea.

monnagran · 20 January 2017 at 9:26AM

I remember them well and am salivating at the memory.

I think that it stemmed from the days when lunch was the main meal of the day. Most people worked within easy reach of home and children walked home from school at lunch time. I'm going back to the dark ages you understand. Then tea was a real tea. Bread and butter, jam, some sort of spread, cheese, cucumber or a tomato and lettuce in the summer, and cake.
On the odd occasion when we had to manage with a sandwich for lunch then we had 'high tea'. This meant something cooked but not a gravy and vegetable affair. Probably something on toast, or fried or baked quickly and a pudding or cake.

High tea was the best meal in the world.

Pop_Up_Pirate · 20 January 2017 at 9:37AM

'High Tea' is the term used for 'Dinner' in Northern areas. The word 'High' is dropped though.

Ask a Yorkshireman what he eats during the day and he will say "Breakfast, Dinner and Tea".

elsiepac · 20 January 2017 at 9:56AM

I remember reading about high tea in Enid Blyton books - particularly Mistletoe Farm books (Six Cousins) - some googling has just found me a lovely couple of paragraphs from a site called Famous Five Style:

"A chilly Bank Holiday Monday (too cold, wet and windy for a picnic) offers up the perfect opportunity to make a Famous Five High Tea. I don’t think you can be too prescriptive about what constitutes high tea, as opposed to afternoon tea, but I would say that it is more substantial as it can double up for dinner as well, and is therefore served slightly later (between 5-6 o’clock, rather than the 3-5 o’clock for afternoon tea). The Tea Council of Great Britain (yes, there really is a Tea Council of Great Britain) suggests that high tea generally consists of bread, meat and cakes, served with hot tea.

The Tea Council offers a historical overview of the practice of taking tea in this country, tracing the ritual of afternoon tea back to Anna Russell, the 7th Duchess of Bedford (left) who is said to have originated it in the early 1800s. As tea became more and more popular (often as a substitute for gin and other alcoholic beverages), working and farming communities began to have high tea, ‘a cross between the delicate afternoon meal enjoyed in the ladies’ drawing rooms and the dinner enjoyed in houses of the gentry at seven or eight in the evening.’

There are high teas aplenty in the Famous Five books (to say nothing of the extreme high teas of the Willow and Cherry Tree Farm books), although these are not always accompanied by cups of tea. After their hard day’s cycle to Billycock Farm, Mrs Thomas (mother of Julian and !!!!!!’s friend Toby) prepares the children a substantial tea:

‘The four visitors wished they had not had such a big lunch! A large ham sat on the table, and there were crusty loaves of new bread. Crisp lettuces, dewy and cool, and red radishes were side by side in a big glass dish. On the sideboard was an enormous cake, and beside it a dish of scones. Great slabs of butter and jugs of creamy milk were there, too, with honey and home-made jam.’

It’s a hot day and the children all plump for milk rather than tea, feeling that ‘nothing could be nicer than icy-cold, creamy farm milk from the dairy on a hot day like this’ (conversely, the Tea Council’s FAQs highlight the scientifically-proven refreshing qualities of a cup of tea when it is warm outside). Mrs Thomas serves up another tea at the end of Billycock Hill, after an adventure which has involved stolen airplanes, an intrepid ‘pigling’ and a pair of ‘queer’ butterfly men. In the words of her son Toby this is so good it ‘isn’t a meal – it’s a BANQUET!’"

Now I'm sat here wondering how I can come up with a veganised version! Shouldn't be too hard! Challenge accepted!

caronc · 20 January 2017 at 10:18AM

Glad to hear folk do remember it - shame all the daily record listing are for the Highlands and not Central/Lowland Scotland. Thanks for the link lr1277. Think it could be well overdue for a more wide-spread revival
PN - I used "partake" deliberately an old-fashioned word for something that seems to gone out of fashion. It was certainly something ordinary folk enjoyed.
Elsiepac- thanks for the background can see no reason why it couldn't be veganised

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

High Tea - does such a thing still exist?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free