The first tier should have a pile of melt-in-your-mouth scones with cream and jam. Next, feature a mix of sambos, such as these chicken, pistachio and mayonnaise sandwiches. Atop the final tier, include a delicious mix of miniature desserts. Think tiny lemon yoghurt muffins, little cheesecakes and petite Neenish tarts.
What is commonly referred to as "high tea" in Australia and known as "afternoon tea" in Britain is basically the same experience: an elegant spread of sandwiches, small savoury dishes, scones and delicate cakes and pastries. However, high tea is traditionally a completely different concept to afternoon tea in Britain.
Tea is a large part of modern Australian culture due to its British origins. Australians drink tea and have afternoon tea and morning tea much the way the British do.
High tea is a light meal typically eaten between 3 to 5 p.m., served with desserts, cakes, and light tea sandwiches. Also called afternoon tea, its origin is attributed to Anna Maria, 7th Duchess of Bedford.
Afternoon Tea is a tea-related ritual, introduced in Britain in the early 1840s. It evolved as a mini meal to stem the hunger and anticipation of an evening meal at 8pm. Afternoon Tea is a meal composed of sandwiches (usually cut delicately into 'fingers'), scones with clotted cream and jam, sweet pastries and cakes.
The most traditional format is three courses, though many afternoon teas now serve much more. "There's the savory course with tea sandwiches, the scones course served with clotted cream and jam, and, finally, the third course of sweet pastries," said Hemery.
While both afternoon tea and high tea are served in the afternoon, one key difference between them is the time of day. Afternoon tea is typically served around 4 pm, while high tea tends to be served later in the afternoon (around 5- 7 pm).
For example, while black teas like Earl Grey are the best selling teas in Australia, green tea like matcha is more favoured in Japan. Similarly, yerba mate is one of the most popular teas in South America.
Australia is known for many things, including swathes of tropical beaches, marine reserves, Aboriginal culture, cute koalas, rolling wine country, and lush rainforests.
So what time should you go? People usually have afternoon tea between 3 and 5pm, and 4pm is often cited as the best time for afternoon tea. Many hotels and restaurants offer it from noon until early evening, though, so you don't have to stick to the rules if you want to have it earlier or later.
For upper class Victorians, afternoon tea was light meal served between lunch, at noon, and supper, at 8 pm. When you hosted an afternoon tea, it would include sweet treats like cookies, candies and cakes, as well as sandwiches, fruits and nuts.
There are other variations: afternoon tea and light tea (among others), but high tea refers to the custom coined by the Duchess of Bedford and so tea houses in Australia honour that custom by keeping the name high tea as relevant today as it was back in the 1800's.
Plan to serve about 4 afternoon tea sandwiches per person. Assuming one makes 3 sandwich varieties, these sandwich recipes should serve 6 people. You will yield 24 triangles (or more pieces if you cut your sandwiches into fingers or squares), which would be 4 triangles per person.
An Afternoon Tea menu should include light cakes, scones and sandwiches. Traditional sandwich fillings are often cucumber, smoked salmon, coronation chicken or egg mayonnaise. But they should always be served with the crusts cut off - Anne, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, was quite insistent on this point!
It was also fortuitous that the Australian dairy industry expanded at this time, making fresh milk available, so black tea with milk and sugar became the national beverage.
Australia's Biggest Morning Tea is the largest fundraising event organized by the Cancer Council of Australia. To raise money for cancer support and research, people at home, school, work and in the community organize tea parties where morning tea is served.
Black Tea. Perhaps the most famous, and most popular, tea in the world, black tea is a staple in many households. There are several types of black tea in the market, but Ceylon tea is widely considered to be one of the finest brews.
THE Man's High Tea is a male-friendly concept of meeting your friends for a special occasion to enjoy snacks and drinks but not for a meal. THE Man's High Tea is a male-friendly concept of meeting your friends for a special occasion to enjoy snacks and drinks but not for a meal.
Royal Tea: A 'Royal Tea' is another name for afternoon tea served with champagne, sometimes this is referred to as champagne tea. A Royal tea is served just as afternoon tea is served, with sandwiches, scones, sweet treats, hot traditional cups of tea and glasses or champagne or sparkling alternatives such as prosecco.
Serve your guests a spread of cut sandwiches, scones with fresh cream and jam, and dainty sweet treats such as small pastries or slices of cake. To win points for presentation, lay them on tiered cake stands and patterned plates with the conserves and cream in separate ramekins or dishes.
Food at an afternoon tea is usually served on a tiered tray with items grouped into three categories: savory tea sandwiches on the bottom, scones in the middle and sweets on top. While it may be tempting to kick off your afternoon tea with dessert, it's actually best to start from the lowest tier.
It comes from the fact that cultured people would eat their tea goodies with three fingers and commoners would hold the treats with all five fingers. Thus was born the misguided belief that one should raise their pinky finger to show they were cultured.
A table napkin should be placed on your lap, folded in half with the hem inside, and with the crease folded towards you if you are a gentleman. However, if you are lady, you want to place your folded napkin with the crease away from you. The benefit of the different placement will become apparent in a second.