Tea should be served with both savoury and sweet snacks. There should be sandwiches, scones, pastries and cakes—served in this order: Savoury (finger sandwiches with various fillings); neutral (scones, crumpets, buns); sweet (cakes, biscuits, pastries).
The most common elements of the tea meal are the drink itself, with cakes or pastries (especially scones), bread and jam, and perhaps sandwiches; these are the pillars of the "traditional afternoon tea" meals offered by expensive London hotels.
Because of its strong flavour, black tea is best paired with fully flavoured foods like dark meat and or spicy dishes. It can even be paired with chocolate to create a contrasting flavour combo that brings out the taste of both, the black tea and chocolate.
Never pair any cold food with hot tea as it can disrupt the digestion process. Consuming foods of different temperatures together can weaken the digestive process and might make you nauseous. Avoid having anything cold for at least 30 minutes after drinking warm tea.
There aren't any rules when it comes to the food, but a standard afternoon tea menu comprises a tier of sandwiches, a tier of cakes and one of scones or teacakes.
Everyday tea, such as English breakfast tea, served in a mug with milk and sugar is a popular combination. Sandwiches, crumpets, scones, cake, or biscuits often accompany tea, which gave rise to the prominent British custom of dunking a biscuit into tea.
Arrive on time. A hostess gift isn't generally expected for a tea party, but if you choose to bring one, keep it simple. The hostess will appreciate some flavored loose tea, a new tea ball, or a candle.
Choose alternatives: Fruits, nuts, whole milk, homemade breakfast like poha, upma, idli, oats, dosa, sprouts, coconut water, fruit and vegetable juices etc. can be the best alternatives to replace your chai and biscuit combo.
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!
But tea and coffee provide so many health benefits that it's reasonable to conclude that they could lower your odds of an early death, say experts. Chopra at Harvard Medical School pointed out that at least five large studies in leading medical journals have now shown that coffee drinkers have lower mortality rates.
Drinking high caffeine based drinks on an empty stomach can lead to heartburn, bloating, pain and increase ulcer pain. This is because the acid in tea/caffeine based drinks interfere with the digestive acids in the stomach and lead to bloating and acid reflux.
Numerous studies have shown that a variety of teas may boost your immune system, fight off inflammation, and even ward off cancer and heart disease. While some brews provide more health advantages than others, there's plenty of evidence that regularly drinking tea can have a lasting impact on your wellness.
Eat your food in the proper order.
The correct order to enjoy the food that accompanies afternoon tea is savory to sweet: sandwiches first, then scones, and sweets last. You can use your fingers to eat all three courses. To eat a scone, you simply break it in half with your fingers.
A Victorian tea menu consisted of finger sandwiches (cucumber sandwiches were a common feature), and assorted sweets such as scones, cakes and other pastries. Beverages included teas and lemonade. To accompany the tea, lemon slices, cream and sugar were placed on the table.
The correct way of stirring tea is to place the spoon at the 6 o'clock position and gently stir the tea towards 12 o'clock without touching the sides of the teacup. Don't fold the tea back and forth or side to side. After you've stirred the tea, place the spoon on the saucer next to the cup.
Crispy and tasty, chips make a great option to pair with your evening cup of tea or coffee. From ever popular aloo chips and banana chips to low fat and high protein baked chips, there are so many options to choose from.
Eating nuts with tea can have hazardous effects on health. The compound called Tannin present in tea can block the absorption of nutrients when taken with nuts.