British Ceremony Essay

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English Tea Ceremony In 1665 Queen Anne traded her regular breakfast beverage, ale, for tea imported from the Far East and soon began the tradition and ceremony of English tea. By 1700 there were more than 500 coffee houses selling tea in the city of London alone and tea had become an ingrained part of the British culture. Although tea is the non-official preferred beverage of England, tea ceremonies sadly, have been on the decline. Most of the ceremonies are reserved for special occasions such as weddings or parties or for tourists at fancy hotels like the Ritz. If you are going to England for a special ceremony, I certainly want you well prepared and educated or your first British ceremonial tea! If you were invited to tea between 3-5pm, you would be invited to “afternoon tea.” Although tea and a piece of cake in the late afternoon is still very common, due to work schedules of the modern day, afternoon tea is mostly reserved for special occasions. Afternoon tea began in the 1800’s when the Duchess of Bedford couldn’t wait until 8 or 9pm for dinner to be served without feeling overwhelmingly hungry. Tea and bread with butter was enough to tie her over and she enjoyed sharing it with her high society friends. Soon enough, to be invited for Afternoon tea was the invite all the British ladies desired. Sometimes called “Low tea” Afternoon tea was served on low coffee or side tables around couches or love seats and usually took place in a sitting room. High tea is a phrase I think most Americans are familiar with but possibly for the wrong reason. It isn’t because it is served at high noon, or because it is for high society, it is because they drank their tea on high tables! Served between 5-6pm after workers return home, high tea is not a snack, but rather replaces dinner with hot meats, fish, eggs and cheese being served along side the tea. Also called the

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