I've tried in vain for 3 days to post the message below. If it has
shown up before, I apologize for the duplication.

Once upon a time, (Ripon) wrote:
>Dear Tea lovers:
>What is your favorite afternoon tea? Do you drink it straight or use
>milk? How many of you go to hotel or tea room for High tea? What kind
>of tea you drink there? What is your favorite place name for High
>tea? What is your comment on this timing issue about High tea-4:00
>P.M. or 5:00 P.M.

Oh, dear. Please forgive my pontificating, but it bothers me to
hear/read the phrase "High tea" used in reference to what is
historically, correctly (okay, pedantically, in my case) called
"Afternoon tea." High tea is not the same thing as afternoon
tea.

High tea was/is the evening meal served at home (usually, but not
exclusively), after 5 PM (sundown in farming communities), while
Afternoon Tea was/is the more elaborate affair served in the
afternoon, anywhere from noon until around 5 PM. (Some tea rooms
I've visited offer afternoon tea service as early as 11:30 in the
morning. Go figure.)

High tea (supper) has always been the evening meal, the last full
meal served in a day. Every home, regardless of class, served a
"high" tea. Afternoon tea service, on the other hand, started in
the homes of the English aristocracy (look up Anna, Duchess of
Bedford), spread to the other classes, then moved to hotels and
tea rooms.

Afternoon tea is sometimes called low tea, to distinguish it from
the coarser, more homely (there's ~that~ word again) meal called
high tea. I think those names--low versus high--for the
different services were probably derisive distinctions used by
the lower classes to make fun of the upperclass tendency toward
snobbery and fussiness. Truth is, evening meals aren't often
called high tea anymore. Consequently, that term has been
highjacked and applied to what is rightfully and correctly
Afternoon Tea.

Low (Afternoon) tea was served on low short-legged tea tables (in
the States those are called coffee tables) or chair-side,
elbow-high tables, first in the lady's boudoir, later in the
parlor or drawing room. In the beginning, afternoon tea was
nothing more than buttered toast and coddled egg, or just some
cake or fruit and cheese, served with lots of tea. The more
elaborate menus developed as afternoon tea became more of a
social event and invitations were sent out. (This service was
more of a social event than serious meal and the menu reflected
that: foods were usually delicate sandwiches and pastries, in
one-or-two-bite sizes.)

By the way, that might be how Afternoon tea got its name:
invitations often read "Please join Lady Whomever on
such-and-such date for tea in the afternoon." As more and more
people took up the practice, they began referring to it as
Afternoon Tea, the capital letters indicating the lofty position
the simple meal had attained in upper class cirles.

High (supper/meat) tea was the meal served at the end of the work
day in working class homes and in some pubs. This meal was often
served at counter level or on the dining room table, sometimes
from the sideboard. High tea was (in most farm homes, anyway)
leftovers from earlier meals, hearty soups or stews, cheeses,
meat pies, roasts and such, much more substantial fare than was
served at low tea.

I read somewhere that hotels in England started calling Afternoon
Tea by the misnomer High Tea because that's what misinformed
American tourists insisted on calling it, so they changed the
name to attract business.

Others have written about the naming of tea services better than
I have. Jane Pettigrew is one who has written prolifically about
tea, the beverage and the meals.

Sorry about the soap-boxing, Ripon. I just hate to see the
misnaming of Afternoon Tea continue.

Martha (If this has posted twice, I apologize.)

or