Afternoon tea, le goûter, fika, or whatever else you call it, is a lovely way to pause, catch up with friends, and indulge in some delicious morsels between meals. Here’s a brief look at snacking in the afternoon.
‘Under certain circumstances, there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.’
‘The implements of the little feast had been disposed upon the lawn of an old English country-house, in what I should call the perfect middle of a splendid summer afternoon.’
What are scones and where do they come from?
The exact origin of the British scone is unknown, but they’re probably Scottish - the first reference to them in print is from a translation of Virgil's The Aeneid by Scottish poet Gavin Douglas in 1513:
The flour sconnis war sett in, by and by,
Scones are simple and very quick to make. Just rub butter together with flour, salt and baking powder, then add milk to make a dough, and fold in any additions like sultanas or grated cheese. Then roll out, cut out circles, give them a quick egg-wash and bake. (My favourite scone recipe is one of Nigella Lawson’s).
For more on scones, get involved in the great Cornish/Devonian cream tea debate. A 'cream tea’ shouldn't be confused with an 'afternoon tea'. A cream tea is just the tea and scones part. The scones are topped with jam and clotted cream, but the order in which you apply them is subject to furious debate in the southwest of England - the region most famous for a nice cream tea. Team Cornwall - jam then cream. Team Devon - cream then jam. Which are you?
Another fierce scone-related debate is how to say the word itself. Does scone rhyme with 'bone' or does scone rhyme with 'gone'? It's an argument that has been raging since at least 1913 when Punch magazine published this little poem:
I asked the maid in dulcet tone, To order me a toasted scone, The silly girl has been and gone, And ordered me a toasted scone.
If you want to delve into stats on the scone wars, check out this article from YouGov.co.uk
When, where and how did afternoon tea come about?
The concept of afternoon tea can be traced back to 1840 when the Duchess of Bedford, Anna Russell - a good friend of Queen Victoria - felt her tummy rumble between lunch time and dinner time when she was visiting the Duke of Rutland. She asked for some light refreshment and afternoon tea was born. It quickly became a habit for the Duchess, and, like the influencer of the time that she was, she invited friends to join her, who then started to host their own tea parties.
These days, you can have afternoon tea at almost any self-respecting cafe or hotel in the UK. Want the best? Try 2024’s afternoon tea award winners: for a traditional experience, go to the Beaumont Hotel, Mayfair. For something a little different, go to COMO The Halkin - this one draws on the concept of holistic wellness, yes, really! Or for a Beauty and the Beast themed affair, head to The Waldorf Hilton, London. But make sure you’ve got a decent sum in your bank accounts, the Beaumont will set you back £80 (93 Euro) per person.
What are other European afternoon tea equivalents?
The concept of afternoon tea isn't confined to the shores of the United Kingdom. One example is Babington’s tea room, next to the famous steps in the Piazza di Spagna, Rome (and seen in the background of the photograph below), which opened in 1893 when ‘two young English ladies from good families came to Rome’. At the time, tea was only sold in pharmacies in Italy, so opening a place where people would need to pay to drink it was a bit of a risk. But, helped by Italy being the destination of the ‘grand tour’ for the English, it became a hit and the tea room has been serving afternoon tea ever since and is still run by descendents of its founders.
But of course, the Brits aren’t the only ones to enjoy a little something to eat in the afternoon between main meals.