A Guide to Afternoon Teas vs High Teas

High Teas and Afternoon Teas are great, but Afternoon Teas can be a bit on the formal side. A casual tea party at home with snacks and games can be a great alternative to the formal afternoon tea. Throwing your own party means you can control the budget, select your favorite finger food and enjoy a creative activity if so desired.

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High Tea vs Afternoon Tea

The difference between a “high tea” and an “afternoon tea” is a bit nuanced, depending on who is explaining it, but there are some commonly agreed-on distinctions. The distinctions are around timing, food pairings and class as follows:

Timing:

High tea is typically a hearty, early evening meal enjoyed around 5-6 pm. It was traditionally a substantial meal of meat or fish, bread, vegetables, and tea to drink, and it would feed the men and women who had been at work all day. Today it might be referred to as dinner or supper, although in the US those terms do not usually involve tea.

Afternoon tea is a lighter, fancier gathering with tea and elegant snacks served between 3-5 pm. The focus is more upon the tea itself rather than the meal, although sweet or savory snacks are generally served with an afternoon tea.

Food Pairings:

High teas are meant to satisfy hunger after working all day. The food is typically savory, hearty dishes accompanied by a pot of tea. The focus is on the food rather than the tea.

Afternoon teas typically involve finger food. The food might be either sweet (like small cakes and pastries) or savory (like cucumber sandwiches). The afternoon tea is meant to be a leisurely and elegant experience, with the focus more on the tea and the conversation.

Class History:

High teas reference a tradition that originated in the working-class communities of Britain. The tradition dates back to the 19th century where a family would eat a hearty meal at a high table with high back chairs and served with a pot of tea after a hard day at work.

The afternoon tea came about from the upper classes in England. It is meant to be more of a social experience rather than a satiating meal. It started in the Edwardian period when ladies would get together at a local hotel for conversation with some dainty treats and ‘a spot of tea’.

The afternoon tea tradition has evolved over the years and is currently quite popular in the US, even as it represents British culture. The focus of an afternoon tea is on the experience and the company, with the treats and tea enhancing the enjoyment of the experience.

Setting the Stage for an Afternoon Tea

An ‘afternoon tea’ requires a teapot and teacups, even if it is a casual event at home. It is a “tea party” after all. I got all of my teacups and accessories at the local thrift store and then let each guest pick their favorite cup.

The thrift store is also a great place to look for a tiered cake stand for the finger food. It’s not necessary of course, but it does give a bit of British elegance to your afternoon tea.

If you want a really casual party, you could also use regular plates instead of a tiered pastry stand. I do think a tiered stand and fancy tea cups add to the fun however. Here is a unique wooden tiered cake stand on Amazon if you don’t have time to scour the thrift stores.

While enjoying companionship through conversation is the classic focus of an afternoon tea, we changed it up a bit by adding a board game, as our afternoon tea was at home and meant to be casual. This added a cozy family element to the tea and took it into the realm of a hygge experience

Sweet and Savory Food Pairings

The food that works best for an afternoon tea is finger food, and it can be sweet or savory or both! For our Easter tea, we wanted to have both, but it was important that the food was easy to put together so that it could remain casual.

For ease, we opted for some pastel macaroons at Costco along with some chocolate bunnies and then made our own little cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches. Simple and casual, but with a nod to tradition with the cucumber sandwiches (recipe below).

If you are celebrating a specific theme or holiday, it is nice to design the food options around colors and flavors associated with the theme (i.e., red pepper and spinach tea sandwiches at Christmas).

The timing of your tea party is something to consider if you are also planning to have dinner, as the snacks can be pretty filling. At our Easter tea, we liked the little cucumber sandwiches so much that we didn’t feel up to a full dinner later that evening.

While the working class high tea hasn’t made much inroads in the US, I plan to delve into this in future posts. The afternoon teas are really oriented towards women and girls, and I do want to enjoy tea with my husband and son a little more. Stay tuned.

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