Afternoon Tea I
The most quintessential English tradition

Afternoon Tea is a British food custom that includes a treat of small sandwiches, pastries, cakes and scones served with tea. Traditionally, the tea is poured from silver tea pots into china teacups.

“Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess would become hungry around four o’clock in the afternoon. The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late at eight o’clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter (some time earlier, the Earl of Sandwich had had the idea of putting a filling between two slices of bread) and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. This became a habit of hers and she began inviting friends to join her.
This pause for tea became a fashionable social event. During the 1880’s upper-class and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea which was usually served in the drawing room between four and five o’clock.
Nowadays however, in the average suburban home, afternoon tea is likely to be just a biscuit or small cake and a mug of tea…”

Ben Johnson

https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Afternoon-Tea

Travelers indulge themselves experiencing the British afternoon tea tradition offered in a wide selection of hotels, restaurants and tea rooms in England.

Many think there is no difference between Afternoon Tea and High Tea but British history revels that there is a difference as a direct result of their origins.

“The addition of the word “high” to the phrase “high tea” is believed to differentiate between the afternoon tea that is traditionally served on low, comfortable, parlor chairs or relaxing in the garden and the worker’s after-work high tea that is served at the table and seated on high back dining chairs.”

The Spruce Eats

https://www.thespruceeats.com/afternoon-vs-high-tea-difference-435327