Full video

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this is all about the art of afternoon

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tea and what it means to us british as

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well as what to expect on the menu and a

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few hints and tips on how to get the

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very best out of this national obsession

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tea was discovered so the story goes

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back in china around 2737 bc the emperor

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shendong was resting in the shade of the

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camellia sinensis tree when a leaf

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fluttered down into his cup of hot water

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this small leaf went on to conquer the

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world

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afternoon tea is usually taken around

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four or five o'clock and here are a few

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essential components

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the first being of course tea although

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many people use tea bags it's always

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best to use fresh brewed loose leaf

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using an indian or chinese blend to get

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the best flavor

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there's a vast range of tea from single

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estate to blends but here are some of

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the many kinds served at fortnum's where

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we are today

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white peony king tea

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nan ping yellow bunty

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finest kukariti

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royal blendty

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then the cakes of course a bakewell tarp

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perhaps or a lemon drizzle cake

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scones are also a must light golden and

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fluffy slathered with clotted cream and

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jam

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and sandwiches the crust cut off filled

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with smoked salmon chicken

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cucumber ham and cheese or egg

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mayonnaise

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one of the things that defines this

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tradition and makes it so celebrated is

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his ascetic appeal a chance to bring out

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the good china

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the first teapot can be traced back to

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the 16th century in yixing china made of

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porous unglazed clay but the art of the

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teapot is as rich as it is varied

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and here's dr andrea tanner the

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archivist of fortnum mason to give you a

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bit more background

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whether you drank tea or whether you

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didn't the chief bridesmaid had to give

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you a tea set as a wedding present

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they're brought out now from time to

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time and used and it's fun if you have

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something beautiful isn't it lovely to

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use it but if you haven't got something

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beautiful it doesn't matter you start

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with the accoutrements i suppose a milk

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jug and a sugar bowl if you have loose

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tea a tea strainer and a holder for the

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tea strainer a china cup saucer and tea

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plate knives and forks perhaps a cake

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fork preserved spoons if you happen to

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have them otherwise teaspoons work

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perfectly well

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with the table laid the ceremony can

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begin

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and how to make the perfect cup of tea

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well the tea should brew in the pot for

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around three to five minutes for black

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tea which is the most popular form of

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tea and pour through a strainer into the

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cup to ensure no loose leaves are in the

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final drink

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add milk and sugar as you wish but it's

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best to avoid milk with green teas

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buddhist monks helped spread tea around

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asia while the british brought it to

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india now this part of tea's history is

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closely entwined with empire colonialism

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greed injustice and war with the east

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india company one of the first major tea

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traders both rapacious and entirely

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unregulated

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it began really just in the homes of the

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aristocracy you had to be rich in order

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to enjoy tea in the 18th to 19th

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centuries it was a huge employer across

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what became the british empire

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all tea when fortman mason opened was

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grown in china by 1837 it was grown in

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india

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from the late 19th century in africa it

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gave employment it has to be said a lot

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of that employment was indentured labour

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and it's something that tea growers tea

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drinkers tea blenders tea sellers

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have to acknowledge and it's something

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that we have to deal with and we have to

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deal with it in a very serious way

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but despite its murky history tea

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remains britain's most popular drink

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with an estimated 100 million cups being

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drunk every single day

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when you go to a grand hotel or

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restaurant presentation is every bit as

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essential as the actual tea from

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beautiful cake stands to pretty napkins

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and tablecloths i think our ancestors

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would have been horrified at that amount

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of indulgence in victorian and edwardian

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times you would have had something

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called seed cake which had caraway seeds

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in it

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you might have had a slice of madeira so

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rather a plain dry cake

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some fruit cake

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a great variety of tiny little cakes

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which are really influenced by french

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and

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austro-hungarian bakers don't really

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come in until the 1960s and 1970s you

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might have been a little bit

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disappointed with what you would have

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had in edwardian times

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a debate still rages in england as to

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which order you should put the jam and

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clotted cream on your scone and remember

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scone like gone not scone like home

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anyway in cornwall they believe the jam

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should go on first followed by the

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clotted cream in devon it's the other

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way around as to my view where i keep

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that very much to myself because i

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really do not want to get in the middle

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of a scone wall

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[Music]

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there's a lot of chat about tie

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etiquette but really it's all about

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observing basic good manners and nothing

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more when the tradition started it was a

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rather more formal affair sometime in

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the mid 19th century anna duchess of

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bedford a lifelong friend of queen

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victoria felt a sinking feeling in the

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mid-afternoon so asked her servant to

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bring a tea along with bread and butter

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and a slice of cake she then started to

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invite her friends and a british

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institution was born

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in a tea room in edwardian times it

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would have been quite a different

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affair the ladies would have worn tea

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gowns these were dresses that were

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specifically created for having often in

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tea and they were tea coloured i don't

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know if that's because they were

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complementing the tea or they were

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worried if they spilt any nowadays we

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don't wear specific clothes

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one tradition which still stands however

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is the hostess pouring the

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tea and be sure to take your time

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afternoon tea is about pleasure and

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stepping away from the daily grind

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taking a break from the hustle and

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bustle of everyday life an escape a

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moment of peace a deeply civilized

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experience

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[Music]