How to serve afternoon tea at its best?

by carol
(lanzarote)




This question sparked a bit of a debate... but even though there were many opinion, a few things we all agreed on.

While there's nothing wrong with a cuppa and biscuit by the computer, afternoon tea traditionally served is a real treat.

First of all, the tea needs to be made in a proper teapot. There are all sorts of them around, from the really old-fashioned ones to some rather beautiful modern glass numbers.

Use loose tea rather than teabags. You want one teaspoon of tea per cup and one for the pot.

Before you put the tea in, you warm the pot with some hot water. Otherwise, the cold pot will cool the hot water and your tea will not brew properly.

Make sure your water is boiling before you pour it over the tea leaves. Put the pot somewhere warm and leave it for 5 minutes to steep, before pouring out tea. Offer milk and sugar separately.

To make the most of your tea, find some lovely teatime treats like these or try offering dainty tea sandwiches to your guests. Actually, both would be REALLY traditional.

And what aspects of tea drinking could we not agree on? Well, there were two:


  • should you put the milk in the cup before adding the tea or pour the tea first?

  • Is a tea cosy essential for a proper afternoon tea?


Unfortunately, I simply don't have the answer to those.




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How to serve afternoon tea at its best?

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starstarstarstarstar 		milk before tea
by: SmugglingPeanuts

The reason they poured the milk in the tea cup before the tea was poured from the pot, was to prevent the fragile, beautiful china they used from cracking from the heat of the freshly brewed tea.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Tea etiquette
by: James (London)

You should always add milk or sugar AFTER the tea has been poured.

To put milk in the cup before you pour the tea would be frowned upon in any smart hotel. Of course, in the privacy of your own home, do anything you like!
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starstarstarstarstar 		Afternoon tea
by: Doreen

Well with the world of tea bags (My parents thought were terrible) many of us don`t have milk in tea anymore so that solves that problem....I like lactose free milk...skimmed far too watery here in Oz anyway...by warming the pot first would be norm from Granmas days...then for family pot three teaspoons of tea leaves and that should be more than enough for four people Pour the boiling water into the teapot close the lid and leave for 2-3 minutes then stir the pot well and close the lid and pop the cosy back on!!!!!Milk added as desired and type of milk too!!I Indian tea days were perfect as they had it all off pat!!!!!!
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starstarstarstarstar 		Afternoon Tea at it's best
by: Hannah Dennison

I'm dead curious about the milk before tea rule and always thought it was a class issue. Would love to know if you find out!

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