A Brief History of Afternoon Tea
+ the cool as a cucumber history of the cucumber sandwich
ONLY ONE MORE DAY UNTIL SPRING! We’ve nearly made it to this season of bird chirping, new foliage, flower buds, pastels and more daylight. To celebrate this happy season, I wanted to create a jam that was reminiscent of the freshness that spring reminds me of.
Although most-likely available year-round wherever you live, cucumber is technically a spring vegetable. It’s green, crisp, and cool (as a cucumber). You can find my recipe for it here. After making batches of cucumber jam with different additions, I settled on this one as my favorite as it would pair with a variety of different foods. My personal favorite way to use this jam has been as the cucumber component to a finger sandwich. And then it hit me… although I now have lived in England for 4 years (wild), I never quite learned the roots of afternoon tea and the tiny, adorable, and scrumptious sandwiches served during.
A Brief History of Afternoon Tea
Initially used as medicine, tea was introduced to Britain in the 1650s. Soon after in 1662, a chest of dried tea leaves was included in Catherine of Braganza’s dowry to King Charles II as it was her favorite drink making the beverage more known to the upper classes.
Tea was the very first mass market commodity that came from overseas to Britain, it was unfamiliar and deemed exotic.
Due to its rarity and costliness, wealthy Europeans began requesting this beverage (and also began adding milk to it). Although it was solely for the rich at the start of 1700s, by the early 1800s almost every family had tea in their household.
With coffee houses arising in London, coffee became a man’s drink as these were male-only establishments. Women, on the other hand, were now attached to tea. The only co-ed coffee house, The Golden Lion, was run by a man named Thomas Twining (!!!) also served tea.
Because of its quick rise to fame, tea became more affordable and thus, more accessible to lower and middle classes in the mid 1700s. These classes began enjoying “high tea” which was actually just their dinner, eaten earlier.
High tea is called “high” tea because it was drank at a high table, whereas afternoon tea was drank at a low table.
High table = dinner table for the lower and middle classes
Afternoon low table = leisurely snicky snack hour for the upper class
In the mid 1800s, the custom of afternoon tea was established. Back in the day, England was a no snack society. People ate a large breakfast, a small lunch, and then had dinner to end the evening. That is, until the Duchess of Bedford, Anna Russell, created secret tea snicky snack breaks. When invited to her castle, women would receive secret invitations to come drink tea and eat cakes with her in between lunch and dinner time - iconic.
**While this is potentially a legend, it’s certainly a really sweet one that I choose to believe.**
With time elapsing, these secret snack clubs became less secret and more popular across households. Women began commonly entertaining their girlfriends in the afternoon for tea. This was a time to put on comfy clothes, tea gowns, and gossip away. I LOVE IT. Even men began partaking in the activity!
Personally, when I think of afternoon tea, I think of scones and cucumber sandwiches. I guess that’s the American in me because the OG afternoon tea snack is actually the Victoria Sandwich. As a favorite of Queen Victoria’s, it was named after her and its recipe first featured in Isabella Beeton’s 1861 Book of Household Management.
Little did I know until researching for this week’s newsletter, but the term cucumber sandwich is actually a derogatory term for upper-class people here in England? I learn something new every day!
A Delicious Gift From India
Although popular in the United Kingdom, the tradition of the cucumber sandwich actually dates back to 19th century India! Due to the extreme heat, British officers were served refreshing, crisp cucumber sandwiches in tea houses. These high-water content veggies were loved as they were both hydrating and cooling. This snack made its way back to the United Kingdom but firstly only for members of the upper class.
As previously mentioned, cucumbers are in season only beginning spring so they aren’t available year-round. This made them quite difficult to procure and a vegetable for the rich. Further, when lower classes needed something to eat, that something have better been hearty and calorific. Their dietary needs were quite literally the opposite of what a cucumber provides.
When the Edwardian era rolled around, cucumbers became more accessible and thus, affordable. This allowed for most classes to enjoy these thin sandwiches with their tea. The original cucumber sandwich was made with cucumber, butter and white bread. As time elapsed, the United States took on this sandwich and began modernizing it by replacing the butter with cream cheese. Although I’m somewhat of a traditionalist, I have to admit I am partial to the cream cheese and cucumber combo.
The rest is history, long live the cucumber sando.
To amp up your next sandwich, please find my cucumber jam recipe here :)
Love that afternoon tea was derived from our need for a snack and a lil gossip, so cute!
I can’t wait to abuse the cucumber sandwich slang. Another banger of a history lesson, Claire! 💗