We’ve so far had only two hours of rain in London, and thankfully they occurred during our scheduled ladies afternoon tea. And who wouldn’t like to escape the rain chatting with a group of friends for hours and snacking on delicious baked goods?
We booked a date for an Afternoon Tea at a quaint little cafe. Tea time in England dates back to the 1800s, which occurred mostly as a social thing for upper class citizens to bridge the meal time between lunch and dinner, which often wasn’t served until 8 pm.
The difference from High tea is that High Tea is served in the evening hours. This happened because the working class at that time were found to need something similar, as the labourers often worked until the late evening hours and were famished by the end of their work day. Thus, High Tea was created, serving tea and some heartier foods in the evening hours.
Traditionally, Afternoon Tea serves loose tea brewed in a teapot with small sandwiches and baked scones. For the privileged back in the 1800s, cakes and pastries were often added in.
We sat for several hours and sampled a bit of everything in this cute little cafe and found it was the perfect way to relax for an afternoon. We would definitely recommend it for a laid back afternoon or on a rainy day while traveling… it was one of our favorite London experiences!
