An invitation to tea

Strictly speaking, tea is not a meal at all, but a suitable occasion for social intercourse, when people often come in for a chat over their cup of tea.

There are two kinds of tea, "afternoon tea", and "high tea". "Afternoon tea" takes place between three-thirty and four-thirty and consists of tea, bread, butter and jam, followed by cakes and biscuits. "High tea", however, is a substantial meal and is eaten between five-thirty and six-thirty by families which do not usually have a late dinner. In a well-to-do family it will consist of ham or tongue and tomatoes and salad, or a kipper, or tinned salmon, with strong tea, bread and butter, followed by stewed fruit, or tinned pears, apricots or pineapple with cream or custard and cake.

Tea making in England is an art. The hostess first of all rinses the teapot with boiling water (this is called "warming the pot") before adding four or five teaspoonfuls of tea. The amount of tea varies, of course, according to the number of people present. The pot is then filled with boiling water and covered by a tea-cosy to allow the tea to infuse or draw for five minutes. English people seldom put lemon or rum in their tea.

(From "Read and speak about Britain and the British" by V.F. Satinova)