HIGH
TEA PRODUCTS!
INTRODUCTION
The drinking of tea not only became a social event for
the upper classes, it altered the time and manner in which they took tea.
Afternoon Tea became the bridge between meals because many wouldn't eat their
evening meal until maybe 8pm.Afternoon Tea became a 'mini meal' in itself.The
meal is usually served between 3pm and 6pm.
HISTORY
Afternoon tea, that most quintessential of English
customs is, perhaps surprisingly, a relatively new tradition. Whilst the custom
of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China and was
popularised in England during the 1660s by King Charles II, it was not until
the mid 19th century that the concept of ‘afternoon tea’ first
appeared.Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess
of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess would become hungry around four
o’clock in the afternoon. The evening meal in her household was served
fashionably late at eight o’clock, thus leaving a long period of time between
lunch and dinner.
The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and
butter, the Earl of Sandwich had the idea of putting a filling between two
slices of bread and cake been brought to her room during the late afternoon.
This became a habit of hers and she began inviting friends to join her.This
pause for tea became a fashionable social event. During the 1880’s upper-class
and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their
afternoon tea which was usually served in the drawing room between four and
five o’clock.Traditional afternoon tea consists of a selection of dainty
sandwiches (including of course thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches), scones
served with clotted cream and preserves. Cakes and pastries are also served.
Tea grown in India or Ceylon is poured from silver tea pots into delicate bone
china cups.\
WHY IS IT CALLED ‘HIGH’TEA…..
A possible explanation why this type of meal was
called high tea is the fact that it was eaten at a table.In comparison,
Afternoon Tea was taken whilst seating in low, comfortable chairs or sofas.The
upper classes developed their own variation and also called it 'high tea'.It
was a meal that could be eaten when their servants were away or not available,
as it was so easy to prepare. It is important to add that the Afternoon Tea
menu served in the UK today is often referred to as high tea in many other
parts of the world.
HIGH TEA MENU
A selection of freshly prepared finger sandwiches:
A finger sandwich is a small sandwich meant to be
eaten in a couple of bites. Finger sandwiches are a must for afternoon tea
wedding ceremonies and are a nice touch for bridal showers and bridesmaid
luncheons, too.
This is a list of notable sandwiches. A sandwich is a
dish consisting of two or more slices of bread with one or more fillings
between them. There are many types of sandwiches, made from a diverse variety
of ingredients. The sandwich is the namesake of John Montagu, 4th Earl of
Sandwich, a British statesman.Major types of sandwich include:Two slices of
bread with other ingredients between.Two halves of a baguette with other
ingredients between Pocket sandwichOpen-faced sandwich
Warm scones with clotted cream and preserves
A scone is a single-serving quick bread/cake, usually
made of wheat, barley or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent and
baked on sheet pans. A scone is often lightly sweetened and occasionally glazed
with egg wash.
Clotted cream is a thick cream made by indirectly
heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it
in shallow pans to cool slowly. The
cream's production is commonly associated with dairy farms in southwest
England and in particular the counties of Cornwall and Devon.
Clotted cream has been described as having a
"nutty, cooked milk" flavour, and a "rich sweet flavour"
with a texture that is grainy, sometimes with oily globules on the crusted
surface. It is a thick cream, with a very high fat content, a minimum of 55
percent, but an average of 64 percent
A variety of home made cakes and pastries
Choice of miniature cakes, various types of pastries
and petit fours.A petit four is a small bite-sized confectionery or savoury appetizer.
The name is French, petit four, meaning "small oven". Petit’s fours
were traditionally made in a smaller oven next to the main oven.
PETIT FOURS AS HIGH TEA PRODUCTS
These are the mini
sized desserts which are meant to be served for the high tea.
These are innovative
and they bring out the skills of the chef who makes them.
These products are
tiny and can be consumed within two bites.
The word petit four
means small oven, that’s why these products are in small size.
These products are colourful
and a wide variety of desserts are served at a time in the buffet.
There are basically
two types petit four, “sec” means dry variety desserts and “petit four glace”
means glazed desserts.
A choice from a range of teas
Different types of teas from various regions of the
world are served according to the choice. Earlier English used to prefer the
tea from the regions of Assam and Darjeeling , but in these days teas from the regions of all over the world are being
found.
This article addresses effects only of tea made from the plant Camellia
sinensis, including black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white tea. It does
not address effects of other plant infusions that might be called
"tea", including what are sometimes called "herbal tea“.Information
about the different varieties of tea, its impact on people, Australia,
1912According to legend, the health effects of tea have been examined ever
since the first infusions of Camellia sinensis about 4700 years ago in China.
Emperor Shennong claimed in The Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic that Camellia
sinensis infusions were useful for treating a variety of disease conditions.
TYPES OF HIGH TEA SNACKS
Puff pastry base
Cookie base
Tart base
Cake base
Bread base
Chocolates and truffles
Puff pastry base
It is a laminated pastry dough which is generally liked in high tea
session.
It is used a base for various sweet and savoury products.
Some of the sweet products are mille feuille, sweet vol au vents, berry
jalousie, gateau pithivier, etc.
Savouries made out of puff pastry are patties, vol au vents, cheese
straws, turnovers, etc.
Cookie base
A wide variety of
sweets and savoury cookies are served.
Cookies play a very
good role as accompaniment with the tea so cookies are accepted and liked in
the high tea meal.
Some of the sweet
cookies are Bull’s eye, Melting moments, Choco chip.
Some of the savoury
cookies are chilli cookies, cumin and ginger cookies, etc.
Tart base
These are the products which
have got various sweet and savory fillings in a tart shell.The tart shell may
be flavored with sweet or savory ingredients and used for preparing the sweets
or savory tarts respectively.There are three main components in a tart are
base, body and garnish.Base is the tart shell that is used, body is the type of
filling( sweet or savory), and garnish is something that is used to finish the
tart and it also shows which type of tart it is.
Cake base
It involves a huge variety of cakes which may start
from the flavoured dry cakes to the layered and iced cakes.These are
pre-portioned and served.These are colourful and garnished with the appro
Bread base
All the types of sandwiches are served with various
fillings and garnishes.
Types of sandwiches:
Cold sandwiches: open
faced, pin wheel, regular, double decker, rolled sandwiches.
Hot sandwiches: open
faced, regular, grilled, deep fried, filled sandwiches.
Chocolates and truffles
Chocolates are basically moulded and simplest form as
they are colourful and also have different fillings, and there are different
shapes of moulds available. These are the easiest form of chocolates to
serve.Truffles are similar to chocolate but they have got some cream in the
chocolate which makes it chewy and this mixture is cooled and rolled with
hands.
Conclusion
High tea products are those which relieves the
appetite that is occurred between the
gap time of lunch and dinner, therefore they are small,attractive and are
usually consumed within two bites.Serving high tea meal has improved the
working conditions of working class people hence making it a very important
meal of the day.
Bibliography
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