The Afternoon Tea tradition is a tea-related ritual, introduced in the English aristocracy in the mid-19th century. It evolved as a in meal to stem the hunger between lunch and dinner.

Afternoon Tea is a meal composed of savories, scones with cream, lemon curd and jam, sweet pastries and cakes. Interestingly, scones were not a common feature of early Afternoon Tea and were only introduced in the twentieth century.

Afternoon Tea was initially developed as a private social event for ladies who climbed the echelons of society. It was only when Queen Victoria engaged in the Afternoon Tea ritual that it became a formal occasion on a larger scale, known as ‘tea receptions’.

These receptions could have as many as two hundred guests with an open ‘at home’ invitation to visit between 4pm and 7pm, during which they could come and go as they pleased; this was the genesis of the Afternoon Tea as we know it.

A warm welcome

Morsdag Afternoon Tea Kongsvinger Festning Avlyst