The Grand Tradition of High Tea

Mention the words ‘high tea’ and most of us just picture snooty English people drinking tea with their pinkies up in the air, talking about their bad teeth or what not. But times have changed. The grand tradition of high tea is fast becoming the ‘it’ thing to try in Sydney, thanks to the promise of soft crust-less sandwiches, fancy cakes and pastries, Scottish scones with jam and cream, champagne, and, of course, tea. And there’s hardly a pinkie-lifting Englishman in sight.

So, with this in mind, my boyfriend and I decided we'd give it a go. Just to see what all the fuss was about. Plus, I've been dying to eat something off those silver cake tiers ever since I saw the Queen do it on TV. Before we ventured in however, I did some research on the topic, just so I knew what I was getting myself into. Here's the lowdown on the whole high tea thing:

The high tea tradition began around the 17^th century, where, prior to, the English served just two main meals per day – breakfast and dinner. It was Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, who first invited her friends to join her for an afternoon meal of bread and butter sandwiches, small cakes and tea. The tradition was later made popular by Queen Victoria, who, quite rightly, saw fit to throw more delicious things into the mix.

And how delicious they were... We stuffed ourselves silly with egg and cucumber sandwiches, salmon and cheese, spinach pastries, mini cakes and meringues and some truly yummy scones with jam and fresh cream. Of course, we didn't leave out the main thing: tea. We got some connoisseur choices brought in from India (whose names I won't even try to spell) and drank to our heart's content. I was surprised to notice my pinkie trying to escape and raise itself high above my other fingers, but I soon put a stop to that by putting on my most bogan accent and asking my boyfriend if we'd even consider returning as bogans one day, just to see how quickly we'd get the boot.

Alas, we behaved ourselves and got through the entire thing like royalty. Not surprising, we were about twenty years younger than everyone else there, even given the largely affordable prices. But then again that's not saying much when it comes to me and cake -- there is no telling how far I'd go for a good piece of crumbly goodness with icing.

Here are some photos to whet your appetite: