AFTERNOON TEA

EVERYTHING STOPS FOR TEA

One of life’s pleasantest indulgences is afternoon tea, preferably in London, although as this cosseting meal regains popularity, it can be enjoyed in upscale hotels and romantic tearooms around the world. A custom that originated in the nineteenth century, when life grew busier and the dinner hour grew later, a sustaining afternoon tea is a nibbler’s paradise.

It begins with delectable crustless sandwiches trimmed into rounds or finger shapes. Spread with sweet or herb-seasoned butter, filled with thin slices of icy cucumber, ham, or smoked salmon, or with spreads of meat or shrimp paste and miniature cress, these dainty sandwiches are mere preludes
to currant-studded scones and crumpets (the forerunners of the English muffin) and pound cakes such as the caraway seed classic, topped with clotted cream and fruit jams and marmalades.

Overdo it on those temptations and you might have to skip the final display of fruit and cream pastries, set out on silver trays or footed cake stands.

There are choices of teas, of course, ranging from the smoky lapsang souchong to the lemony,
bergamot-scented Earl Grey, the subtle black Chinese oolong, and the complex Darjeeling, lusty enough to be considered the coffee-drinker’s tea.

Milk or lemon? That depends upon the tea. There is even a choice of sugars, all delightful dilemmas presented amid flowers, bone china, and fine linens.

Newcomers take note: While the term high tea may seem to designate an even posher version of this afternoon meal, it actually denotes the opposite—a heavier meal that includes meat pies, spreads, and perhaps sausages, traditionally served as a tea-supper for working-class families.

Where:
In London,

• The Ritz Hotel, tel 44/ 20-7300-2345, theritzlondon.com; 
• The Connaught, tel 44/20-7499-7070, the-connaught.co.uk; 
• Brown’s Hotel, tel 44/20-7518-4155, brownshotel.com;
• Claridge’s, tel 44/20-7409-6307, claridges.co.uk;
• Hyde Park Hotel, tel 44/20-7243-5000, thehydepark .com; 
• Fortnum & Mason, tel 44/20-7734-8040, fortnumandmason.com; 
• Harrods, tel 44/20-7730-1234, harrods.com; 

In New York,

• Tea & Sympathy, tel 212-989-9735, teaandsympathynewyork.com; 

 Throughout the U.S., at most Four Seasons hotels, tel 800-819-5053, fourseasons.com.