"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." Henry James, Portrait of a Lady.
Until the early nineteenth century, tea was enjoyed at all times of the day and particularly as a digestif after the main evening meal. There was no formal 'afternoon tea', as it is known today. The credit for the invention of 'Afternoon Tea' is given to Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford, who is reputed to have invented the practice in the early 1800s.
Due to the long gap between lunch and dinner the Duchess regularly experienced pangs of hunger in the afternoon. To solve this, she asked her maid to bring her a pot of tea and a little light refreshment. She found this ritual most enjoyable and soon asked her friends to join her for 'afternoon tea'. This soon became popular amongst the fashionable people in London, who delighted in the opportunity to drink tea, eat dainty sandwiches and delicate cakes, and indulge in topical conversation.
