In this article we are discussing meals referred to as “Tea”.
The source of the “tea” meal has originated in the centuries ago in response to the migration of the main meal, dinner. Until the late 18th century dinner was used as a meal at what is now called “lunchtime”, or in the early afternoon; supper was a somehow later and lighter meal. Step by step, dinner began to migrate, amid much controversy, until by about 1900 it came to its present timing in the evening. In the beginning, the “tea” meal was often in the early evening, some three or four hours after mid-day dinner; it’s interesting to know that another version of the tea meal was even later, after a supper and before bed. It was believed that it helped people to sleep better.
Tea (as a food, rather than the drink) has for a long time been used as an umbrella term for several different meals. We should also mention that English writer Isabella Beeton, whose books on home economics were widely read and praised in the 19th century, describes meals of various types and makes menus for the “old-fashioned tea”, the “at-home tea”, the “family tea“, and the “high tea”.
Then next point is Teatime which is the time at which this meal is usually eaten, which is mid-afternoon to early evening. Tea as a meal is closely connected to the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and some Commonwealth countries. Some people in Britain and Australia point at their main evening meal as “tea” rather than “dinner” or “supper”, but generally, with the exception of Scotland and Northern England, “tea” points at a light meal or a snack. A tea break is also the term used for a work break in either the morning or afternoon for a cup of tea or another beverage.
The most common ingredients of the tea meal are the drink itself, with cakes or pastries (especially scones), bread and jam, and perhaps sandwiches; these are the pillars of the “traditional afternoon tea” meals served by expensive London hotels. Other types of both drink and food may be offered at home, under the same name, tea. How sweet and welcoming it is.
