How much do you know about afternoon tea culture?
■ The origin of sweetness and elegance
There is an English proverb: Everything stops for afternoon tea. Even if it is a big event, you have to wait until you finish this cup of fragrant black tea, which is enough to show that the British are obsessed with afternoon tea.
Tea was introduced into Britain from China, forming a "tea culture" with unique British characteristics. The history of "English afternoon tea" can be traced back to Dickens and Queen Victoria, and it has become one of the symbols of the elegant lifestyle of the British people.
It was the British who first developed afternoon tea into a conventional cultural way. The habit of drinking tea in Britain began at 166 1 year. It is said that a Portuguese princess married King charles ii of England at that time, and the princess brought the Portuguese tea drinking habit to England.
/kloc-in the 0 th and 7 th centuries, the breakfast in the British upper class was very rich, the lunch was relatively simple, and the social dinner didn't start until around 8 pm. /kloc-In the 9th century, Anna Maria Stanhope, a duchess who knows how to enjoy life, accidentally invented afternoon tea. In order to get rid of the hunger in the afternoon, the duchess ordered the maid to prepare some exquisite snacks to satisfy her hunger. Every afternoon, she sends a maid to prepare a pot of black tea and snacks for her. She felt that this feeling was really good and invited friends to enjoy it. Soon, afternoon tea became popular in British upper class.
When black tea was introduced to Europe, because it was a treasure from the Far East, "drinking tea" was only the exclusive enjoyment of the upper class. Later, black tea became popular in cafes and black tea gardens in London. Coffee shop is a place where celebrities gather to exchange tea. Black tea gardens appeared in the suburbs of London, and most British people began to contact black tea. /kloc-tea really entered the lives of ordinary people after the middle of the 0/8th century. The fashion popular among British ladies gradually became popular, and the custom of afternoon tea began to prevail between restaurants and department stores.
British aristocrats endowed black tea with elegant image and colorful drinking methods. Afternoon tea is considered as an introduction to socializing and a symbol of fashion. When enjoying afternoon tea, British people like to choose the best black tea, match it with porcelain or silver tea set, put it on the coffee table covered with pure white lace tablecloth, and push out all kinds of exquisite refreshments with trolleys. As for music and flowers, they are even more essential, and classicism is beauty. Songs should be melodious and elegant, and flowers should be fragrant and fragrant.
Tea time, the favorite of British people, is mostly between 3 pm and 5: 30 pm. In an elegant atmosphere, people can often feel the peace of mind and the warmth of family style, thus alleviating the fatigue of the day.
It is said that afternoon tea was not so wonderful in Victorian times. At that time, idle ladies used their spare time in the afternoon to talk about other people's private lives with some excitement and some jealousy in the shade after dinner. Fortunately, the development of society has freed women from the shackles, and the expansion of living space has made women no longer confined to the narrow world. The relaxing afternoon tea time has really turned into enjoyment.
■ Low tea or high tea?
Although there is the word High in it, in Britain, High Tea is synonymous with working-class afternoon tea. The reason is that, first of all, most workers eat in high chairs in the kitchen; Secondly, due to the first industrial revolution, busy workers need to supplement more energy, so their afternoon tea is usually high-calorie food such as meat, bread and butter.
High-class afternoon tea is called afternoon tea and is usually enjoyed at 4 pm. The guests are sitting on a low sofa, which is elegant at best and artificial at worst. In an afternoon tea, the use of utensils, the placement of refreshments, the choice of tea and the order of eating are all very particular. Most tea sets for orthodox English afternoon tea are made of Chinese porcelain, *** 17 pieces, each of which has different uses, which shows the importance of rules. In addition to practical functions, it is mainly a face project to decorate the afternoon tea atmosphere.
Afternoon tea is divided into three layers, eaten from bottom to top, following the law of salty first and sweet later. Generally speaking, the bottom layer is sandwiches, the middle layer is scones and jam, and the top layer is all kinds of desserts. As for the choice of tea, if you pay attention, you will use bulk tea, and there is no time to toss the teabag as a second order. The tea used by the early nobles was Qimen black tea from China. Later, due to the high transportation cost, they began to move to India and Sri Lanka.
■ Ritual sense of afternoon tea
According to psychology, people are keen on afternoon tea, mainly because the ambiguous and romantic environment created by afternoon tea makes it easier to get rid of irritability and anxiety. Compared with the rigor and restraint of formal dinner, afternoon tea is particularly relaxed in social form. According to the historian Fernand Braudel, afternoon tea is just a romance that develops from top to bottom.
Bathe in the afternoon sunshine, discuss the right and wrong around you through elegant topics such as books and art, and spread the talk abroad. But afternoon tea, as a slow social behavior, also reflects the British personality-from state affairs to gossip, always dressed elegantly and appropriately. At the same time, it also protects the delicate hearts of the British. For example, a gentleman's hat is sacred and inviolable.
Today, afternoon tea has evolved from a noble activity to a social way that the general public can enjoy. Communicate thoughts and feelings through a pot of tea and a dessert, or just stare blankly at how time disappears from your skin. Afternoon tea provides a new way of thinking. Unlike a nine-to-five job, what you are forced to do seems to be a waste of time, but in fact you are just swimming freely in your own world.
As a result, afternoon tea is no longer tall, but all the people can participate. Now no one will ask everyone who enjoys afternoon tea to carry out every step of the British tradition step by step. The inherent elegance and style of afternoon tea has a subtle influence on our behavior and temperament to a great extent. Maybe you don't need to wear a dress for every afternoon tea party, but you will definitely choose a suitable dress to show your respect.
So we hope that while enjoying the leisure time brought by afternoon tea, we still don't forget how it evolved, its story, its etiquette and its seemingly boring rules. Sometimes, life really needs some sense of ceremony.
■ Three benefits of afternoon tea.
We can add a little afternoon tea to our daily life and work, because it is of great benefit.
Benefit 1: Make sure the curve is beautiful.
If you think that eating one more meal will make you gain more meat, you are wrong. The latest nutrition survey shows that people who have the habit of drinking afternoon tea usually have good curves. Afternoon tea is often driven by hunger, and it is a real mini-meal, which is different from snacks used to vent depression or just to satisfy cravings. The calories of snacks will only be stored in the body, and the consumption principle of afternoon tea and dinner is exactly the same, which can help us keep our energy until dusk, thus making dinner light. Of course, the first condition is that afternoon tea must be matched like dinner, and salty and sweet can be chosen according to your own taste.
Benefit 2: the most indispensable energy supplement during weight loss.
Some friends do gymnastics 1-2 times a week or swim between seven and eight in the evening, but in order to prevent fatigue caused by hypoglycemia (especially eating lunch too early), the best way is to have afternoon tea between 16 and 17. As we all know, carbohydrates and fats are the two main sources of energy. Carbohydrate is stored in muscle and liver in the form of glycogen, while fat is stored in adipose tissue. If short-term strenuous exercise releases energy through glycogen, then long-term exercise (more than 45 minutes) releases stored energy from fat cells. Obviously, it is necessary to add sugar before exercise. Afternoon tea is a good choice.
Benefit 3: Relax.
Eating is not only a physiological need, but also a very good way to relax. Sitting down for afternoon tea before an important meeting or appointment can kill two birds with one stone. This happy event that you spend alone or share with your colleagues can not only help you replenish energy, but also effectively control your nervousness. But the condition is that it should be arranged in advance.
1. In addition to cereals, a kind of fruit which is easy to digest and preserve should be added. You can put the fruit list aside when you eat in the canteen at noon, and you can put a fruit in your schoolbag when you go out in the morning. Although there are limited varieties to choose from (depending on the season, only apples, pears, oranges or bananas), you can change varieties. For example, there are many kinds of apples in the supermarket. In addition, you can also consider a dairy product.
2. Of course, don't forget the drinks. It would be great if you had a cup of hot tea on your desk. In addition, a cup of cold fruit tea or a cup of lemon tea is also a good choice in summer afternoon.
■ The real taste of afternoon tea
Diet has always been the most direct and interesting way of cultural collision and communication. Oscar Wilde famously said, "I don't want to make a living, I want to live." I don't want to live, I want to live. " It reminds us to live a beautiful and interesting life. We have this attitude because we are still full of dreams about life. Therefore, even a humble cup of tea should be accompanied by a beautiful teacup and a peaceful mood. Life can be light and heavy, complicated and simple, but salt can be sweet. If you never pay attention to details, you will be unhappy. Just like if you don't look up, how do you know that the sky is falling?
You only have one life, enjoy it.