
THE ENGLISH TEA TABLE
English Afternoon Tea Classes
The English Tea Table offers classes for you to learn about different aspects of the English Afternoon Tea ritual. Caroline Hope has created a learning resource imparting information through practical workshops and Study Courses.
The Afternoon Tea ritual
There are various components that make up the English afternoon tea ritual. From the early 18th Century, the practice of consuming the tea with bread and butter created the focal point in the home. Around this, a performance of polite etiquette began to take place. This involved having the right objects and knowing how to use them correctly.
Today the focus has shifted to the visual feast of the food and drink, embodied in the public hotel offering. This proudly holds up its symbol, the three-tier cake stand.
Caroline Hope, of The English Tea Table, can satisfy your curiosity about the complex ritual. This might be as simple as learning the technique of baking light and fluffy scones. Today these are frequently present on the afternoon tea table. Alternatively, you may wish to study the steps that take us from tea’s arrival in Europe in the 17th Century to the present-day manifestions.

Classes
Food and drink have been present on the English tea table for more than three hundred years. Why not practice the old-fashioned skills for their preparation. See available practical classes.

Study Courses
The Study Courses focus on the evolution of the English tea table. This includes the dance of agency between the food, the drink, the objects, and the people. Find out more.

Information
For information about different aspects of the customs, food and drink, see the Information pages.
Caroline Hope enjoys discourse on the intersecting histories of the English Tea Table. Please do contact her to discuss any aspects of this cultural phenomenon.