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It Is A Truth Universally Acknowledged That Jane Austen Pairs Well With Tea
“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” Henry James, The Portrait Of A Lady, (1880)
Afternoon tea was seen as a social event. It was an opportunity to assess others – whether that be as an acquaintance or potential marriage material. Woe betide anyone who broke the unspoken rules.
In groups, choose one of these topics. Every group must have a different topic. Some of these topics can be mixed and matched as the groups desire.
Role of women, gender roles, feminism: Create a list of rules or share sections of your research on the role of women.
Etiquette: Give a lesson on manners and etiquette.
Dancing and music: Learn a dance and teach your guests (the class). Create a playlist for the Tea Party. Share what parties were like during this time period. Help set up the room for the party.
Entertainment and games: Give us some examples of what was entertaining during the day. Teach your guests (the class) a game.
Fashion, cosmetics, beauty, and medicines: Teach about these topics by trying to sell it to your guests.
Language and slang: Create Victorian style invitations and menu for everyone in your class (your guests). During the party, teach them some important words and phrases that should, and should not be used during a formal tea party.
Jane Austen contemporaries: Share what literature was popular during the Victorian Era.
Other: Have another idea? Share it with you teacher. Make sure if you use other resources that they are reputable.
Tea became the nation’s beverage during Queen Victoria’s reign. Lower taxes on tea and the expansion of plantations in India (the plant had originated in China) meant there was more affordable tea than ever before, making it accessible to more levels of society.The working classes bought hot sweet tea from street vendors and tea drinking crops up in many of Charles Dickens’ stories.
The custom of afternoon tea came about as a necessity to fill a hunger gap. In previous centuries dinner had been served early to mid afternoon but towards the end of the Georgian era it had slipped back to 5 or 6 o’clock. By Victoria’s reign it was not uncommon for dinner to be served at 7pm or even later on important occasions.
The habit of adding sugar to tea had to be a common practice since it had been introduced in the 17th century. This was to counteract its slightly bitter nature. As with tea, the price of sugar would also have come down during Victoria’s reign, and consequently consumption increased.
When tea was first introduced to England it was drunk black. This is possibly because it was used in such small quantities that adding milk would have diluted the delicate flavour. In some quarters it was believed that too much tea could be injurious to health and that adding milk could counter its potential ill effects.
English-Heritage.org.uk