The Art of Afternoon Tea

My mom and I decided to try out an English pastime: afternoon tea. And while there is an art to it, we haven't mastered it yet!

Step 1: Choosing the Place
It's like trying to decide which restaurant you want to go to: are you in the mood for fancy, creative, Christmas-themed? We decided to go with a recommendation from Ted and Julie and went to the Landmark hotel.

Step 2: The Tea Selection
There are more items on the tea menu than the actual menu which can make selecting just one difficult. I have not mastered the flavors either, so I'm really picking blind: a housemade blend, black tea, flavored black tea, black tea blend, herbal infusion... too many to choose from! This is where you just close your eyes and point at one.

Step 3: A Selection of Sandwiches
There is no choosing what you get on this round - out comes a few different small finger sandwiches. But still more questions arise - can you eat these with your hands (knife and fork would be awkward, right)? What are the different kinds? Do we have to finish all of them in order to move on to the next course? And the question we ran into most often, am I allowed to fill up my own teacup if the teapot was set on a tray across the table and I physically have to stand up to get it?

Step 4: Warm Scones
This step does not need any explanation. In my opinion, this is why you go to tea - freshly baked scones with homemade strawberry preserve and lemon curd, just like in lemon meringue pie. Yes, this is by far my favorite : )

Step 5: Traditional Delights and Desserts
Dessert after dessert after dessert... okay, this is where we start to feel sick. This is my thought process during this stage: "Ughh, I'm so full and feel sick. But I should try everything: they all just look so good and they're small bites, right? Yum. This chocolate peanut butter bite is sticking to my mouth and I'm really thirsty for more tea. But it's across the table and I have to stand up to pour it. Will other tea-goers think I'm rude? Will I draw attention to the fact that we are new to afternoon tea? Ah, screw it, here goes nothing. Oh, nobody cares? Okay."

Step 6: The Bill
Afternoon tea is not cheap, but it's a tradition. Many of the Brits on our Turkey trip said they actually have afternoon tea in place of dinner. (We've also found that they have pints in place of dinner too but that's a different story). In the UK if you don't ask for a bill at the end of your meal, you will be waiting all day. They think it's rude to bring a check as you are finishing up- it's like saying, "please leave my restaurant now." So if you don't ask for the bill, you will be asked to leave when they are closing : )

One down, many more to go! We still have a lot to learn about the art of the afternoon tea... anyone want to "tea"ch me?