Let’s get one thing straight: snacking is very important. We all know little and often is the way to go, and sometimes three meals a day just doesn’t quite cut the mustard.
Winnie-the-Pooh famously touted the benefits of “a little smackerel” almost a century ago, and Tolkien’s hobbits were insisting upon “elevenses” not long after. Back in the real world, “brunch” got its first mention in an 1890s edition of Punch magazine – and the mimosas are still flowing nearly 130 years later.
But before all that, a Duchess got hangry, and a real British dining tradition was born.
Afternoon tea is now synonymous the world over with (perceived) English refinement, and London’s restaurants and hotels have seen the popularity of taking tea rise with remarkable zeal in the last five years.
Its recent revival has been well-documented, but fewer of us know that we have the efforts of a peckish noblewoman and a London hotel to thank for its institutional stature.
Afternoon tea’s origins date back to one Anna Maria Russell, who held the title of Duchess of Bedford and served as Queen Victoria’s Lady of the Bedchamber (fancy).
Frustrated by the mid-19th century trend of having an increasingly late dinner, the Duchess found that taking a light afternoon snack of tea accompanied by bread and butter hit the spot in the hours after lunch. Soon she was inviting friends to join her in the snacking at her Woburn Abbey home, and afternoon tea began to trickle into upper class consciousness.
Russell’s hunger pangs, however, did not a tradition make. Having been "invented" by the Duchess back in the 1830s, afternoon tea’s grip on mainstream dining came a few decades later thanks to The Langham hotel in London.
“The Langham has been serving a form of afternoon tea since it opened in 1865,” says food and beverage director Karina Elias. “Throughout our history it’s been a key reason why many guests visit us.”
A look at the very first menu for The Langham shows a listing for “tea, plain”, an item priced for guests at one shilling and six pence – the same as the starting price for “Suppers and Luncheons” at the hotel.
This suggests that, while not yet labelled “afternoon tea” or with details of accompanying food, this tea is a meal – backed up by the fact that individual cups of tea and coffee are priced on the same menu at just six pence.
The renowned luxury hotel is credited as being the very first of Europe’s “Grand Hotels”, the institutions in which the practice of taking afternoon tea became popularised as a social occasion. Opening its doors some two decades before The Savoy and more than 40 years before London’s iteration of The Ritz, this makes The Langham almost certainly the first establishment in the country to serve afternoon tea to the paying public.
What was once a snack has since become a full-blown meal, and The Langham still serves afternoon tea in its famed Palm Court, and Elias confirms that its popularity at the hotel has grown in recent years.
“In part this is because tourism to London is so strong,” she says, “and because afternoon tea is one of those key ‘tick box’ experiences.”
“I also think that the perception of the meal is changing too. Afternoon tea actually represents great value for money. It’s a really generous, delicious meal, so it has become an alternative to lunch or dinner – not just a rare treat for the special occasion.
“We find many guests visit us regularly, to catch up with friends or spend time with the family.”
Modernisation has become a crucial factor in maintaining the popularity of a meal that is both not-strictly-necessary, and one that could so easily fall out of favour, particularly considering the public’s increasing tendencies towards casual dining.
Afternoon tea’s boom has seen it join the menus of London restaurants beyond the British historical remit – Moroccan hotspot Momo, celeb-friendly Asian restaurant Sexy Fish and Vivek Singh’s Cinnamon Bazaar all offer internationally influenced versions.
“While we are a historic, classic property, we aren’t stuffy or too traditional,” says Elias.
The Langham’s afternoon tea menu currently goes by the name “SeasonaliTea”: in tandem with dining trends embraced across the London restaurant scene, the items on offer change as frequently as by the week, depending on the seasonal availability of ingredients.
In a step similarly made by both contemporary competitors and classic tea-taking institutions – Fortnum & Mason and the aforementioned Savoy – the hotel now also offers vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options.
While it's quite probably the history that draws a healthy number of Anglophiles to the meal, even its very oldest proponent knows that innovation is key to keeping a tradition alive.
As for the Duchess? We're sure she's all for changing with the fashions – just as long as it's not fashionably late.
