In the quaint tradition of English tea time, a cultural phenomenon has emerged in recent years. The saying "spill the tea", is slang for sharing gossip in recent years. When social teatime began centuries ago, there was no doubt sharing of happenings in people's lives took place daily.
People have been drinking tea since the third millennium BC in China. The popularity in England didn't occur until the 1660's, thanks to King Charles II and his wife, the Portuguese Infanta Catherine de Braganza. The concept of Afternoon Tea appeared during the mid-19th century. There was a Duchess in 1840 who got hungry around four o'clock in the afternoon, and the evening meal wasn't until 8pm. That was a long time between lunch and dinner.
The Duchess started asking for a tray of tea, bread, butter, and cake during the late afternoon. This became a habit and she began inviting friends to join her to enjoy this afternoon snack. This pause for tea and food became a fashionable social event and evolved into music being played in the 1920's during this hour ritual which spread across Britain and even to America.
The tea menu consists of several types of fresh finger sandwiches, such as cucumber sandwiches. Scones with cream and preserves, cakes and pastries, and a selection of teas. The concept of teatime seems fancy and a special event to gather with friends.
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