Afternoon Tea Etiquette - Don't Make These Mistakes

Top ten tips on Afternoon Tea and English Cream Tea Etiquette so you can avoid making the most common mistakes (in case you're invited to the Palace!) :D Video by Jane Malyon who runs The English Cream Tea Company (which set the Guinness World Record for the largest English Cream Tea Party in the world). Jane Malyon has written an Amazon best selling book called Scone or Scon(e) - the essential guide to British Afternoon Tea (with a foreword by William Hanson).

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☎️ 01279 876661
📱 @englishcreamtea on Facebook
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✉️ The English Cream Tea Company at The Secret Sconery,
Bramley House and Barn, Chelmsford Road, White Roding, Essex CM6 1RF

About The English Cream Tea Company ☕
You've probably heard of the British institution of afternoon tea. You may even have been to a British afternoon tea party. Perhaps you've been lucky enough to have been invited to a cream tea, where you can enjoy delicious scones with clotted cream and jam. On this channel I'm going to talk to you about the difference between the two, as well as the history of cream tea and why it's so popular in the United Kingdom.
If you want to read more about these topics and to learn about The English Cream Tea Company you can check out our blog here

[supersonicsid]

One of the things I do miss about England is the afternoon teas. I loved to take my nan out and I took her for afternoon tea at Harrods, unfortunately there was a bomb scare and we all had to be evacuated. She was the last to leave the tea room saying, ,, they didn’t get me during the war they won’t get me now .

[ebenkessie]

It's good to teach us the correct way

[personalgrooming]

Hahah… I love d way she laughed at d end … simple and interesting and she seems to be so sweet while explaining. 👍

[maryandrews]

Scones are a relatively modern part of the cream tea. In my mother's generation (b. 1901) the base for the cream and jam, in Devon, would have been small, round bread rolls called toughs, splits or chudleighs. The combination of bread, cream and something sweet is said to have originated from Tavistock Abbey in West Devon. Another Devonian treat is 'thunder and lightening' which is clotted cream and golden syrup on a slice of fresh white bread. The Cornish like a spread of cream on their delicious slice of saffron cake. This is quite an expensive treat because of the cost of saffron. As far as I am aware, the scone is an introduction from Scotland rather than an indigenous West Country recipe. It is only in the last 50 years or so that clotted cream has become available nationwide. Before this, it was a great thrill to receive a tin of cream sent up from Devon by post (those were the days when one had more than one postal delivery per day!

[Agapimo]

Delightful presentation with a beautifully clear accent delivered with clarity and charm. Thank you 🙏

[vonhaek]

I have to say that throughout this week I've been serving afternoon tea to all my English students at a ESL school in the Brazilian countryside to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee. I bake my own scones, make the clotted cream and luckly I had a stock of tea bags for a lifetime hehehe. Before we gather around the table for the tea I always show this video to all my classes. This video is not only informative but also entertaining and most of all unpretentious. Ms Jane Malyon is a joy to watch and her beautiful accent makes the video extra especial. Also she says some very interesting expressions that allows me to teach the more advanced students, like some idioms and a more advanced vocabulary! Thanks ever so much The English Tea Company for posting such a quality video!

[sonic]

I went to an afternoon tea bus tour in London without knowing some of these rules. I kept looking back and forth to all the other passengers to see what they were doing like a lost child. I remember especially putting my scone sideways to cut it with the knife 🤣 Oh well, for my defense I was a foreigner ! However I loved that experience and it made me want to learn more about this tradition which I really want to bring back home for my family to enjoy 😊 Thank you for this video !

[CherishEachDay]

Thank you so much for these fabulous tips!

[Zeronohigher]

Thank you Love, for your extreme kindness & warmth to us all in your presentation & in your comments. Very much appreciated! May warm days & sweet nature embrace you & yours!

[IsabelRodriguez-nvue]

THANK YOU! What a delightful video on Tea Etiquette! Greatly appreciate all your effort on this wonderful video lesson. I will be sure to practice these manners all the time. Best wishes to all!

[olgaath]

I love scones, paradoxically, although I'm apparently not British, instinctively followed most etiquette rules discussed in the video. We definitely keep our elbows off the table, however, for us it's considered "bad manners" to rest our hands in our lap, instead we rest our wrists on the edge of the table. I remember my mother, when I was a child, reminding of the fact that both hands must be visible while eating, I had the habit of resting my left hand under the table😳!
Most important etiquette (and actually common-sense, thus true for every one in the world) rule of all: keep your mouth closed and avoid talking while eating. 😊

[CheyanneDavis]

I'm American 🇺🇸 and I use to do a French themed afternoon tea.

[adamlundgren]

What a lovely presentation! But shall we speak with the scone in the mouth as she did in the end?😊

[NelsonClick]

Yes! Don't hamburger the scones together. My very first tea I did just that and my Grandmother kicked me from under the table. The chefs clue you in nowadays by making scones so high that you can't pile and squish them together. Cut in half and have two separate scones. Oh, and don't forget to talk. Afternoon tea is partly a social event so have some opinions on something. Weather never fails.

[holaco]

She's the most loveable woman I have ever seen online! Oh Dear, how nice she is.

[ApeApes]

Last month I traveled on a British cruise ship and enjoyed afternoon tea on multiple occasions. I’m glad to see that this Yank did not make any major faux pas.
Oh, and in order to be diplomatic, I often prepare one half of my scone à la Cornwall and the other Devon style … except that I never remember which is which. 😊

[flamingteapot]

The 2 important rules I was taught 1) be polite to the staff remembering to say please and thankyou 2) do not be so loud that it interferes with the conversations on surrounding tables. Unless it is a really good bit of gossip that you do not mind being caught sharing. Do not worry too much about formalities afternoon tea is supposed to be a nice moment to relax during a long day.

[LouisHansell]

RE: tip #4 - there was a time in Britain when there were no handles on drinking cups. One held the mug with a pinky underneath to keep it from slipping out of grasp. Then Europe imported cups from China which had handles. What an invention! Handles!. The pinky tradition was started then, when people would quietly indicate that they were so sophisticated, they drank from a cup with a handle.
Re: tip #6...That tip about elbows on the table is still mindlessly observed. It is archaic. 'Way back, tables used to be simple boards balanced/resting on angular legs. It was easy to tip the table over, hence the rule. Good rule to observe if the table is an improvised board loose atop angular legs. Unnecessary rule for most first-world tables.

[doloresroman]

I thoroughly enjoyed these Tea Tips...! I am from America and would love to take a class in England...! ☕

[kiarttiratkiartkasem]

Thank​ you​ very​ much.​ You​ r​ lovely😊