英国饮食文化：下午茶的由来

现在越来越多的国人也开始喝起了下午茶。下午茶中最富盛名的还属英式下午茶，那种红茶配上小点心的餐饮方式。那么，英国下午茶是怎么来的，你知道吗?那就让我们一起来了解一下英国下午茶的前世今生吧。

下午茶是英国传统的精华所在，但它并没有特别悠久的历史。在中国，饮茶的历史可以追溯到公元前3000年，而在英国，喝茶的风俗直到17世纪60年代英王查尔斯二世时期才开始兴盛起来。而下午茶的概念要到19世纪中叶才出现。

下午茶是由第七任贝德福公爵夫人安娜在1840年创造出来的。公爵夫人在下午四点钟左右常常会感到饥饿，而根据当时的风尚，晚餐要在八点钟才会开始，于是午餐和晚餐中间就有很长的一段时间。公爵夫人就命人把茶，黄油面包和蛋糕在下午晚些时候送到她的房间里去吃。这以后就成了她的习惯了，而且她开始邀请好友一起来饮茶吃点心。

自此之后，茶歇就成了一种社会潮流。在19世纪80年代，通常，下午茶会安排在起居室，时间大约是在下午四点到五点，而上层社会的女士们则会穿着长裙，戴手套和帽子来品用下午茶。

传统的下午茶包括精选的三明治，英式奶油松饼，还有蛋糕和其他甜点。选用印度或锡兰(现斯里兰卡)出产的茶叶放入银质茶壶内泡茶，再将茶水倒在精致的中国骨瓷茶杯中饮用。

Afternoon tea, that most quintessential of English customs is, perhaps surprisingly, a relatively new tradition. Whilst the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China and was popularised in England during the 1660s by King Charles II, it was not until the mid 19th century that the concept of ‘afternoon tea’ first appeared.

Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess would become hungry around four o'clock in the afternoon. The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late at eight o'clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. This became a habit of hers and she began inviting friends to join her.

This pause for tea became a fashionable social event. During the 1880's upper-class and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea which was usually served in the drawing room between four and five o'clock.

Traditional afternoon tea consists of a selection of dainty sandwiches, scones served withclotted cream. Cakes and pastries are also served. Tea grown in India or Ceylon is poured from silver tea pots into delicate bone china cups.