Heritage Afternoon Teas
If you would like to join us for a Heritage Afternoon Tea experience please either contact us by email. Braemar@aucklandbedandbreakfast.com
or by phoning us Ph: +64 9 3775463
Tour
As well as serving afternoon tea we also provide a talk about the history of the house and its environs, particularly the history of Official Bay, the former name of the area in which we live, followed by a tour of the house.
Tea
- Cecil Porter of Gemini News Service
In days gone by, an indication of your social standing was whether you took “afternoon tea” or “high tea”. Afternoon tea was served between 3 o'clock and 5 o'clock and was a light meal consisting of tea, sandwiches and cakes. It was confined to the aristocracy with their leisurely lifestyle and served between lunch and a late evening meal. High tea was a larger and substantial meat meal taken later in the day by the working classes. It was called “high” tea because it was eaten at a dining table rather than a lower tea table.
The tradition of afternoon tea is credited to Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford. Around 1830, so the story goes, she asked for tea and light refreshments to be served in her room one afternoon and enjoyed it so much she started inviting friends to join her. It wasn’t long before elegant afternoon tea parties became very fashionable. Demand for tea accoutrements grew and soon there were tea services in silver and fine bone china, trays, cake stands, servers, tea caddies, tea strainers, teapots, and tea tables.
At Braemar, we enjoy serving afternoon tea the traditional way, making tea in china teapots and serving it in delicate bone china cups with either a dash of milk or a slice of lemon. Our afternoon tea fare is derived from the iconic Edmonds Cookbook (published in New Zealand since 1907) and typically includes sandwiches and cakes served on tiered china cake plates. A recent addition to our afternoon tea is the offering of home-made ginger beer, a refreshing non-alcoholic drink made from brewing ginger, sugar, yeast, water and lemon juice.
The most important ingredient is of course the tea. Served from a teapot, the brewing of the tea is very important. Firstly, warm your teapot with warm water. Next, bring a kettle of water to boil and pour it over the tea leaves or tea bags, letting it steep for three to five minutes. If using loose tea the rule is one heaping teaspoon of tea for each cup of water, plus one teaspoon "for the pot". If using tea bags, removal of the bags helps to avoid the tea “stewing”.
It is customary to first pour a little milk into the teacup. It was once thought that the fine porcelain cup may crack if the hot tea was poured directly into the empty cup. Sugar was then offered in cube form, with tongs, or else granulated. Normally the host or hostess pours the tea and serves the food. Guests can either be seated around a table or else in armchairs with an end table nearby for them to place their cup and saucer, teaspoon, plate, napkin, knife and fork.
There is a great array of fine teas available today. The three main types are: Black, Oolong or Red, and Green Tea. Assam, Ceylon, China Caravan, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Keemun, Kenya, Lapsang Souchong, Nilgiri, Orange Pekoe, Rose Pouchong, Russian, and Yunnan are Black Teas. Formosa/China Oolong and Formosa/China Pouchong are Oolong or Red Teas, and Gunpowder and Jasmine are Green Teas. At one time loose tea with its large leaves had a superior flavor as tea bags were made with broken tea leaves and siftings that produced a stronger darker tea. The introduction of fine quality tea bags has changed that and now the choice between loose tea leaves or tea bags is based more on personal preference.
Tea caddies can be used to store both tea leaves and bags. A small container, once lockable to prevent servants from stealing the expensive tea leaves, it keeps tea leaves fresh for up to 2 years and tea bags for approximately 6 months.
To make proper tea sandwiches, the bread must be very thin so partially freeze the bread first to make slicing easier. You can flatten the bread further by using a rolling pin. Our favourites include thinly peeled and sliced cucumber on lightly buttered white bread, with egg and thinly sliced baked ham. After making the sandwiches, cut the crusts off and cut into triangles, squares, or else rounds. To serve, place the sandwiches on an iceberg lettuce-lined platter.
The scones should be cut into rounds and served with jams (raspberry, strawberry, apricot, etc.) topped with whipped cream, in a doily-lined platter or basket.
The practice of reading tea leaves of course requires that the tea is made with leaves and not bags. If you want to try your hand at reading the leaves yourself click here.
To read further about the custom of tea drinking click here
Edmonds Cookbook Scone Recipe (published 16th edition) 3 cups Flour ¼ teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons Edmonds Baking Powder 25g (1 oz) butter About 1 cup milk
Sift dry ingredients, rub in butter, and mix to a soft dough with milk.
Knead on a lightly-floured board; roll out, place on a cold lightly greased or floured oven tray and bake in a hot oven 230C (450F) for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
