Afternoon tea: My last great British experience

LONDON – As my eight weeks in London was approaching an end, I knew I couldn’t leave the country without having afternoon tea.

I’m not sure why afternoon tea is so popular in the UK, but for some reason it is a must-do. About the 18th century, afternoon tea was introduced as another meal in the UK.

The British take afternoon tea seriously. Prices range from about five to 50 pounds (about $8 to $80).

I could have gone for the best of the best, but who am I kidding? I’m on a student budget.

Thanks to my cheesy London guidebook, I found one of the best prices in town.

I went for one of the cheaper afternoon teas at Sotheby’s Cafe. Though the prices were low, this antique gallery and restaurant is far from that.

The place screamed posh, but luckily a small tea only cost about 6.50 pounds (about $11). This included a serving of toasted teacakes with orange and cinnamon butter, two scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam and an unlimited supply of the cafe’s tea.

My friend and I were probably the youngest people in the cafe for afternoon tea that day, but that didn’t mean the service suffered because of it.

The service was some of the best I had seen in London; our waitress was very attentive to our needs – like when we ran out of tea. The toasted teacakes tasted a bit like bagels. The spread was the best part because the orange and cinnamon butter gave it a kick.

The scones weren’t your traditional treats Americans might be thinking of. Scones in the UK look and taste more like a biscuit. The scones were small but delightful, especially if you put the butter and strawberry jam spread over them.

Although the afternoon tea didn’t have as many scones as I would have liked (I really liked them), I’ve learned afternoon tea is more than just eating and drinking tea.

Like many things in London, the experience was what it was really about.

It was about taking time from your busy life to just enjoy a simple thing like tea over good conversation with your friends.

I can only hope that one day afternoon tea will come to America.