profile: tea at hotel bennett
In the Leaves
By SUE G. COLLINS
Afternoon tea is a burgeoning tradition for family and friends.
A STORIED HISTORY
During the mid-19th century, the concept of afternoon tea first appeared in England when Anna Russell, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, would become hungry around 4 p.m. in the afternoon. Because dinner was not served until 8 p.m., the Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread, butter (some time earlier, the Earl of Sandwich had the idea of putting a filling between two slices of bread) and cake be brought to her room in the late afternoon. Soon, she began inviting friends to join her until it became a fashionable social event.
During the 1880s, 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 4 and 5 p.m.
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