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Taylors of Harrogate Tea
Taylors of Harrogate is regarded by those familiar with tea as one of the finest tea producers worldwide. Founded in 1886, by Yorkshire (UK) tea merchant
Charles Taylor, the business quickly gained a reputation for the quality of its teas. Taylors has been awarded The Queen's Award for Enterprise for Sustainable
Development which is only given to companies with strong ethical, social and environmental values.
Taylors of Harrogate produces dozens of varieties of fine teas. We have offered here two of the more popular. If you are interested in any other variety, please
contact our office and we would be happy to assist you!
History of High Tea
Here is an interesting article by Gayle Gallagher that describes the path that tea drinking has followed on its way to the proper ritual known today as “high tea.”
An English Export
Sitting for tea, of course, long predates the English. But it was in Great Britain that the ritual as we know it today was begun. Before there was high tea, however, there was afternoon tea.
A Portuguese queen consort to King Charles II of England introduced tea to the British court in 1662, and made afternoon tea fashionable. Her influence made tea popular in the wealthier classes of society,
because whatever the royals did, everyone else wanted to do. Tea mania swept across England and became the beverage of choice in English high society, replacing ale as the national drink.
High Tea vs. Low Tea
By 1700, tea was not only a ritual of the royals and high society, it was popular with working class families. Weary people would return home in the evening to tables set with meats, bread, butter, pickles and
tea. In other words, dinner. And because tea was taken with dinner at a high, dining table, it was termed “high” tea. (It was also called “meat tea,” because it was served at a hardy dinner meal that always
included meat.)
“Low tea” on the other hand is taken mid-afternoon and served in parlors or drawing rooms on smaller, lower tables. Legend has it that one of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting suffered a “sinking feeling”
around four o’clock in the afternoon and began to invite friends to join her for an additional afternoon meal at five o’clock. The menu centered on small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches, assorted sweets,
and tea.
But when tea drinking made its way to America, hotels and tearooms decided to refer to afternoon tea as high tea-perhaps because the name sounds more elegant. And they continue to get it wrong,
offering pastries, scones and other light fare on delicate china during their advertised “high tea,” which is served mid-afternoon. Unfortunately, most Americans now think of high tea this way too.
America joined the English fairly early in pouring tea, but the ritual of teatime-that is, the creation of a mood or occasion-was largely abandoned in this country until the 1980’s. It was then that tea sales
began to gradually increase in the U.S. as well as an interest in the social aspects of tea drinking. It is important to invoke the same elegant, refined, atmosphere enjoyed by the English for more than 350
years.
This article reprinted with the permission of Rave Reviews Magazine
Premium English Clotted Cream, Lemon Curd and Preserves
Duerr's is an English company that began when Mary Duerr began producing jams and maramalades in North Manchester in 1872. The company has grown
significantly since then but attention to quality still remains.
Petits Fours Gift Box Collections
What is a Petit Four?
The origin of these bite size cakes
can be traced to the lavish 18th
century court of Marie Antoinette.
Each petit four is a miniature
multi-layered almond butter cake
filled with velvety smooth truffle
creams, intriguing fruit fillings and
exotic butter creams, enrobed in a
rainbow of specialty chocolates for
a perfect finish and to seal in the
freshness.
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beautiful teapots,
teacups and saucers
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Indulgent Cookies for Tea Time
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