How to Set the Table for High Tea

High tea is not so much sitting down to have tea, dainty sandwiches and other small, sweet delicacies – this is afternoon tea. High tea is, in fact, the evening meal that was traditionally eaten by the English working class at the end of the workday. It served as a substitute for both their afternoon tea and evening meal. They called it "High Tea" because it was eaten at the "high" (main) table, rather than at a smaller lounge table (what we call a coffee table today).

For this reason, setting the table for high tea is much like setting the table for dinner, but in a far more simplified, less formal setting because it does not involve a number of different complicated courses. It is typical, for example, to have only two courses at High Tea – the main course, and desert. Recently, in America, high tea has come to refer to an elaborate, afternoon tea, although this usage is not recognised by etiquette experts (or by the Brits). Read on to learn how to set the table for a traditional British high tea.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Equip Yourself With the Proper Tableware

1. Placemats – use these to protect the table from getting marked by hot plates. Keep it simple – remember this is not a fancy, formal dinner.

2. Cutlery – you will need a fork and knife for your main course, a butter spreader or knife, a dessert fork and spoon, and a teaspoon. Ideally, these should all match, but do not necessarily have to be of a high-class wedding grade.

3. Crockery – you will need a plate and matching side plate. For the table setting, you will only lay out the side plate, because high tea is traditionally plated in the kitchen ad then carried out to the table. You will also need a matching teacup and saucer.

4. Glass – wine is not typically served with high tea, but you can provide a glass for water. A large tumbler rather than a wine glass is normally used.

5. Napkin (or serviette as it is called in Britain) – a good quality but simple napkin should be folded or put into a napkin ring.

Set the Table for High Tea

1. Set the placemats square with the table's edge, about a half inch from the edge.

2. Place the fork on the left of the placemat, and the knife on the right. (Sorry – no allowances made for left-handers, I'm afraid.) The knife's cutting edge must face inward towrd the plate, for safety's sake. Both fork and knife should be perpendicular with the table's edge, and an equal distance from the edges of the placemat.

3. Lay the dessert fork and spoon at the top of the placemat, at a 90-degree angle to the fork and knife. The dessert fork's handle should point to the left, and the dessertspoon's handle should point to the right. The spoon should be placed above the fork.

4. Put the side plate next to or right above the fork, depending on how much space you have at the table. (For a formal setting, etiquette requires that you place it above the fork, but for the less formal high tea setting, this distinction is not vital.) Place the butter spreader or butter knife across the side plate.

5. Sit the teacup in its saucer, with its handle pointing outward to the right. Place it right above the knife on the right-hand edge of the placemat. Place the teaspoon on the saucer next to the teacup, with its handle pointing toward the guest.

6. Place the glass, if you are using one, just to the left of the tea cup and saucer. Place the napkin on the placemat. You are ready for tea!

7. Traditionally, high tea is plated in the kitchen, and the tea served in a china teapot with a matching sugar bowl and milk jug.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure that your placemats are square with the table's edge, rather than at an irregular angle, which could ruin the meal for guests who suffer from “crooked picture rage.”