British people. I need clarification

[Steaktartar]

So how many different types of ' tea times ' do you have? Is high tea the fancy one with sandwiches and cakes? And just 'tea'? Is that lunch? Also how often do you have high tea? Someone told me everyday or as often as possible? Surely you can't eat cake EVERYDAY?

Depends where you are in the country.
Tea = a cup of tea
Tea = evening meal
Afternoon tea is typically the one with cake and sandwiches

I’m not sure anyone uses “high tea” anymore

It's a class/region thing. The people having tea (early evening meal) aren't the same people having high tea (sandwiches and cakes). I grew up with the latter and we did have cake every day.

High tea is a casual and substantial early evening meal, is often confused with afternoon tea, but it's not the same thing.

People in the UK don't really have high tea, it belongs more of an era decades ago or in books.

Afternoon tea is the fancy one with dainty sandwiches, scones and cakes. People don't usually have that very often, more as a celebration or day out, that they'd go to nice tea rooms or a hotel for.

Tea is what people in some parts of the country, usually the north of Engalnd, call the evening meal and can be anything - hot or cold, light or substantial.

Some people might have cake every day, but not give it a particular name, they might just have it when they have tea or coffee in the morning or the afternoon.

Cream tea has cake and sandwiches and tea. I've rarely had one. Don't have high tea - don't really know the definition of that (is it in the afternoon?). The only tea I tend to have is a cup of tea. Others have tea as a meal (often the one I would call dinner)

What about a fish tea? Fish, chips, white bread and butter, and tea. Haven't had a fish tea in ages.

To me, high tea is a kind of family buffet type meal, about 5 or 6pm on a weekend. With a mix of savoury and sweet - pasties, scotch eggs, sandwiches, scones, cake. I tried to have one last weekend but DH had a sulk as apparently anything that isn’t meat, veg and potatoes isn’t a meal 🙄 (err, pasties?).

Tea was what I had after school - sandwich - as I had cooked lunch at school and both parents worked until lateish.

No one has high tea.
If you're talking to people in certain areas, tea means dinner, so obviously you'd have it every day. And cups of tea every day for lots of people.

Surely you can't eat cake EVERYDAY?

I'll give it a go and report back. I'm quietly confident.

High tea is fancy afternoon tea, with cake and tiny sandwiches. How often? Hardly ever.

I’m from the north and ‘tea’ can also mean evening meal.

Sorry I think a cream tea is a scone with jam/ cream and a cup of tea

I’m from the north and they say tea for dinner so come for tea means a full evening meal.

I’m now in the south and say dinner as it’s too complicated to say tea.

Afternoon tea is sandwiches and cake and a pot of tea and you are usually too full to eat dinner after afternoon tea.

Your source is having you on. Tea is either your evening meal or a cup of tea on its own. Sometimes you'd go out for Afternoon Tea (cakes, scones, tiny sandwiches) which I can't recommend highly enough but that's by no means an everyday thing. Afternoon Tea is a treat.
Having said that, we do eat serious amounts of cake.

We give our DC tea (5pm meal) and then have our own dinner later.

Tea is a drink
Tea is also the evening meal
Afternoon tea is little sandwiches and cakes normally eaten in a cafe or restaurant I dont know anyone who prepares themselves afternoon tea at home.
High tea is something you read about in books.

@TalkToMeAboutSocialWorkPlease
😂😂😂

Cream tea = scone, clotted cream and jam with tea.

Afternoon tea = sandwiches, cakes and scones with clotted cream

High tea = not afternoon tea, more substantial with a savoury hot main course and tea and cake afterwards.

Anyone saying different is wrong.

A cup of tea is required on the hour, every hour, and in cases of high emotional distress. It is usually accompanied by biscuits.

It's regional. And a class thing. But, from an Essex working class background:

• When we eat our main meal of the day between 5 and 6pm we call it tea. And growing up that is when we always had it. Could be spag bol, casserole, sausage and chips, anything.
• Cream tea would be scones and jam and cream and tea, and could be had at any time, in a cafe
• Afternoon tea is had in a posh cafe or restaurant and implies stacky plate thing, numerous tiny cakes and finger sandwiches
• High tea is only eaten by the Famous Five.

It has taken so long to write this thousands of people will have replied before me and at least one will have proclaimed they just can't bear people who call the evening meal tea.

Surely you can't eat cake EVERYDAY?

I'll join TalkToMeAboutSocialWorkPlease and collate the findings. Purely for scientific reasons obviously. I'm also confident.

@Knitwit99

Weirdly, where I’m from in the very north (of England) a Friday Fush Supper is the only evening meal of the week not known as tea.

Working class northern grandparents had:
Breakfast
Dinner
Tea
Supper (a biscuit and a hot drink before bed)

Except in a Friday when they had a fish supper as a treat.

@ImportantWater has it spot on.

Also I've now read the word "tea" so many times it's gone weird.

High tea is an old fashioned term from the realms of Enid blyton books.

I'm English and have just read this thread to 18yo English dd who has never heard of it.

I believe the famous five would eat high tea every day in the late afternoon before the later evening meal.

Some people call supper ‘tea’. Also can be called high tea - a meal at the end of the day. So they would have ‘tea’ every day.
Afternoon tea (the one with sandwiches, scones and clotted cream) is a rare treat and mostly served in hotels and restaurants. Though originally royalty and upper classes would have this between lunch and dinner which was served quite late. I love them but have one maybe once or twice a year - usually with visitors from America! Afternoon tea was also known as ‘low tea’ as was served on a low table like a coffee table. (High tea being served on a normal table).
So ‘tea’ and ‘high tea’ is a daily thing, ‘afternoon tea’ a once in a blue moon treat.

I used to work in a tea room when I was 13 and we served something we called High Tea. It was a large salad, cake or scone and a pot of tea. There may have been bread and butter somewhere as well.

This was in south west Scotland in the early/mid nineties. I have not seen the term since then.

Tea - a cup of tea or the meal at about 5:00/6pm. I would generally call this dinner in my own home

Afternoon tea - cash cow of hotels where small sandwiches and cakes can be sold as though they were luxurious

The people having tea (early evening meal) aren't the same people having high tea (sandwiches and cakes).

Other way round for me. High tea is more substantial. Tea is just cake or a biscuit.

Not every day by any means. Always the drink but not cake unless it’s the weekend or a friend is over.