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?

I grew up with 4 meals a day. Breakfast/ dinner/ tea/ supper. Parents are from the North of England.
In the Midlands it tends to be breakfast/ lunch/ dinner.
In my head teatime is around 4 - 5 PM whereas dinner is a later meal around 6-8 PM, and then there's no need for supper.

@BarbaraofSeville has it right, as I said. High tea is NOT afternoon tea.

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

I really think you need a larger sample group to conduct a proper test so I'll will selflessly give up my diet in order to help you. I, too, am confident.

@TalkToMeAboutSocialWorkPlease

@booellesmum

Same as my grandparents in Cumbria.

I'm from the north. I have tea everyday, it's my evening meal. People in the south call it dinner, or sometimes supper. None of us are wrong... just different.

Afternoon tea is a very specific meal of dainty sandwich and cakes served on fancy China.

We have breakfast, lunch, supper
Occasionally go (for a special occasion) for afternoon tea (cakes, scones, tiny sandwiches) and then wouldn’t have supper as so filling.
On holiday in Cornwall, would have cream tea a couple of times - but not necessarily at “tea time” - the cream tea just describes scones, clotted cream, jam and a pot of tea (jam first, always).
When kids have birthdays we will have family over for tea and cake - at about 3 ish.

When I was a child in the 70s, high tea was something we only had when visiting my grandparents for the day. It was afternoon tea, ie sandwiches, scones, cakes, fancy biscuits, but preceded by home cooked ham, with salad etc.

My dad has a cup of tea...so does dh but technically it’s peppermint tea

Tea is our evening meal...especially when i am talking about the children

And we have high tea on special occasions...so a high tea at Christmas and Halloween and easter etc, but its more than cakes when we do it...cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, crisps and dips etc

I live in the south and have done for 42 years or so

Dh has always lived in the South as have the children...obviously

Tea= hot drink made with tea bag, sometimes milk and if you’re a psychopath- sugar

High tea= no idea- never had one

Lunch= meal eaten in the middle of the day.

Dinner= meal eaten in the evening.

School dinner= Hot meal eaten in the middle of the day provided by the school. An alternative to a “packed lunch” which is brought from home and usually cold.

I keep confusing my friend in London apparently with
"I'm just having tea"
"Now is that a meal or the drink you constantly seem to have attached to you? I'm unsure sometimes"

Tea = cup of tea
Tea = evening meal in some parts of the north
Tea = evening meal if it's a cold meal, in some parts of the north
High tea = old fashioned substantial evening meal, often cold, preferably served on the big kitchen table of a farm. Must include ham, pork pie, or both.
Afternoon tea = sandwiches, cake, and civilised yumminess
Cream tea = scones, jam, cream, arguments about which goes on the scones first

In my neck of the woods, tea is used two ways:
Tea as a drink at any time of the day and on its own, as in “would you like a cup of tea?” or “would you like some tea?”.
Tea as a meal = A cup of tea plus cake and, if you’re doing it properly, crumpets, muffins (in winter) or scones and sandwiches, usually at around 4 o’clock or half past four.

When mil was alive we always had high tea at 3pm. Cup of tea and a slice of cake. That was cake every day 😀

I grew up in London. My Dad wouldn't leave work much before 6pm and then had to fight his way home on unreliable 'London Transport', as it was then. By the time he was home and was ready to eat it would be around 8pm. This was called dinner. As it was a long time since the midday meal, anyone eating with him (his DW and the DCs once they were old enough) would have 'tea' sometime between 3pm and 5pm to keep them going. I suppose strictly speaking that would be the equivalent of Afternoon Tea, but we didn't manage sandwiches and cakes, more likely a slice of bread and jam and a cup of tea.

Old habits die hard, so I still sit down with a cup of tea and a biscuit or two , or, for a treat or if I have visitors, we have cake, around 4-ish and have dinner about 7pm.

depends on location.
here high tea would be a meal but served with bread and butter and traybakes and cakes after
afternoon tea is sandwiches scones cakes
tea is what we have as our evening meal

What would the timings be for the aristocracy? aka Downton Abbey types.

Breakfast at ?

Luncheon at ?

Afternoon tea at ?

Dinner at ?

when would you fit in high tea?

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

I agree, although I suppose a lot of it is the surroundings and ambience.

I PP says that they don't know anyone who makes afternoon tea at home, well I sometimes do, because I have a bit of an obsession with it, but I've come to realise that it's usually a ridiculous rip off when sold in hotels, so I buy some clotted cream scones from Morrisons if I CBA to make my own, cream and make a couple of types of sandwiches - or some of the Morrisons sandwiches like egg, ham or cheese and tomato are quite cheap - £1 to £1.50 a pack, so you could get about 4 portions of afternoon tea from Morrisons all ready made for under a tenner and just serve it up on a nice plate or have it as a picnic. You could also add some fizz without paying the even bigger mark up that a hotel would charge for a champagne afternoon tea.

I think high tea may be a thing in Scotland ? Can any Scots conform.

What BarbaraofSeville said.

Bet you didn't expect this can of worms, eh OP?

High tea is still a thing where I live (East coast of Scotland). A substantial hot meal followed by scones/cakes and tea (e.g. http://www.stationhotelellon.co.uk/high-tea-menu.html). A proper treat

i like afternoon tea only in a nice resturant not at home

some people call their evening meal tea i never did but my friends parents would

I haven't had 'high tea' for years. Last time was on holiday somewhere in the north of England. It was nice but I wouldn't want it too often, very fattening.

I do have a cup of tea mid to late afternoon and sometimes a snack, I suppose that's 'tea'. When we son came home from school we'd do that before he did (or didn't do!) his homework. Dad came home, we had dinner around 7-7.30pm, the main meal of the day.

At weekends it was often different, we'd have our main meal earlier and in the evening, have supper.

High tea isn't a thing in my part of Scotland. In fact I'm not really sure exactly what it is.