Afternoon Tea or High Tea?

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A hotel I visit sometimes is currently advertising a 'High Tea' for Mother's Day. The menu is sandwiches, quiche, scones and cakes. But that's not 'High Tea' is it? That is an 'Afternoon Tea'. A high tea where I come from is a late afternoon meal like a 'proper' dinner - meat, veg, potatoes etc. of some description.

The hotel do brand themselves as being a bit top tier. It irritates me that they are calling it a 'High Tea' as if they are being too posh to do an afternoon tea or something. And don't get me started on the whole 'cream tea' debacle!

YANBU - it's afternoon tea - they are unreasonable to call it a high tea.
YABU - it's a high tea/who cares what they are calling it!

Apparently the High Tea served in the Station Hotel on Aberdeen is very good. My dh still waxes lyrical about the first time he had High Tea in Largs - he's English and hadn't previously encountered it but thought it was brilliant.

YANBU. What they’re serving is afternoon tea...sandwiches, scones and cakes, not proper high tea, which is traditionally more of a hearty early evening meal. Hotels use “high tea” because it sounds fancier, but you’re not wrong to be mildly irritated if they’re branding themselves as top tier and still getting it wrong.

As others have said, high tea is hot food with bread. Traditional afternoon tea (sandwiches, scones etc.) is low tea. However, in America afternoon tea seems to be called high tea.

I'm Irish (and old) and high tea was always a light meal, like sliced ham and hardboiled eggs.

I used to be invited to a school-friend's house for High Tea every week in the early 1980s. It was a meal that didn't exist at home, we just had a biscuit after school then waited until my Dad got home for dinner.

High Tea at Jean's house would be around 4-5pm and something hot or savoury or salad (not sandwiches). So quiche and salad (lettuce, tomato, radishes, celery all home grown from the garden). Or maybe hard boiled egg or ham or tinned tuna (with vinegar, not mayo) or tinned salmon with new potatoes and butter or salad cream. Or sometimes a single slice of beans on toast/cheese on toast.

All quite light savoury food. Definitely not a heavy meat, veg and potato type meal. Eaten from a medium sized plate with a knife and fork. Not a tea plate or a dinner plate. Always served with tea from a pot and in Royal Doulton cups. With a table cloth or nice mats.

There would also be bread and butter. Choice of jams. Then just one or two home-made iced fairy cakes each and always a 2 finger Kit-kat wrapped in foil and paper. But overall, slightly more savoury food than sweet.

Very different to Afternoon Tea, in not having sandwiches and with less focus on multiple types of rich cake or scones. Nice serving plates were used, or pre-plated, but definitely NOT all piled onto a single cake stand.

My friend had this every day when she got in from school. I was so envious! But grateful for the invitation, the work put in by her Mum to serve it up...and the already old-fashioned-seeming pause to the day!

High tea is not posh. It’s an early evening meal with solid food: boiled eggs, cheese on toast, sausage rolls, cooked ham. You have it instead of dinner and you would never cut the crusts off. Completely different in style and substance from afternoon tea. People in other countries often assume high tea is posh because of the name but they are quite wrong.

But then, we live in a world where bottomless brunch doesn’t include unlimited french toast, bagels, croissants or danish pastries, and I don’t know anything any more.

Agreed.
Local restaurant used to do High Tea up to 6.30 for a set price before the A la Carte Dinner menu.

The High Tea menu was normally 5 or 6 choices, Battered Fish, Scampi, Steak pie and a chicken dish of some description. They'd switch it about but it was proper dinner then scones and cakes!

Guys this isn't helping my current ADHD hobby/special interest of afternoon tea! Been drooling over 3 tier cake stands and trying to choose cookbooks.

I'm Irish, I have no idea what it entails, but my Granny used to say "they're having high tea off a low table" 😁no idea what that meant either.

That sounds more like what I'd think of as Afternoon Tea, which YES I've had served at low coffee style tables.

I'm now thinking there is a regional variation thing going on here. I'm Scotland.
High tea to me is - hot meal with scones and cakes to finish. Served early evening 5-7pm.
Afternoon tea is cold sandwiches with scones and cakes. Serviced mid afternoon 2-4pm sort of time

I haven't seen anywhere to High Tea in a long time, mainly been replaced by Pre-Theater or Set menu deals up to 7pm or whatever. Basically a way of filling a restaurant early evening.

No

I agree with this. Some hotels around here still do high tea for coach tours of pensioners and it is often fish and chips or similar.

@LadyDanburysHat can I ask roughly where you are?

I can't help wonder if there is a regional thing going on here.

@Needspaceforlego I'm also in Scotland

Afternoon tea should be served no later than 4pm, High tea is served between 4 and 6, Dinner 7 and after. If you have had High tea then supper is acceptable after 8. Obviously you wouldn't eat all of these meals on the same day. Afternoon tea and dinner or High Tea and supper would be normal.

High Tea to me is a meal (steak pie,fish and chips or gammon steak)served with bread and butter or toast after the meal a cake stand with scones butter and jam with a selection of cakes with tea or coffee
Afternoon tea is a selection of sandwiches a sausage roll a cake stand with scones and a selection of cakes served with tea or coffee

Yes, high tea would include hot food. It's basically an early dinner. Where I live everyone still calls their main evening meal tea.

For me, High Tea is a Scottish tradition, served between 5pm - 6pm, includes hot food, meat such as gammon and pineapple, gammon and egg, local fish, chips, salad, pot of tea, followed by a selection of scones etc. You have to choose your main protein and the rest comes as a set.

High tea is hefty and hearty
Aftetnoon tea is delicate and light

High tea for me wouldn't necessarily be hot but would be predominantly savoury, boiled eggs, pork pie (large not individual) ham, bread and butter, salad, potatoes, yes it could include quiche. Any cake or scones after were just to fill any last gaps. The sort of things where you could just eat as much or as little as wanted and wouldn't spoil if you weren't always on the dot. (North of England farming community)

It irritates me that they are calling it a 'High Tea' as if they are being too posh to do an afternoon tea or something.

Especially annoying as High Tea is a traditional working class/manual workers meal. Even in Enid Blyton farm workers were referenced.

You’re right. High Tea is an early dinner - but with lots of things on the table, like a sit-down buffet. Very Famous Five.

Afternoon Tea is a delicate selection of ‘snacks’ to keep you going until dinner at eight.

I have noticed that the terms have been confused in other countries.

According to this website high tea is called that because it was served at a high table with high backed chairs (i.e. a proper dining table) whereas afternoon tea was served on low tables with comfy chairs/sofas.

b-bakery.com/london/blog/difference-between-high-tea-and-afternoon-tea#:~:text=So%20what%20is%20'high%20tea'%3F&text=The%20phrase%20'high%20tea'%20started,accompanied%20by%20a%20hot%20meal.

To me, afternoon tea is sandwiches, scones or pancakes then fancy cakes.

When I was young, hotesl did a High Tea which was a cooked course with tea and toast then plain and fancy cakes. Think it's died out now,