Take a break for tea

Forget the tea-bag plopped into a mug for the after lunch, pre dinner pick-me-up. Sit down to a proper afternoon tea and pamper yourself with tradition and indulgence. For nothing is more quintessentially British than tea poured out of a pot and served with tiny sandwiches, scones and cakes. It needn't be extravagant or fussy - simple pleasures are always the best.

In 1861, the famous cook and writer Mrs Beeton remarked 'There is tea and tea'. By this she was referring to the difference between High Tea and Afternoon Tea. Both became established as meals in the mid 19th century and both feature the drink tea as a beverage, but that's where the similarities end. High Tea is a meal with meat as a main feature, hot or cold. Savoury pies, salads, pickles, crumpets, muffins, jams and preserves, fruit and sponge cakes also would have been considered suitable. In today's world, High Tea is usually thought of as a children's tea, a meal served to young children who eat earlier and more simply than their parents.

But Afternoon Tea has more or less remained the same in definition over the years. The tradition is thought to have been started by the Duchess of Bedford and consists of 'fine china, good manners and polite conversation', tea, the drink, poured from a china pot and served with cucumber sandwiches, crusts removed, of course, and little cakes or tea breads. In Devon and Cornwall, the tradition is Cream Tea served with scones and a big dollop of luscious, rich clotted cream, a speciality of the region.

First, the tea we drink. Thought to have existed as a drink since the first century AD, tea has a rich history about which volumes have been written. It was discovered in China and for hundreds of years, this is where most of the tea drunk in the western world came from. Its cultivation spread, however, and it is now grown in India, Africa, Japan, Sri Lanka, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tibet and North and South America. There are three categories of tea: green, oolong and black, though all come from the same plant, camellia sinensis. Slight variations in climate and region, however, can make for numerous subtle differences in flavour and aroma. Many teas are blends, especially those in bags and 'builder's tea'. But for a special occasion like Afternoon Tea, you may want to try something different.

Darjeeling - From the Darjeeling region of India, it has a delicate flavour with hints of muscatel.

Earl Grey - A blend of teas scented with oil of bergamot.

Lady Grey - Also a blend, more delicate and scented with orange and lemon peel as well as bergamot.

Ceylon - A rich-tasting, golden coloured tea, with a pure flavour.

Lapsang Souchong - A black tea with a strong, smoky flavour.

Assam - A strong, amber-coloured tea with a malty flavour.