Wealth Blog | Mandarin Oriental: confusing afternoon and High Tea

Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong is famed for its legendary afternoon teas, which are served with elegance and style in both Clipper Lounge and Café Causette. So gushes the press release.

Soon the hotel will launch a new High Tea set, we learn, with delicate sandwiches ranging from cucumber, dill and cream cheese to mature ham granary bread and smoked salmon with sour cream bagels. There’s only one problem, chaps, that’s not High Tea. Not even close. You’ve made the classic mistake of confusing Afternoon Tea with High Tea, two entirely different beasts.  I’m amazed the culinary giants of the Mandarin’s Food and Beverage department have got that so wrong.

“No afternoon tea would be complete without a selection of raisin and classic scones accompanied by Mandarin Oriental’s famed rose petal jam and Devon clotted cream,” it continues. Guests can enjoy all these together with a full range of beverages from tea and coffee to hot chocolate and even champagne. Well, if you’re swilling coffee and hot chocolate, it’s hardly tea.

“Afternoon tea is a classic indulgence, enjoyed by everyone and is a treat suitable for many occasions, from celebrations to family get-togethers, or just catching up with old friends,” says the hotel’s director of food and beverage Nicolas Dubort.

He might be French, where they don’t go in for afternoon tea much, but that’s no excuse. He’s probably hung around faux colonial long enough to know his High from his Afternoon. Long enough to know you don’t serve High Tea from 3pm to 6pm, even at the Mandarin.

The difference

Let’s get it straight.  Afternoon tea is a British tradition consisting of tea, sandwiches, scones and cake. If you want to be posh, it’s served in delicate bone china cups, with saucers. The difference between this and High Tea is very clear. Afternoon tea is served between three and four pm. When afternoon tea became fashionable in England in the early 19th century, thanks to Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, it was designed to provide a snack to bridge the long gap between lunch and dinner. Back then, dinner was not served until 8pm. These days, afternoon tea is less of a stop-gap than the preserves of English country town tea shops and five-star hotels, who charge a fortune for a scone with cooked (clotted) cream and strawberry jam.