Let's admit it! The art of afternoon tea is mostly lost on Americans. The other day I saw an advertisement in local paper for a High Tea on Sundays at such and such fancy hotel. The time advertised was 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. That raised my suspicions that the hotel hasn't the foggiest what they are talking about. And sure enough.
The High Tea for two was $30.00 and they served several different teas, finger sandwiches, sweets, tarts, pastries and a hot chicken dish complete with vegies and mashed potatoes. All you can eat, of course. Bingo! I've got them. I called the Maitre d' and revealed to him that the hotel is engaged in false advertising as the occassion should be called Low Tea and not High Tea and I added that it is served at a wrong table. Ooops. Maitre d' being of Middle Eastern or Indian ethnicity congratulated me on the knowledge of English tea customs and explained that here in America they call it High Tea because people know what to expect.
To those of you who are not privy to the English tea customs, an explanation:
The invention of the English habit of an aternoon tea has been attributed to Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford (1783-1857). At that time it was customery to eat breakfast and dinner only. Dinner was usually served as late as 9:00 pm. As the time between these meals was very long, especially in summer, the Duchess had her servants secretly serve slivers of bread with butter, mackeroons, cheescakes and pastries in her budoir early afternoon. Voila, the Afternoon Tea has been born. It became very fashionable especially among the high and middle classes. Ladies of status created At Home socials. These socials were announced on a simple white cards stating that: "Mrs. John Smith will be at home at three o'clock on February 3, 1824. Afternoon tea and light refreshments will be served. Morning dress." In case of a longer event such as a ball "Carriages at five o'clock" was rather amusing way to let the guests know that they are expected to leave at 5:00 pm.
These Afternoon Teas or At Homes were usually served at low tables such as todays coffee and side tables and hence they were referred to as Low Tea. The typical fare other than the tea was small finger sandwiches, breads, tarts, pastries, cheesecakes and such. Nothing elaborate.
Young people and lower classes preferred tea between 5:00 and 6:00 pm. Young middle class people played tennis, bridge and other games in the afternoon to amuse themselves and the lower classes worked till 5:00 pm so late tea was preferred in these circles. The lower classes had the afternoon tea after 5:00 pm and because dinner time was usually as late as at 9:00 pm or so people ate more substantial meal with the tea at a dining table which was high as opposed to low coffe table hence High Tea. The High Tea was also called Family Tea as it was mostly a family affair. High Tea meal was also called supper in some circles. For some folks this meal was also a dinner if it was substantial. Therefore, at High Tea, more elaborate and substantial food was served. The heavier the food the earlier High Tea was served. Light High Tea was served as late as 7:00 pm. The food usually included one or two small hot dishes, cold chicken, game, ham, tarts, custard and fruits.
Now for the tea. The kind of tea served was the domain of the hostess. These days the teas available even in specialized stores are mostly blended teas of various flavors and colors. At "High Tea" today there is a selection of teas in tea bags for the guests to choose from. Never serve a tea bag at High or Low Tea. That's Rule #1. Always select loose tea. And remember, usually the higher the tea the better. "Higher" refers to the elevation at which the tea is grown.
Types of teas:
English Breakfast Tea - blend of Ceylon and Indian teas. Strong and best left for breakfast.
Russian Caravan Tea - blended tea and excellent for afternoon tea.
Yunnan Tea - sweetly flavored, deep golden tea ideal for iced tea.
Jasmine Tea - flavored with jasmine petals, good for aternoon tea and late night tea. Drink it weak and with slice of lemon in a cup.
Darjeeling Tea - a blend of India teas from high Himalayas. Indian tea at its best. Served at English clubs and country homes. Pure Darjeeling tea is very costly and available only in specialized high end stores. To be served with milk.
Earl Grey Tea - blend of China teas flavored with oil of bergamot. Excellent for afternoon tea. To be served with lemon. Twining brand is the best available in markets everywhere.
Lapsang Suchong Tea - very distinctive tea greyish in clor and with smoky pungent flavor. Drink naked or with lemon. Never with milk. Not all guests may like this tea.
Keemun Tea - this tea is from Northern China and has smooth, sweetish flavor.
Oolong Tea - comes from Formosa (Taiwan) and is lighter version of Darjeeling tea and very delicate. This and Keemun are teas of connoisseurs.
Black Currant Tea - blend of black tea and black currents extract ideally suited for afternoon tea and for iced tea.
Note: When using milk in tea always pour smnall amount of milk into a cup first than add tea.
Enjoy!
George
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday, November 08, 2009
I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE
Hello People,
on Saturday morning, November 7, 2009, I have learned from the Internet that the future has arrived. That is, I have learned that our House of Representatives (what a misnomer) has passed the Obama Care Bill. Assuming the worst outcome, the Senate will pass their Obama Care Bill and thus propel us into future proper. I have seen the future and I didn't like what I have seen (am I mistaken or is this a title of a book?).
What I mean is that I have come to America from Czechoslovakia where the socialist regime provided free health care for all. Having read the important parts of the Obama Care Bill, I assume the health care in America will not be unlike that of a socialist country. I personally cannot complain much about the free health care in Czechoslovakia in 1950's and 1960's because I was mostly healthy boy and later young man and visited doctors very infrequently. Here is how it worked for those who needed health care:
Doctors were employed by the state as everyone else. Their salaries were set by the state and amounted to approximately 2x the average salary. Specialists were paid approximately 3x the average salary. Doctors were assigned the localities where they had to serve. Doctors fresh out of school got the worst places where nobody wanted to go. People had to go to the doctor assigned to their district or at place of employment if it had its own medical facilities. If people wanted to go and see a doctor that was recommended to them by friends and acquaintances who was not within their district or place of employment they first had to be accepted by that doctor as a private and illegal patient (black market was working without a hitch) and then pay a fee requested by that doctor, again illegally. Illegality aside, such was a common practice.
Since there were no appointments to see doctors when people got sick they had to wait for at least an hour, sometimes longer, in the waiting room with 10 to 20 other patients. Many people, especially those snobish people who thought they were important, brought bribes which they gave the nurse upon arrival. Some waited to give the bribe to the doctor personally. The bribes were many and varied. People in the country brought geese, ducks, rabbits, eggs, meat, and sometimes even small domestic or farm animals. People in cities brought Cognac, Scotch or some other good imported liquor, expensive wine or simply cash. The quality and frequency of the health to some extent depended on the quality and quantity of the bribe.
When hospitalization was needed it was an expensive proposition. Everyone who had anything to do with patient's hospital stay expected a bribe. Doctors and nurses got the bulk of the bribes. If bribe was not given service suffered. Food in hospitals was typically worse than in the Army and many relatives brought food for the patients every day. There were several good hospitals fully equipped with the latest medical technology and devices. These were few and far in between. The run of the mill hospital lacked the latest equipment and had to do with what they had. Considering this state of affairs, they worked miracles. To my knowledge care was never refused but in some cases came slowly and in low doses. There were medical review commissions who had far reaching decision making authority. These commissions decided whether the treatment recommended by the doctor will be followed, adjusted or changed. Every hospitalized patient went through such decision making. These commissions also approved the drugs recommended for the course of treatment.
Drugs were available free to patients. There were no bribes at the pharmacy for thye domestic drugs. Yes, there were two types of drugs, imported (mostly from Switzerland) and domestic. Needless to say, all patients wanted the imported drugs. In the minds of people imported meant good, domestic meant marginal or bad. The imported drugs were very scarce and thus were the only drugs subject to bribes. Big bribes.
Overall, the system worked as nobody was allowed to die without some health care. The quality of health differed from place to place and depended mostly on the doctors' skill which varied widely and in some cases on the amount of the bribe. Drugs were free. Terminal patients always received pain killers at the very least. From what I observed and heard from people at least 75% of the patients used the bribe system. Only the very young adults like me were ignorant of the benefits of the bribes and did not give them. The cost of the free health care to the patients was not cheap but then free things are usually costly.
Look forward to this type of health care when the government gets hold of it!
George
on Saturday morning, November 7, 2009, I have learned from the Internet that the future has arrived. That is, I have learned that our House of Representatives (what a misnomer) has passed the Obama Care Bill. Assuming the worst outcome, the Senate will pass their Obama Care Bill and thus propel us into future proper. I have seen the future and I didn't like what I have seen (am I mistaken or is this a title of a book?).
What I mean is that I have come to America from Czechoslovakia where the socialist regime provided free health care for all. Having read the important parts of the Obama Care Bill, I assume the health care in America will not be unlike that of a socialist country. I personally cannot complain much about the free health care in Czechoslovakia in 1950's and 1960's because I was mostly healthy boy and later young man and visited doctors very infrequently. Here is how it worked for those who needed health care:
Doctors were employed by the state as everyone else. Their salaries were set by the state and amounted to approximately 2x the average salary. Specialists were paid approximately 3x the average salary. Doctors were assigned the localities where they had to serve. Doctors fresh out of school got the worst places where nobody wanted to go. People had to go to the doctor assigned to their district or at place of employment if it had its own medical facilities. If people wanted to go and see a doctor that was recommended to them by friends and acquaintances who was not within their district or place of employment they first had to be accepted by that doctor as a private and illegal patient (black market was working without a hitch) and then pay a fee requested by that doctor, again illegally. Illegality aside, such was a common practice.
Since there were no appointments to see doctors when people got sick they had to wait for at least an hour, sometimes longer, in the waiting room with 10 to 20 other patients. Many people, especially those snobish people who thought they were important, brought bribes which they gave the nurse upon arrival. Some waited to give the bribe to the doctor personally. The bribes were many and varied. People in the country brought geese, ducks, rabbits, eggs, meat, and sometimes even small domestic or farm animals. People in cities brought Cognac, Scotch or some other good imported liquor, expensive wine or simply cash. The quality and frequency of the health to some extent depended on the quality and quantity of the bribe.
When hospitalization was needed it was an expensive proposition. Everyone who had anything to do with patient's hospital stay expected a bribe. Doctors and nurses got the bulk of the bribes. If bribe was not given service suffered. Food in hospitals was typically worse than in the Army and many relatives brought food for the patients every day. There were several good hospitals fully equipped with the latest medical technology and devices. These were few and far in between. The run of the mill hospital lacked the latest equipment and had to do with what they had. Considering this state of affairs, they worked miracles. To my knowledge care was never refused but in some cases came slowly and in low doses. There were medical review commissions who had far reaching decision making authority. These commissions decided whether the treatment recommended by the doctor will be followed, adjusted or changed. Every hospitalized patient went through such decision making. These commissions also approved the drugs recommended for the course of treatment.
Drugs were available free to patients. There were no bribes at the pharmacy for thye domestic drugs. Yes, there were two types of drugs, imported (mostly from Switzerland) and domestic. Needless to say, all patients wanted the imported drugs. In the minds of people imported meant good, domestic meant marginal or bad. The imported drugs were very scarce and thus were the only drugs subject to bribes. Big bribes.
Overall, the system worked as nobody was allowed to die without some health care. The quality of health differed from place to place and depended mostly on the doctors' skill which varied widely and in some cases on the amount of the bribe. Drugs were free. Terminal patients always received pain killers at the very least. From what I observed and heard from people at least 75% of the patients used the bribe system. Only the very young adults like me were ignorant of the benefits of the bribes and did not give them. The cost of the free health care to the patients was not cheap but then free things are usually costly.
Look forward to this type of health care when the government gets hold of it!
George
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