Curling sandwiches, dry scones, an eye-watering bill… Afternoon tea has a lot to answer for. Lauren Bravo asks how a weird in-between meal managed to trick its way into becoming a national pastime
As a 30-something woman who’s perpetually at a hen party or baby shower, half my summer social life now revolves around afternoon tea. Once it was beer gardens and taco trucks; now it’s cutting miniature lemon tarts in half while making polite conversation with somebody’s aunt. Even as you read this, probably lounging in the park with a pitcher of Pimm’s, I will be limbering up to debate whether it should be jam or cream first. (The answer? Nobody really cares.) As such, I feel qualified to say it: afternoon tea is a swizz.