Afternoon Tea
Tea in England has always been associated with wealth, aristocracy, and fine china, ever since the late 1650s when it first became fashionable with the royal family. Tea leaves at this time were so expensive that servants were not allowed to handle them, and the lady of the house would store them in Chinese jars in her private closet. The ritual of fixing one's own tea has persisted ever since.
But during the 18th century, dinner was served at a gradually later and later time until by the early 1800s, the normal time was between 7:00 and 8:30 pm and an extra meal called luncheon had been created to fill the midday gap. But since this new meal was very light, the long afternoon with no refreshment at all left people feeling rather hungry.
Anna Maria, the 7th Duchess of Bedford of Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, had the idea of asking her maid to bring all the tea making equipment to her private boudoir at 5 o'clock so that the Duchess could enjoy a cup of tea with a slice or two of bread and butter. Anna Maria found this afternoon tea such a perfect refreshment that she soon started inviting her friends to join her in her room for this new social event.
Eventually, the growing middle class imitated the rich and found that tea was a very economical way of entertaining several friends without having to spend too much money, and afternoon tea quickly became the norm.