Afternoon Tea

AFTERNOON TEA IN HERTFORDSHIRE

Take some time out and spend the afternoon at Ramada Hatfield to enjoy the delights of our Cream Tea or Traditional Hertfordshire Afternoon Tea. Call us on 01707 252400 to make a booking.

Download our full Afternoon Tea Menu.

CREAM TEA £6.00PP

Enjoy delicious warm fruit scones with fresh cream & strawberry jam, with a pot of tea or coffee.

TRADITIONAL HERTFORDSHIRE AFTERNOON TEA £12.00PP

Selection of freshly made finger sandwiches, warm fruit scones with fresh cream & strawberry jam, Madeira cutting cake, cake of the day and a Pot of tea or coffee.

Add a 125ml glass of Sparkling Wine for £4 per person
Add a 125ml glass of Champagne for £6 per person

THE STORY OF AFTERNOON TEA

Consumption of tea increased significantly during the early 19th century, around the time that Anna 7th Duchess of Bedford complained to her butler about “having that sinking feeling” during the late afternoon.

It was normal for people at that time to take only two main meals a day; breakfast and dinner at around 8 o’clock in the evening. The solution was a pot of tea and a light snack, taken privately in the Duchess' boudoir during the afternoon. Later friends were invited to join her in her rooms at Woburn Abbey and this summer practice proved so popular that the Duchess continued it when she returned to London, sending cards to her friends asking them to join her for “tea and a walk in the fields.”

Other social hostesses quickly picked up on the idea and the practice became respectable enough to move it into the drawing room. Before long all of fashionable society was sipping tea and nibbling sandwiches in the middle of the afternoon.