Afternoon Tea Etiquette: How to properly enjoy your tea and scones

Over time, some of the rituals for this tradition that has lasted more than 200 years may 
have been forgotten.

In the early 1800s, tea was in demand, pricy, and certainly a luxury. Tea was so valuable that only the lady of the house carried keys to the tea canisters and she was the only 

person allowed to touch the teapot.

It is said that during this time Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford created the 

tradition of afternoon tea. She needed something to tide her over from breakfast – as 

one did not usually have lunch in those days – so she would ask her staff to prepare a light 

mid-afternoon snack, sometimes inviting her girlfriends to join. This became a popular 

social activity, as many ladies probably also had that hungry sinking feeling mid-

afternoon. 

If you are preparing an afternoon tea or going for one in town soon, there are a few tips 

to keep in mind that demonstrate superb hosting and the utmost consideration for your 

guests:

Provide a loose-leaf tea rather than tea bags 

Your guests deserve more than just tea bags, which are usually filled with the mashed bits 

of leaves at the bottom of the barrel. Loose-leaf tea ensures better quality and better 

taste. Tea should be black – an early grey or orange pekoe – but have herbal tea on hand 

for guests who prefer it.

Tea should be poured into the cup before anything is added  

During the 1800s having a bone china tea set was a luxury and tea was always poured 

piping hot. If one poured tea into a cup that was not real bone china, it would crack and 

pouring tea into a cup that already had milk in it would significantly reduce the 

temperature.  Therefore, we poured the hot tea first to show we were using bone china.  

Nowadays we have access to much more durable tea wear, made of materials that 

withstand high temperatures without cracking. Don’t forget to use a strainer!

When serving tea, give your guests the options of lemon, milk, and sugar 

It’s only polite to make no assumptions about how your guests like to take their tea. 

Lemon should be thinly sliced and sugar is traditionally presented as cubes, handled with 

tongs.  Also always have a teapot full of hot water near by to add to the cup of a guest 

who prefers a weaker tea.When pouring tea for guests, ask if they take it weak or strong 

and never fill the cup more than three quarters full.

Don’t stir up a noise 

When stirring tea, one should delicately move the teaspoon in a half circle or arch, being 

careful to avoid tapping the sides of the teacup and making too much noise.  When picking up a teacup, the saucer is picked up with it.  The saucer is held at chest level 

while the cup is brought to your mouth to take a sip.

Savoury then sweet

A well constructed tea set should consist of finger sandwiches, traditionally filled with 

egg, salmon or cucumber, scones with clotted cream and jam, and small bite-sized 

desserts.  Food should be eaten in that order and one must not start on scones until 

everyone has had enough of the sandwiches.  Same goes for moving on to the desserts.

Clotted cream first, then jam

There has been much debate as to whether clotted cream or jam go on the scone 

first. Clotted cream is, in fact, the correct answer and this is because the best clotted 

cream, from Devonshire, was highly sought after and pricy.  As a hostess, one would offer 

her guests the Devonshire clotted cream before the jam to show her generosity, as her 

guests could use as much cream as they liked – and it does not matter if the jam on top 

slid off afterwards.  When helping oneself to clotted cream and jam, serve yourself as 

much as you intend to use for the whole scone.  There is no double dipping allowed!

By: Kristine Stewart is the director of the Hong Kong Institute of Etiquette