If you think that's rough, tea etiquette was stricter back in the day. It occurs, as the name implies, at 11 in the morning.Ī photo posted by T. Outside of Middle Earth, this late-morning work break involves a light snack - think muffins, scones or biscuits - and a hot tea or coffee. The Salt is here to explain British social tea times.įirst up is elevenses, which you might have heard of as a hobbit's third meal of the day. Should you raise your pinky while sipping? And, more importantly, what time do the Brits take tea, anyway? Not to worry. We're talking a good, old-fashioned English tea time, with finger sandwiches, dainty china cups and all the formality a Downton Abbey lover could wish for.īut wait, you know nothing about taking tea in Britain. You've visited Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Tower of London, but there's one more thing you want to check off your to-do list: tea. If you're looking for finger sandwiches, dainty desserts and formality, afternoon tea is your cup.

The evidence suggests, however, that vespers were said much earlier on Fridays – around the middle of the day – so people did not, in fact, have to wait until into the evening to eat lunch.Afternoon Tea, 1886. The timing of lunch also depended on which day of the week it was: the meal was eaten later on Fridays, when in many establishments it may have been the only meal eaten that day, and there was a notion that it should not be eaten until after vespers (evening prayers). Lunch (prandium) was the main meal of the day and was probably eaten at around 11am, but this varied across establishments, depending on the number of people there and the number of sittings required. In terms of timing, it was not to be eaten until the first mass of the day had been completed. Breakfast (jantaculum) was largely confined to the elite to travellers and to some manual workers. What meals are eaten by whom and when? There were three principal meals eaten in the Middle Ages: breakfast, lunch and supper.

What time is mid afternoon