American in UK tries afternoon tea for first time and makes two big ‘mistakes’

By Rahima Miah

Afternoon tea is one of Britain’s finest traditions. It dates back to the 18th century and remains popular to this very day. It is a meal usually served between lunch and dinner consisting of tea, finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam and a selection of cakes and pastries. Beyond the food , it is a social event often enjoyed in a casual but elegant setting, like a hotel or tea room. Afternoon tea is fascinating to tourists and those who aren’t originally from the UK and TikTok user, KJordy, who moved from the US to London shared his first time experiencing this British tradition. In a video on the social media platform he said that he doesn’t think he can think of anything more “posh”, “dainty” or “exquisite” than afternoon tea so he decided to try it for himself. He mentioned that Brits are “territorial about their tea” and admitted that he had “no idea” how afternoon tea works so he did some “research” on how to conduct himself. Sharing what he learned, the American expat added: “First things first, I should probably look halfway decent and thinking about it, I probably should have bought a monocle. Let me stop yapping and let’s get it.” KJordy arrived for his meal and was firstly presented with a sleek black case full of different types of tea. Seated at the table with the afternoon tea stand in front of him his first impressions were that it “looks hella bougie.” He pointed to the top plate which had the ‘sandwiches’ but it was actually an assortment of breads like brioche, the second plate with the desserts and what he was “most excited” for was what laid on the bottom plate – the scones. The American living in London started off by pouring himself a cup of red tea and then he added a bit of milk to it. Taking a sip of the tea, he pulled a face but decided that it was “not bad.” KJordy then took a bite of a piece of egg truffle brioche, which he seemed to enjoy more than the tea but remarked that it was also “not bad.” Moving onto the scones, he cut one in half and spread some clotted cream followed by jam onto the bottom half and then put the other part of the scone on top. After digging into the scone he said: “A scone is the same as our biscuits. I’m here for scones.” Next the expat moved onto the desserts. The first one he sampled was “interesting” and looked like “Jello”. He rated it a four out of ten before moving on to another which he wasn’t a fan of again. Then he tried a roly poly and noted “that has been the best dessert so far.” Giving his verdict on this British tradition he concluded: “The afternoon tea I think it’s just for socialising like [the] presentation is what looks the best. Taste wise, I could give or take. Overall, afternoon tea for me it’s a six out of ten.” Brits were quick to rush to the comment section and point out the ‘mistakes’ KJordy made with the tea and scone. One said: “That tea looked like a rooibos, fruit or herbal tea which should never have milk.” Another user added: “Milk with the fruit tea? Nope… just nope!” A third suggested: “If you’ve never experienced afternoon tea, you should definitely go with someone who’s experienced, milk in fruit tea yikes.” Criticising how he ate the scone someone commented: “Sir did you just eat that scone like a sandwich? No, no, no, we eat each half separately, [it] makes it feel like 2 scones.” A second agreed: “Scone was eaten incorrectly! Eat half at a time.”

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